New Building for Abadra School
Expanding access to a primary school education has been a core component of Project Ethiopia’s mission from the very beginning. Our work started with the kebeles and villages closest to Dangla town and has been expanding in ever-widening concentric circles over the years. In that time, we have built 23 new primary school buildings and improved 25 existing buildings for a total of 152 classrooms; creating access to primary education and a pathway to high school for thousands.
Now our work is taking us farther and farther out into the woreda, reaching communities that have not yet partnered with Project Ethiopia. These communities are eager to work with us on improvements that will bring expanded educational access, better housing, and greater economic opportunities. The Abadra kebele is one of the newest areas of expansion and the location for one of our school construction projects in 2018.
The new building at Abadra School, which opened in September, has special significance. It stands in loving memory to a young man from Redmond, Washington, Chaz Bruner, who passed away unexpectedly in 2017. His family wanted to give in his name to the children and families served by Project Ethiopia so last Christmas they collectively raised the funds necessary to construct a school building. Located on the edge of the campus with a beautiful view of the valley below, the new four-classroom building has created space for up to 360 additional children in 1st and 2nd grades. It will provide education and opportunity to Abadra students for many years to come!
In October, we were honored to hold a dedication ceremony for the new Chaz Bruner building attended by children, school staff, and parent volunteers. In addition to a plaque and photo of Chaz that now hangs in one of the classrooms, we delivered the following message from his parents to the school community:
“Congratulations on your beautiful new school building! We dedicate this building to our son, Chaz Bruner. Chaz loved learning and loved others. We hope that you and many children after you will love learning here and grow to become talented and hard-working adults that give back to the community and the world.”
Thank you to the members of Chaz’s family for their generosity and for their gift of education to children of Abadra School.
