Opal Foundation in Africa
Opal Africa has been set up by The Opal Foundation to make a big difference to the lives of children and their families. The Foundation has pledged £k100 p.a. for the next 5 years to improve the education health and life chances of Children. This will include expenditure on Schools, Water and sanitation, health centres and micro enterprises. The first £k30 has been awarded to two projects in Ethiopia, with another project to be located in a remote community, the location and details of which are expected shortly. Opal Africa intends to at least double the amount of money available by raising matched funding and partnership contributions.
The two projects which have received funding are:
Project 1: Housing Development for Families Affected by Leprosy
The leprosy communities (189 families) occupy two sites in Dessie and one site in Combolcha, 25km away. One site is used as a rubbish dump by the wider community and the other is on land adjacent to a cemetery. The small mud houses have been fabricated crudely; on one of the sites the roofs are drafted predominately from recycled plastic. There are no formal facilities for sanitation and no electricity for either site. Water is sourced from a supply shared by the community.
As a community they are isolated from the general population and within such an unstable and substandard living environment, these people are severely limited in their ability to gain work and support themselves. Children resort to begging and have little education. Their life chances are extremely poor.
In partnership with the Local Association of Persons Affected by Leprosy and the Municipality,
Opal Foundation will help to fund the construction of 12 chika (mud plastering) houses with 3 rooms plus latrines for destitute families living in Dessie.
The Municipality has already allocated 12 plots of land to some of the families so they can be integrated with the mainstream communities.
Future homeowners will be required to contribute to the process, supplying labour and taking responsibility of the quality of their own home. The local association is currently providing an education program in coordination with NGO’s specialising in leprosy to overcome the discrimination these people currently face so that current attitudes can be shifted ensuring a successful integration of the community, including integration of children into education.
Providing housing within the mainstream community will make a tremendous difference to the lives of these families.
It will take about 6 months to complete the housing project and again local labour will be used...
Project 2: To Improve Classrooms Facilities - Karagutu School - Ethiopia
Karagutu Elementary School is located in Dessie, 250 miles North East of Addis Ababa with a population of 130,000 people. The city is cramped in a small valley between the lowlands and the plateau. Approximately one third of the population is migrant from the neighbouring rural communities.
The school has presently 913 pupils and 13 teaching staff. Due to a lack of classrooms only half of the local children attend school, the classrooms are overcrowded and in need of repair. The Ethiopian education system operates a policy where the cost of any new buildings must be met by parents. The parents simply cannot afford to pay for these buildings.
Opal Foundation will fund the refurbishment of nine classrooms. The classrooms have dirt floors and there is very little light. The desks and benches have been crudely fabricated.
These classrooms will not only benefit the children but will also help the community by providing local employment.
The project should be completed by the start of the new school year 2008.
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