Muddy Mountain School
Aim
Earth floors turn to mud in Ethiopian schools, we need to concrete them, so these children can be taught and have a safe place to learn.
The project is in a place called Gush Koto in the Gurage Mountains of Ethiopia and school children have an unusual problem.
This small village is so far from anywhere the parents decided to build the school themselves. They built 10 class rooms, for the 300 children and some staff accommodation. The local authority then provided some teachers.
The school is situated 3439 meters above sea level on the edge of the rift valley escarpment that drops sharply away close to the school. The class rooms have a corrugated iron roof and the walls are made of a lattice of strips of juniper and rendered with a mud straw plaster.
The children sit on homemade benches and desks and often learn by rote as there are not enough books and learning material.
The biggest challenge however is the mud floor. There was simply not enough money for the parents to concrete the floors of the class room.
When it rains the floor becomes wet and then waterlogged. The children have basic plastic shoes and sandals which become quickly encased in mud. The mud causes a painful rash on the children’s feet and ankles and the infection quickly spreads around the class affecting everyone.
No one wants to go to school to pick up a nasty foot sore. Some children are walking for over an hour to attend school in the first place.
We thought we would help, it is simple enough with some sand and cement and a little skill to concrete the school floor. The parents have offered to do the labouring work. We will purchase and transport the material to this remote place and hire a craftsman to oversee the work.
Six thousand five hundred pounds has already been raised and we are going to make a start. It costs about £1500 per class room.
Our aim is to have this done before the children go back to school after the Ethiopia Christmas on the 7th of January.
Please help!
This project closed unsuccessfully on 14th January 2018