Parents’ Commitment

The parents of Alemu Woldehanna Primary School are very excited about the library. They know that their children’s future depends on them receiving a high quality education. They also know that education is the way out of poverty. Each year the parents have donated money towards the construction of the library. This has meant that over the past 3 years the parents have personally donated 80,000 Birr, almost $5000. This is lot of money for very impoverished people. Each family makes a sacrifice to give what they can and together it adds up to a very helpful sum. This year the parents have agreed to give 70 Birr each. That is a lot since one teacher I met was very proud to claim that he had given 10 birr to towards the library.  A manual laborer might make 35 birr, which is close to $2 in one day. So if you think of a father giving 2 days salary, when he has many mouths to feed, that is a huge sacrifice. h² Empower is very grateful to the parents for their constant support of their children’s education.

I was very inspired when the PTA president told me, “You could have given us jobs and then we would have spent the money right away. But giving us books- they will last a long time and have long term results. There is nothing more value than books”.

 

The books are in the library

Many know by now that our library is progressing rapidly. During our trip in November 2011 we were thrilled to actually complete the main reading room. We celebrated with a wonderful coffee ceremony attended by teachers, town officials and friends. We had our first class come into the room and explore the books. It was moving to see those eight grade students staring at the pictures, seeing snow on a mountain for the first time and the glories of the temples in Egypt. They children were spellbound and speechless, waiting for us to explain what they were seeing. It was like walking into a mysterious garden filled with new sights and ideas. I knew we had given them something significant- an opportunity to expand their minds.

The library building has a number of rooms but the centerpiece is a large reading room with one wall of windows, tall walls leading to windows all around giving light and air and a feeling of expanse and openness. This room was mostly complete, just awaiting a few finishing touches. We could bring in the books and furniture and start creating a useable community library.

There are a few more unfinished rooms- the computer rooms, the staff and storage rooms, a periodic room and a special young children’s room. We are hoping that they will be ready within the month. We do need donations to help make the rooms complete with bookcases and furniture as well as some last minute construction costs.

We were also excited to meet Sashenka Lopez, the new IFESH (International Foundation for Education and Self Help) volunteer Librarian giving of her talents for the year to get the library functioning. She started right away reading to children and bringing in books and helping direct the process of creating a vibrant library to service the community.

If you picture the smiles at hearing a good story and power of discovering something new, just imagine the mental explosion the first time you see a roomful of books. All of us are very excited.

Burundi Women’s Literacy Class Will Begin

We are very excited to announce that we raised over $3,000 at our Soundscapes for Africa Concert and Dinner. That means that we can start the class in January and Burundi women in a microloan program will now have a chance to become literate. The event was great fun with wonderful international food made with love and a wonderous variety of beautiful music. People came from near and far- Burundi, Maine, NYC- and Brooklyn. All enjoyed a spirit of caring and support for women we may never meet but whom we share our hope and belief that they will find success for themselves and their family as they learn to read, write and develop their business. If you want to support this program, just donate at  and let us know that is for the Burundi Literacy Program.

Projects in Burundi

So far I have been telling you about Ethiopia. There is much more to tell. But Africa is not a country. It is a continent. There are so many different countries and cultures, history and peoples. We am involved in two countries. Ethiopia and Burundi. Burundi is new to most people. It is a small country with about 5 million people in central Africa, near the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Rwanda. Burundi unfortunately also has experienced horrible genocide where hundreds of thousands of people have been killed. Today it is a democracy and trying to improve the standard of living of some of the world’s most poorest. We at h² Empower have been involved in three projects there.

Firstly through the generosity of members of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington, there are now 5 students, who are orphans, who now have a 4 year scholarships to go to a University in the capital, Bujumbura and one partial scholarship. We are very happy about that these bright but destitute young people who now have a bright future. They will not only help themselves but theriwhole family.

Secondly, there are many refugees and people with no way for people to earn a living. Many are homeless and jobless or have to support family members who are orphans. That is why we facilitated getting support for a microloan program so that now 27 people can start their own small business and earn a living. Now these individuals have an opportunity to support themselves and develop a new life.

Thirdly, h2 empower has supported, with the help of a grant from the  UU women's Federation, a literacy class for people who are illiterate and who are involved in the microloan project. Last year two classes were held in the north and south Bujumbura so that 80 people had a chance to learn to read, write, count, and apply their skills to their business. This program was very successful. Some learned skills enough to continue on their own. Some need to stay in school and some of the new microloan recipients need  this class.

h² empower and The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington are having a dinner and concert: Soundscapes for Africa on November 5 to raise funds to start the literacy class again this year for those who need it. For more information and tickets check out bit.ly/qZX4m .   I hope you can help us empower these hardworking and yet very vulnerable people of Burundi. Your support can make a huge difference.

 Fulgence, the Director, talking with a member of the literacy class

Why?

 There is nothing like the smile of the children in Ethiopia. And they are always smiling. When you look at my pictures, you see everyone smiling. That is not for the camera. That is for real. The children smile when they see a stranger and come up to greet you. The children smile when they ask you what you are doing there- always curious. The children smile in thankfulness that they are alive and they know very clearly where they belong and what they want – an education. There is something very powerful in knowing your family’s roots and knowing you have a place in the history of its people.

The children work as hard as the adults- walking to school for miles, many with no shoes, many with no or not much breakfast and no food program awaiting them. And then working on their farm when they get home. They walk over fields and farms, over creeks and past villages. For some, the school is so far they can’t even go to it. But still they are eager to learn. They know that education is the key to their future. If they can become educated they will not have to work on a farm. If they can get educated they can have a job with a salary and support themselves and their family. If they can get educated they have skills to learn new information and improve their lives. So often the children teach the parents since most of the parents in the rural area are illiterate and most of Ethiopia is rural.

When I see these children and their hopes and dreams, I realize that I have to do something. I can’t possibly solve all their problems. But I can’t just go home and forget either. As I see our children here hoping a big yellow school bus to travel a mile to school, I see the image of young children walking alone with their one “exercise book” in their hand, walking steadily and determined to go to school. When I see young toddlers playing with books and my granddaughter reading before going to kindergarten, I want to give those opportunities to the children in Ethiopia. When I see people reading on the train, buying books and Kindles in the book stores, leafing through magazines at the doctor’s office, I want to spur on a culture of reading, sharing the excitement of experiencing new ideas, places, people and concepts with people who have a meaningful firm tradition but no exposure to additional knowledge to help them solve their own problems. Each life is important. I can’t help but think that one of those children may discover something great, that one of those children may lead others to new solutions and great achievements. So I have to try. I hope you can come along in this journey.