Skip to main content

Update From Tigray, Ethiopia ...

... For those following our efforts in the Horn of Africa... I Bring Good News:

Admin Block and Classroom Block 90% Complete
The Kalina school project funded by Saint David’s School is on the verge of completion.

Located in one of the more remote districts of Tigray, Ethiopia, known as Raya-Azebo, The Kalina school is 120 kilometers from Mekelle, the capital of Tigray.

The first primary school in Kalina, known as a dass school, served 232 children, of which 47% were girls, in the 2012/13 academic year.
A dass school is an open air instructional space--no roof, no walls, no water. The dass was the beginning phases of developing a formal "school" program in Kalina in preparation for the second cycle: The Saint David's Project.  

The Saint David’s funded project is comprised of one building block with four classrooms, another building block with three administrative and resource center rooms, and two additional smaller blocks of dry latrines, one for girls and one for boys.



Boys and Girls Latrines
Approximately 90% of the construction work was completed as of the end of August 2013, and the Kalina children already have access to potable water.  This is huge!  In addition to all the benefits of a proper school, we are providing the community with the tremendous benefits of a well too.

The academic year in Tigray is scheduled to begin in late September.  Kalina in on track to be ready for that day!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

NE Patriot Tom Brady at Saint David’s

Last night, Saint David’s was honored to have one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, four time Superbowl champion and three-time MVP winner Tom Brady, as the guest speaker for our Alumni Parents Council Lecture Series. Tom, who is the father of one of our Saint David's boys, addressed a standing-room-only audience in Hyman Hall comprised of our eighth graders, alumni, alumni parents and faculty. Friendly, introspective, witty, and wise, he directed his talk to the delighted eighth graders in the front of the room, and focused on the topic of leadership. “You are the young men and leaders of Saint David’s,” he noted. Tom debunked the perception that leaders are born not made, and credited his leadership abilities to “standing up to and facing fears” and to “cultivating a mental strength,” which he cited as “more important than being physically strong.” He also stressed the importance of working hard, honoring teamwork, believing in oneself and being a good lis...

Fascinating Art Talk by Michelle Marder Kamhi at Grandparents Event

Yesterday evening, independent scholar and critic Michelle Marder Kamhi ( www.mmkamhi.com ), co-editor with husband Louis Torres of Aristos , an online review of arts; author of Who Says That's Art? A Commonsense View of the Visual Arts ; and grandmother of two Saint David's boys, gave a thought provoking talk on art for our grandparent community. An advocate of objective standards in arts scholarship and criticism, Ms. Kamhi focused her talk on the ways in which art critics such as Clement Greenberg promoted the shift from representational art to abstraction. Kamhi argues that the abstract and post-modern art prevalent today, which often requires explanation by docents in order to be understood, goes against art's purpose. Taking issue with Greenberg's contention that representation is an expendable convention of painting, she quoted the late art critic John Canaday: "Art is the tangible expression of the intangible values that men live by." ...

Digital Universe Unit With AMNH-Hayden Planetarium Kicks Off

The second year of our unique partnership with the American Museum of Natural History-Hayden Planetarium kicked off on Friday when the sixth grade had their first session of the Digital Universe unit. The session included a private viewing at the planetarium in which boys were able to explore the entire universe. They and their teachers were invited to view the show from the vantage point of the floor in the center of the round theater, staring up into the apex of the dome. What an amazing perspective! Museum educator and astro-visualization expert Nathan Belomy took the boys on a tour of the observable universe, allowing them to get a feel for the scale of distance and size in the universe. In a fun activity related to scale, the boys set down  a volleyball (representing the sun) at 79th Street, and walked for blocks down Columbus avenue with the planets in our solar system represented by a variety of smaller objects – a cupcake sprinkle, a marble – predicting and then m...