Ethiopia
In ETHIOPIA Batonga is:
granting scholarships: 12 girls who are AIDS orphans are receiving support and scholarships for higher education. They are among more than 600 children who have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS and who are receiving community-based care and support through an Ethiopian NGO called Hope for Children. This NGO works in both Addis Ababa and Babile. The 12 girls receiving Batonga scholarships for post-secondary school education are receiving support for tuition, school supplies and mentoring.
In-country NGO partner: Hope for Children.
Background
Ethiopia, with a population of almost 75 million, is the second most populous country in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of the world’s oldest continuous civilizations, but it is also one of the world’s poorest. At US $130, Ethiopia’s per capita GDP is only about a fifth of the Sub-Saharan average according to the World Bank.
Ethiopia is unique among African countries. Known today as the birthplace of humanity with the discovery of a 4 million year-old hominid skull, it has had an unbroken monarchial line going back 5000 years (with a brief break during WWII) that lasted until the last King was executed in 1982. While there were occasional upheavals throughout its long history, it is the political instability of more recent times that was the direct cause of the current poor infrastructure and educational attainment levels.
Ethiopia consists of 11 regions, and the central government has encouraged regional and local authorities to take on a greater role in the education system. Ethiopia’s efforts to increase school enrollment and reach the UN’s Millennium Development Goals have produced mixed results. The country’s poor learning environment is reflected in student-teacher ratios exceeding 100 to 1 and single classes with as many as 200 children jammed together on a dirt floor. This situation has worsened since compulsory school fees were dropped and enrollments increased, because the supply of new trained teachers and newly built classrooms has not kept pace with the increased number of students.
Other factors contributing to teacher shortages and school access include HIV/AIDS, which has struck down many teachers and parents and required some AIDS orphans to drop out of school. Rates in some regions are thought to be as high as 20 percent of the population living with HIV/AIDS.
Batonga’s efforts in Ethiopia will focus on both school construction as well as scholarships for girls, and will include AIDS orphans.
