October 2020 Interim Report
Faithful to its will of transparency, the Children in the Cloud Foundation is pleased to propose to you to read its intermediate report of October 2020 is available. This report gives an account of the latest progress of the Sona school site. It also gives details on the projects for the coming period, which are currently being developed.
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Download the October 2020 activity report
Construction of the Sona School
Interim report
October 2020
"STAY THE COURSE, KEEP THE HELM. "
Work is progressing, despite the difficulties
The COVID 19 health crisis, even if for the moment it has not hit African countries and Ethiopia in particular too hard, has nevertheless had a strong impact on the progress of the work. Indeed, the traffic restrictions put in place by the Ethiopian government have made it difficult for craftsmen and contractors to obtain supplies of materials and access to the Sona school construction site. The social tensions that the country has been experiencing for the past few months are of course not helping matters...
The pandemic has forced us to cancel our spring trip and the autumn trip already seems to be compromised. So we have to rely 100% on our localteam and especially on its director Mihret Mitiku and his assistants Agere and Bayu. Fortunately, the team works perfectly well and ensure an effective follow-up, which we had already mentioned in our
A moderate delay in view of the context
Supply difficulties, especially in cement, have penalized the construction schedule and caused an estimated delay of three months to date. This means that the buildings will be delivered by the end of 2020 instead of the start of the school year in September. The addition of 15 housing units for teachers to the original schedule has also added to the complexity of the project, but for a good reason! The teachers of Sona follow and support, as much as possible, this construction site!
In any case, the Foundation Board expresses its confidence in and great gratitude to the Mihret team, which is able to face the difficulties encountered with professionalism and dedication. And successfully so, since this three-month delay is very reasonable - and has not generated any additional costs - given the magnitude of the challenges that have been and will be met. And let's remember that independently of the school works, the local team of Children in the Cloud managed the emergency food aid for the families in difficulty in Sona.
The construction site of the school of Sona - remote visit!
Thanks to the photos taken by Mihret during his visit last week (from September 22 to 24), we offer you this virtual visit of the Sona school construction site! For the record, let's recall that in 2019 were built 2 buildings with 8 classrooms in total, and two sanitary blocks for girls and boys. And that the current construction site includes an "administrative" building (teachers' office, infirmary, community room), a study library and accommodation for 15 teachers.
More ambitious than ever!
These difficulties have not only not affected our morale, but on the contrary, have stimulated our motivation and strengthened our determination! From a distance, we are closely monitoring the project to support our local team. In Europe, we are doing our utmost to collect funds - more than ever necessary - as for example with the great success of the exhibition of Ignacio Larrain's photos in Divonne-les-bains, the 1000 CHF allocated by the Ambassador Club of the Riviera Vaudoise and many other donors in France and in Switzerland. May they be warmly thanked here!
New needs are appearing, whether linked to the crisis or not. In addition to food aid, the total and brutal cessation of tourist activity has plunged the Simien into a severe economic crisis. The Foundation is standing by its employees and partners to provide them with the help they need to survive. In addition, a sponsorship program for the most deserving children will be set up to enable them to continue their studies in the city, in Janamora or Debark, in boarding school. Similarly, the construction of buildings to accommodate high school students (grades 9 to 12) is under study according to several hypotheses.
Having you by our side is a great opportunity and the good results we are measuring today owe you a lot. The entire Foundation Board and the families of Sona wish to express their gratitude and hope to be able to count on you to meet the challenges ahead!
Montreux - Grenoble on 30 October 2020,
The Foundation Board
The Board of Trustees of Children in the Cloud would like to thank all the donors for their continuous support during the last few months, despite the difficulties of the health crisis that is hitting Europe as well as Ethiopia. This interim activity report is intended to prove that where there is a will, there is a way.
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