Hillcrest is building a high school in the Ethiopian village of Ottoro!
Update as of November 11th:
Students in Ottoro and Hosanna were recently allowed back in school. Specifically, 8th and 12th graders were allowed to come back 3 weeks ago because they need to study for a national test that was cancelled in early summer. That test will now be administered in December and will determine future post-secondary opportunities for our students.
Last week, students in 5th grade and higher were allowed to come back, following the approval of a plan that our staff developed and submitted to local officials. That plan includes sanitation protocols and a six-day class schedule that allows for the splitting of classrooms and appropriate distancing through additional Saturday classes. This also means our staff are working extra hours to keep our communities safe.
While we don't know when the younger grades will be allowed to come back to school, we do know that the school calendar will now extend well into the summer, perhaps as late as the end of August 2021.
Here are some photos that were taken last week in Hosanna. Of course, everyone is excited to have some sort of normalcy after 7 months of nationwide lock-downs. Community spread appears to be under control for the moment and serious cases or fatalities have been minimal in southern Ethiopia.
Please continue to pray for safety during the resumption of school activities. In addition, Ethiopia is now embroiled in a difficult military engagement in the northern region of Tigray against former leaders who wish to overthrow the current Ethiopian administration. Please pray that justice would be served and that the conflict would end quickly.
Students in Ottoro and Hosanna were recently allowed back in school. Specifically, 8th and 12th graders were allowed to come back 3 weeks ago because they need to study for a national test that was cancelled in early summer. That test will now be administered in December and will determine future post-secondary opportunities for our students.
Last week, students in 5th grade and higher were allowed to come back, following the approval of a plan that our staff developed and submitted to local officials. That plan includes sanitation protocols and a six-day class schedule that allows for the splitting of classrooms and appropriate distancing through additional Saturday classes. This also means our staff are working extra hours to keep our communities safe.
While we don't know when the younger grades will be allowed to come back to school, we do know that the school calendar will now extend well into the summer, perhaps as late as the end of August 2021.
Here are some photos that were taken last week in Hosanna. Of course, everyone is excited to have some sort of normalcy after 7 months of nationwide lock-downs. Community spread appears to be under control for the moment and serious cases or fatalities have been minimal in southern Ethiopia.
Please continue to pray for safety during the resumption of school activities. In addition, Ethiopia is now embroiled in a difficult military engagement in the northern region of Tigray against former leaders who wish to overthrow the current Ethiopian administration. Please pray that justice would be served and that the conflict would end quickly.
Update as of August 11th:
Ethiopia is currently in the midst of the rainy season, so progress has been slow. However, the ceilings are installed as well as doors and window frames. They are starting to plan for the room furnishings. Current expectation due to COVID is that Ethiopia won't open schools until November. But we haven't received the official word on that yet. Check out the newest photos below. The person posing in the photo is Nega Megersa, our new Country Director effective July 1st.
Ethiopia is currently in the midst of the rainy season, so progress has been slow. However, the ceilings are installed as well as doors and window frames. They are starting to plan for the room furnishings. Current expectation due to COVID is that Ethiopia won't open schools until November. But we haven't received the official word on that yet. Check out the newest photos below. The person posing in the photo is Nega Megersa, our new Country Director effective July 1st.
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