Completed Projects


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 helped 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 were 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.


Despite some delay caused by heavy rain the building project is almost finished.

Photos of completed housing to follow


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 funded the refurbishment of nine classrooms. The classrooms had dirt floors and there was very little light. The desks and benches were crudely fabricated.

The project which started in August 2008 is now completed. The classrooms have now concrete floors and equipped with new desks and chairs. Windows and doors have been replaced and the external walls have been rendered.