My name is Alex French. After graduating from college, I lived in Ethiopia as an intern for a humanitarian organization for six months. While there, I met a friend who took me to his village. With him on the back of my dirt bike, we navigated dirt roads for several miles to the dusty village of Gembeltu.

They must have known I’d be visiting because much of the village was waiting to greet me and the children sang to me. Then, to my surprise, the elders of the village formally asked if I could help build their children a school. The elementary school classes there are taught by unpaid teachers under the shade of a tree, without books, a chalkboard, or a roof to protect their students.

They promised to contribute their labor if I could return with the funds to build the school. I later met with the district head of education who assured me that if a school were built, the government would provide a small yearly budget and a modest salary for the teachers. 
 

So, building a school in Gembeltu is precisely what I intend to do. I have the help of my fiancé Kayla, a friend from college, Daniel Smith, and the supervision of a local non-profit, Engage Now Africa.  We are working together to raise the requisite funds. The building will be very simple and our budget includes plans for school construction, a latrine, books and uniforms.

 

     What I most enjoy about the project is that it was not my, or any other westerner's, idea. This was proposed to me in unison by the elders of the village. Their only interest is to further the opportunity of their children. With that being said, the men in this village have promised me that they will contribute themselves to the project if we can finance it. They will contribute some basic materials as well as labor. This aspect of beneficiary ownership is the most important element in a development project. These people know what it is they need to better their lives more than any industrialized world citizens ever could.

     Engage Now Africa has built many schools and has agreed to take on this project. They will be signing the contracts with the local government for the school to be built as early as this month. My best friend in Ethiopia, Degefa, will be responsible for the construction of the school. Degefa grew up in the same district as Gembeltu. He knows the merchants, government officials, and contractors in the area. He will be assembling a team of community members from Gembeltu to oversee the materials purchased and construction of the building.

     We also have a small team of volunteer university students who have been working very hard toward making this project a reality. We also have Engage Now Africa acting as our financial infrastructure. All of the money we have raised is being held by Engage Now until the money is transferred. They may begin wiring money over as early as this month to begin construction as we continue to fundraise.

     This school will make a difference. By creating an appropriate environment of education, the children attending this school will be more competitive. There are high rates of urbanization in Ethiopia. As a result, it is very likely that many of these children will grow up and move to urban cities. With very high unemployment rates in Ethiopia, it will be crucial that these children get a valuable education so that they can make a living in a positive way.

     After the construction of the school is complete, the responsibility of the school will be handed over the local government officials. This will mean that the teachers who have thus far been volunteering will begin to receive a monthly paycheck and the school will have a modest annual budget.

     What could be more appropriate than a project that was not initially proposed by westerners? People in this village came together because they knew that a foreigner was coming to their village. I, on the other hand, was simply exploring on my day off. They came together because they are monetarily poor, but they would like to invest in the future of their children. The elders said that if only we finance the school, they will do what they can to build it.

     To ensure sustainability we will be using a very simple local design for the school. Local contractors will build the school which will make repairs very manageable. Since the local government will be taking over responsibility for the school when it is completed, there will be an annual budget for any necessary repairs and improvements.

 

 

Alex was working in Ethiopia as an intern for the non-governmental organization Engage Now Africa. On one of Alex's days off he was invited into the village of Gembeltu where he found elementary school children meeting under the shade of a tree. The elders of Gembeltu asked Alex—and later his fiance Kayla—to raise funds for a schoolhouse. Though Alex and many others have been working to raise the funds for a schoolhouse, it should be emphasized that this project was not Alex's idea. It was the idea of the community and the elders of Gembeltu will have an active hand in the construction of this school.

Kayla is Alex French's fiance. Kayla's first experience with Gembeltu was through e-mail. Alex wrote to her telling her about his visit, and the elders request for a school. At that time Alex was unsure how to handle the request. In December, Kayla went to visit Alex, and he took her to Gembeltu. The children and elders were gathered under the tree where they hold class. Children presented Kayla and Alex with flowers, and the elders once again asked for help. They knew Kayla was a teacher, and expressed to her their beliefs about the importance of education, something they knew she would understand. At the end of the visit to the village, Kayla and Alex agreed together that they had to help these people, and would do whatever they could to get them a school. Five days later, Alex proposed to Kayla in Nechisar National Park.