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 team on the spot 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 March 2020 situation update.
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 Mihret's 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 Children in the Cloud team managed the Children in the Cloud managed emergency food aid for 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 (September 22-24), we offer you this virtual visit of the construction site of the school of Sona ! For the record, let us recall that in 2019 2 buildings with 8 classrooms in total, and two sanitary blocks for girls and boys were built. 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 everything possible to raise 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 Switzerland. We would like to thank them warmly for their support!
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 Simien into a severe economic crisis. The Foundation stands 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 allow them to continue their studies in town, in Janamora or Debark, in a boarding school. We will tell you more about this later.
For the time being, we still need your loyal support and we thank you in advance for helping us save these children!