The global pandemic of Covid19 has, of course, an impact on the Foundation's activities. In Europe or in Ethiopia, we owe you transparency on how we are currently operating and what steps we have taken and will take. Overall and for the time being, the progress of the construction of the Sona school is little affected.
Good news first!
The Ethiopian government agency in charge of NGOs (ChSA - Charity and Societies Agency) renewed approval of the Foundation Children in the Cloud. This is excellent news, hard won by our local representative Mirhet Mitiku because it is so difficult to obtain this approval.
Impact of the epidemic in Europe
Switzerland and France, like the rest of Europe, are bearing the full brunt of the impact of the pandemic and the confinement imposed by the authorities. As part of our responsibility, we have naturally decided to postpone the trip to Sona initially scheduled for the second half of April. The aim is to avoid any risk of the virus spreading.
Remote working tools, These tools, with the Foundation's employees as well as with its contractors and partners, are therefore of great importance. Fortunately, these tools were already used a lot thanks to the effort of equipment led by the Foundation for 2 years with its employees and partners in computers and smartphones. These efforts now seem particularly judicious and allow the Foundation to continue its work almost normally.
Impact in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is one of the countries still relatively untouched by the epidemic, but it is feared that it will spread there as elsewhere. Ethiopia's status as the headquarters of l'African Union and therefore a continental hub, and the large-scale movement of the world's population that accompanies it, should encourage the development of the pandemic in the short term. The isolation of Sona is fortunate from this point of view because, with the tourist season over, the spread of Covid19 is not certain.
Phase 3 construction site - which mainly comprises the administration/library block and teachers' accommodation - is underway and has been in full swing for the last 2 months since the end of the harvest season, which freed up a large amount of manpower.
Actions taken by the Foundation
Remote working measures have already been mentioned at the beginning of this article. All the members of the Foundation Board are committed to advancing the technical aspects of the project and supporting local players, employees and businesses.
Safety of people
The Foundation will ensure that its employees, partners and service providers are as well-equipped as possible to deal with the epidemic and the risk of contamination. A budget is available to purchase standard personal protective equipment such as masks, hydro-alcoholic gel, etc.
Securing supplies
The epidemic should have little or no impact on Sona because of its isolation. It should therefore be possible to complete the project, subject to the following conditions supply of materials (sand, cement, rubble, scrap metal, etc.). The priority is therefore to work quickly with Kedir Hassan, the company leading the project, to ensure that the materials are transported to Sona.
Securing financing
The strong volatility of Birr is generally on a downward trend, in line with the Ethiopian government's policy of competitive devaluation over the last 2 years. This policy is rather favourable to the work of the Foundation, as it increases purchasing power. However, since financial speculation is contrary to the principles of the Foundation, the money transfers between Switzerland and Ethiopia are now made in advance of requirements, both to secure the payment of service providers, salaries and taxes, and to protect against a sudden rise in the Birr exchange rate, which is always a possibility.
Move forward in spite of everything!
The fight against the pandemic and the safety of all is our priority. We can only fear the spread of the Coronavirus in countries like Ethiopia, which have very modest health systems. We are therefore keeping a very close eye on the development of the epidemic on the ground and, if necessary, we will not hesitate to suspend work on the school if this proves necessary. For the time being, we support the tireless efforts of those working on the ground in the heart of the Simien massif, who are working for the future of their children!
Thanks again to all of you for your support!