THANK YOU DUNCAN AND SARA!!

At long last a little period of semi rest now that the summer school has finished. The summer school as a whole went really well, despite there being 2 rather than the needed 3 volunteers due to visa difficulties. However, Duncan and Sara just made the best of the situation and got on with it, thinking of new and fascinating ways to teach a wide range of interests and abilities with very limited supplies.

The teachers really appreciated their input, with it being great to have the experience of different techniques and approaches – all of which reiterate the fact that rote learning and copying from the board isn’t the way forward – which is great reinforcement since however much we train them and tell them and support them, since this is the training and experience that they have had, then inevitably that is the system that they slip back into. Yet, with more and more reinforcement and exposure, it is hoped that confidence will be boosted!

Now that the children and teachers are resting, it is time to race on full ahead with preparing the school for the new school year which starts on about the 16^th September after the Ethiopian new year on the 11^th September.

The main thing to do is to sort out the tables and chairs. Although some of them have been repaired thus far, it was a case of working around the children. For many of the chairs it is a simple case of re fixing the chair backs which seem to fall off quite readily. We anticipate however, a severe lack of tables for the New Year since the grade 4 class which just left consisted of 9 students only. The grade 3 class coming up consists of 26 which means that new tables and chairs are required. The great thing is that we have had donations for the repairs and this has given us huge assistance for our aim of getting one chair and a space at a table for all pupils on the very first day of school!

The tax is the other huge job at the moment. The government seem to be a little short of money this year so have dramatically increased taxes which bear no relationship to the amount of income, with small shops which have an income of about 100 pounds a month being charged a thousand pounds in tax and thus being forced to close and sell their items simply to pay the bill! As usual, we are in the negative when it comes to profit. This is something that the government simply cannot understand, not believing that we are running the school to provide a service for the community not to make money, meaning that they charge us what they think we have made! It doesn’t matter how carefully we keep records throughout the year, showing them receipts for everything purchased and the receipts from the parents that have paid school fees, they simply disregard it all and make up a number! We are hoping against hope that the number they make up this year is a low one and the tax is reasonable – but it is very worrying!

On a personal front, we are having a bit of a problem since we had planned to move into Dawits mother’s house in Nazareth as a starting point. Since we will have no income when we move to Nazareth, then we are working on a very tight budget. We are hoping that there will be enough money this year at the school for us both to be paid a minimal wage so that we can keep going, but until we know the student numbers in September when school starts and then receive the first month of payments we will have nothing! As a result, we planned to temporarily move into the house and for Dawits mother to move into the room at the bottom of the garden.

Dawit was half way through putting in a ceiling at the room at the bottom of the garden when the owner of the house came round and told them that the house was to be sold and that we need to be out after 30 days!

We had a good cheap rent on the house and it was a 2 minute walk from the school and was perfect for us all! It is the house where the children first took their first steps and where Dawit and I started our married life – it holds a lot of wonderful memories and although it is only bricks and mortar (well – mud actually!) I was attached to it!

This means that we need to find something else which will inevitably cost at least twice as much , not really knowing where it will be ( since we do need to stay in a convenient location since the house is used for the volunteers ) and then there will be costs of painting the house etc  when we move in ! The chances of finding something where there is a separate area where Dawits mother can live is minimal, which means that we will all have to live together in one house for now ! Although Dawits mother is wonderful, it is not the best thing for a family to live with a mother in law –however nice they are!

Still, I suppose these things come to try us! – Long for a nice smooth period where there don’t seem to be any disasters and things just tick along nicely! – Perhaps next Ethiopian New Year – so roll on Ethiopian year 2004!

Welcome to the roundup of English Alive 2010 – 2011 !

 This year was a very busy one, with lots of very exciting changes and a very successful future to look forward to.

The year was off to a flying start with the highest ever number of pupils – a whopping 197 (up from about 150 last year) This meant that there was an initial scramble to have additional tables and chairs made, although we couldn’t afford too many new ones so for some of the grade classes it was a case of putting one child on the end of each table rather than making new ones.

For the nursery class, we had to move some of the children to the library which had to be converted into a classroom to hold all of the pupils, with the timetable being totally rearranged so that the library could still be used whenever necessary.

With so many pupils coming from the outskirts of Nazaret, a school bus was imperative, with Fraser ( a previous volunteer) kindly donating the last little bit when our collected funds had run out.

Along with the influx of pupils came a senior manager – Adanech, who has over 20 years teaching experience. With impressive ideas and a definite skill in coordinating, Adanech soon settled into the grade compound, organising the new systems for the year and dramatically improving the discipline system with the introduction of the star of the week – a board in the playground where each week a pupils name from each class is displayed. This causes great pride in the weekly winner and gives each child a real incentive to try their very best.

For the grade classes, a systemic phonics system was set up to try to address the current reading problem that pupils have, with this being reinforced with daily reading sessions for the younger ones. Our book collection was increased this year through a very kind donation by Troy from the USA meaning that although there are still only limited books, everyone can have access to a variety and find something that they want to read.

   Educationally, perhaps our biggest achievement this year was the formation of a I.T. suite with thanks to Fraser and family. Although basic, currently consisting of two computers, no printer or internet access, this was a huge leap into the technological age for the school and will provide pupils will good basic skills  which will eventually help them with future employment.

We have been incredibly lucky this year with our volunteers, having an almost steady stream of people, all willing and enthusiastic and offering varying areas of expertise. We always marvel at how kind people are to leave their luxuries behind, jump on a plane and face the hardships of Nazaret, with its limited water supply , power cuts and dry heat. However, if you ask volunteers, then they would answer that the positives of two hundred smiling happy faces each and every day , the thirst for knowledge ( from both children and teachers ) and the general integration into Ethiopian life more than makes up for these inconveniences .

On a personal level, the biggest change this year was at long last giving up my job. As followers of the blog would have been glaringly aware, my job in Addis Ababa at a local school was frustrating and poorly paid, with the ever increasing needs of English Alive compounding this frustration. As a result, on 1^st January I gave up the job and focussed all of my energies on English Alive.

This additional time meant that at long last I could concentrate on making the school a charity since this would significantly increase our chances of obtaining grants. We had looked at the process on and off for several years, but never seemed to have                                                                                              time to fully complete the forms and get the process underway. However, in March we were successful and the charity Ethiopian Schools for the Poor was officially formed.

Once charitable status had been achieved, the process of fundraising started, which proved to be an incredibly complicated job ! On my own it would have been an impossible task, yet we were lucky enough to have a volunteer who was a fundraising expert – Paula from the USA , who guided me through every minute detail and made a steady path for me to follow.

As a result, we now have an ongoing sponsorship programme in which individual pupils can be sponsored for a year for £ 140 / $ 227 thereby making a huge difference to the lives of so many needy children. Many children are now sponsored and this has been backed up with numerous donations of items and cash, enabling English Alive to change a maximum number of children’s lives for the better.

Through the sponsorship programme, children such as Mikias have now been given hope for the future.

Mikias – aged 8, currently in grade 2.

We first made contact with Mikias when his very old grandmother came to the school in a desperate state. Both his mother and father had died of aids, as well as many other members of his family, leaving his grandmother as the only living relative. Too old                                                                                                      to work, Mikias’ grandmother was faced with a desperate situation of either putting Mikias in an orphanage to receive an education or gaining a full scholarship. Through gaining a sponsorship at English Alive Academy were Mikias has been educated at the school as well as receiving free  textbooks , school  uniform and transportation.

Mikias’ future is uncertain. With the old grandmother rapidly aging with the additional pressures of attempting to feed and  clothe  the two of them, we can only hope that she does not pass  away before Mikias is old enough to look after himself , with there                                                                                                                               being a desperate need for Mikias to work hard and gain an excellent education at English Alive Academy , so that in the future he is able to get a decent job and support himself.

However, there are still hundreds of children out there struggling, so please be aware that the sponsorship programme is very much up and running – constantly looking for those who want their money to make a real difference.

Our new website was launched this Spring ( www.englishaliveacademy.org ) which was very kindly designed by Paul who managed to get a professional website up and running                                      despite the limited input from the Ethioipan side due to the difficulties in sending photographs and files.

This is backed up with the ongoing blog (www.englishaliveacademy.blogspot.com ) which is kindly run by Julie from the USA and the new facebook site – Ethiopian Schools for the Poor - English Alive Academy – which has 173 members and is ever growing as well as our online donation page - www.thebiggive.org.uk

Thus, with an ever increasing range of events such as the car draw                                                             ( www.smallcahritycardraw.co.uk ), parachute jumping (www.skydive-zone.co.uk) and a forthcoming music festival in Ghent, English Alive Academy is striving forward in leaps and bounds and we look forward to yet another successful year in 2011/12. But of course, much of our success is due to the ongoing interest and support of many people - many thanks to all of you – we appreciate it beyond all.

Ethiopian Schools for the Poor - English Alive Academy
Registered Charity Number 1140681

www.englishaliveacademy.org