Back to school in Ethiopia during Covid 19
Tax deductible
A well-known African proverb says, “It takes a village to raise a child”.
The Ethiopian School Readiness Initiative (ESRI) * was founded in 2007 in New York by a group of medical, education and other philanthropic individuals to provide disadvantaged preschool children in Ethiopia with the tools to succeed in school and enable them to fulfill their natural potential and lift themselves from a future of perpetual poverty.
ESRI (www.ethiopianschoolready.org) and The School Readiness Initiative (SRI) (our licensed NGO affiliate in Ethiopia) under the leadership of Executive Director, Dr. Menelik Desta has developed a free access, comprehensive preschool program in partnership with the Regional Bureaus of Education in Ethiopia. The preschools program began in Addis Ababa and has expanded into 5 Regions throughout the Country. The program has proven to be very successful due to the enthusiasm, energy, intelligence and good will of all stakeholders (Ethiopian children, teachers, parents, education officials as well as our generous US donors and ESRI members).
Since ESRI’s inception more than 65,000 disadvantaged preschool children (ages 3 to 6) have been educated in the program. Teachers report that over 60% can read by the time they enter the first grade. They continue to succeed in school and many go on to graduate High School. The ESRI/SRI program has also created a successful branch empowering the mothers of the children to open small businesses and generate income.
When the Covid 19 pandemic reached Ethiopia in March 2020, all schools in Ethiopia including SRI pre-schools closed. The Government is planning to reopen the school system in October 2020. ESRI/SRI will have 7500 preschool children throughout the countryside awaiting reopening this October.
In order to maximize the health and safety of the children and teachers, we plan to introduce safety measures to help prevent viral spread during school. The Ethiopian Regional Bureaus of Education are unable to provide masks, sanitizer or soap for the children or the teachers and the families cannot afford to provide their own. Some schools do not even have clean water for drinking and washing. The estimated cost for personal protective equipment (PPE) including sanitizer, soap and masks for our 7500 preschool children and 150 teachers for the school year is $53, 000 US or $7.66 US per person for the year.
Given these circumstances, we are appealing to your generosity and the generosity of the society at large to raise the funds to allow the ESRI children to return to school safely. We know that we are not alone in believing that education and health are the absolute prerequisites for impoverished and disadvantaged individuals and countries to emerge from poverty.
We appeal to your sense of justice, compassion and generosity to help us raise $53,000 which will allow the disadvantaged Ethiopian preschoolers to return to school in October 2020 in a safe way and continue their journey toward a better and safer future.
· Donations to ESRI/SRI are made via KBFUS - Friends of SRI –Ethiopia fund at KBFUS, a 501(c)(3) organization.
https://www.ethiopianschoolready.org
https://kbfus.org/about-us/legal-financial-information/
The Ethiopian School Readiness Initiative (ESRI) * was founded in 2007 in New York by a group of medical, education and other philanthropic individuals to provide disadvantaged preschool children in Ethiopia with the tools to succeed in school and enable them to fulfill their natural potential and lift themselves from a future of perpetual poverty.
ESRI (www.ethiopianschoolready.org) and The School Readiness Initiative (SRI) (our licensed NGO affiliate in Ethiopia) under the leadership of Executive Director, Dr. Menelik Desta has developed a free access, comprehensive preschool program in partnership with the Regional Bureaus of Education in Ethiopia. The preschools program began in Addis Ababa and has expanded into 5 Regions throughout the Country. The program has proven to be very successful due to the enthusiasm, energy, intelligence and good will of all stakeholders (Ethiopian children, teachers, parents, education officials as well as our generous US donors and ESRI members).
Since ESRI’s inception more than 65,000 disadvantaged preschool children (ages 3 to 6) have been educated in the program. Teachers report that over 60% can read by the time they enter the first grade. They continue to succeed in school and many go on to graduate High School. The ESRI/SRI program has also created a successful branch empowering the mothers of the children to open small businesses and generate income.
When the Covid 19 pandemic reached Ethiopia in March 2020, all schools in Ethiopia including SRI pre-schools closed. The Government is planning to reopen the school system in October 2020. ESRI/SRI will have 7500 preschool children throughout the countryside awaiting reopening this October.
In order to maximize the health and safety of the children and teachers, we plan to introduce safety measures to help prevent viral spread during school. The Ethiopian Regional Bureaus of Education are unable to provide masks, sanitizer or soap for the children or the teachers and the families cannot afford to provide their own. Some schools do not even have clean water for drinking and washing. The estimated cost for personal protective equipment (PPE) including sanitizer, soap and masks for our 7500 preschool children and 150 teachers for the school year is $53, 000 US or $7.66 US per person for the year.
Given these circumstances, we are appealing to your generosity and the generosity of the society at large to raise the funds to allow the ESRI children to return to school safely. We know that we are not alone in believing that education and health are the absolute prerequisites for impoverished and disadvantaged individuals and countries to emerge from poverty.
We appeal to your sense of justice, compassion and generosity to help us raise $53,000 which will allow the disadvantaged Ethiopian preschoolers to return to school in October 2020 in a safe way and continue their journey toward a better and safer future.
· Donations to ESRI/SRI are made via KBFUS - Friends of SRI –Ethiopia fund at KBFUS, a 501(c)(3) organization.
https://www.ethiopianschoolready.org
https://kbfus.org/about-us/legal-financial-information/
Fundraising team (3)
Cristina Drafta
Organizer
New York, NY
King Baudouin Foundation United States
Beneficiary
Ilene Fish
Team member
Hannah Sfreddo
Team member