For the first time since its founding, the president of our non-profit organization, Mr. Kidane Habte has recently visited Ethiopia and delivered school supplies gathered from our generous donors to Deaf children located in three different cities in Ethiopia. The schools visited include Adama (aka Nazreth), ENAD Co-Action preschool in Addis Ababa and another school for the Deaf located in Gambella city in the Gambella region.
The visit was also aimed at closely observing what significant challenges the Deaf students face due to lack of access to educational resources and support at their respective schools and getting a better understanding regarding the needs of those schools in order to improve the quality of education that they provide the deaf kids with.
Besides that, there were several objectives that SEDC laid out for this visit as follows:
- To deliver donated school supplies to deaf children in select schools for the Deaf.
- To meet with our country representatives and discuss areas and regions that need more focus.
- To observe the quality of education provided to deaf children in the region.
- To identify opportunities for future support and collaboration with other local organizations.
During his visit to Ethiopia, the president of the non-profit organization engaged in the following activities:
- Met with local school directors and educators to understand the challenges mostly faced by the students and teachers in the areas.
- Distributed donated school supplies, including notebooks, pencils, backpacks and balls to deaf children in Adama/Nazret, Addis Ababa and Gambella.
- Observed the quality of education provided to deaf children in a school for the deaf in Gambella.
- Connected with local organizations to identify opportunities for future support and collaboration.
The visit resulted in the following outcomes:
- The donated school supplies motivated the Deaf kids to stay fond of learning in particular and inspired the teachers in general to keep brightening up the future of Deaf kids knowing that they got helping hands with much-needed resources for improving the teaching-learning experience.
- The president of our non-profit organization gained a better understanding of the challenges faced by deaf children in the regions outside of the capital city after visiting and talking with the stakeholders in person.
- The visit helped to raise awareness of the needs of deaf children in those locations and highlighted the attempts being done by our non-profit organization to support their education.
The visit to Ethiopia by the president of the non-profit organization was a first of its kind with significant outcomes achieved in terms of delivering donated school supplies, engaging with local educators, and identifying opportunities for future support and collaboration. The visit highlighted the importance of supporting the education of deaf children in Ethiopia and the impact that such support can have on their lives. There will be more updates to this story.