The summer school finished with a blast last Friday and there is now a lull for the pupils before the new year on the 11^th( next Saturday ) and the restart of school on the 13^th !

It’s not the same for us however, since there is still a mountain of things to be sorted out ! – it is amazing that however early you start to get things ready and how many lists etc you write, there is always a mad rush at the end !

We are still finishing off trying to get a new van – which has proved to be much more expensive than we anticipated ! Still, it is essential since we are unable to control the fees that outside agencies ask for !

Student numbers aren’t too bad for this time of year – ( Culturally, Ethiopians are not planners and with the very relaxed pace of life in Nazareth then many don’t register their children at the school until the Friday of the first week of school ! ) a modest fifty four – so hope that we will have record numbers this year !

Two of the three volunteers have now left and Marianne ( the lady from Belgium ) is on holiday with Azeb ( the manager of the school ) down in the South of the country where the rainy season has minimal impact during the daytime. She leaves however on Sunday.

The good news is that we have another volunteer – Suzanne – from the UK who is coming on Friday to visit here friend in Addis Ababa and then will make her way across to Nazareth for the start of school on the 13^th. Although she is only staying for two weeks, she will make a difference and we are now searching for someone to start at the beginning of October ! – a few people have enquired but nothing concrete as yet – still, I’m sure that someone will turn up !