Rainbows4Children

New nutrition programme for all children

MaxKathryn — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 06:39:45 +0000

We are delighted with the success of the new nutrition programme at the school. It started with this new school year. During the week the children get extra nutrition in the form of milk (cooked to sterilise it), boiled egg, banana and orange, orange drink or other local source of Vitamin C. The programme is a great success. Already we are noticing that many children are more attentive in class, and have brighter eyes and better skin condition. If there are any eggs or milk left over at the end of the day, it is never wasted. It is either given to some of the weaker students or to the teachers, who also often have poor diets and/or are hungry. This programme is being helped by a small Foundation in the US, although we are also hit by increasing food prices and so the project is costing more then we anticipated even 3 months ago! However the results are very worthwhile. the children still bring their own food for lunch, this programme is aimed to be a supplement and not a replacement. Another benefit is that we have recruited a mother of two children at the school to prepare the food, thereby creating a new job and helping another family.

If the 1st of the month is happy the whole month will be happy

MaxKathryn — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 07:02:52 +0000

Yesterday was the 1st of the month in the Ethiopian calendar. Every school day the kindergarten teachers have a coffee ceremony and anyone who wants to come along is invited. Usually there is a gathering of 12-15 teachers, cleaners and other staff. On the first of the month popcorn was served (usually reserved for honoured guests) and boiled corn as well. Delicious. Everyone was smiling and happy and then they explained. Coffee served on the 1st of the month is very important, if the mood is happy the whole month will be happy. A wonderful philosophy!

Work continues on the library

MaxKathryn — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 11:23:59 +0000

In September building work started on the library at the Primary School. It is progressing quickly and we are very excited about this new addition to the school

Building progress at the Nicolas Robinson School

MaxKathryn — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 09:30:33 +0000

The last 4 weeks have been very busy in Mekele. Work has started on the building of the Primary School library, the music room and the eating room for the water tank. In the next 2 weeks a bridge will be built across to the Secondary School land and we will build a water tank on the Primary School site to collect rain water during the heavy summer rains.

We hope all this building work will be complete by Christmas and then we can concentrate on building the Secondary School, ready for our Grade 8 students to start studying in Grade 9, in September 2012.

Mekele in September

kroozing — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:53:25 +0000

- really looking forward to my next trip to Mekele in September. Lots to do – especially following up on all the new building work we have commissioned and getting approval for the master plan of the secondary school. Watch … Continue reading →

Music room building progresses in February!

kroozing — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:49:02 +0000

After many generous donations and a lot of support from the Dearne Big Band and our friends in Switzerland and beyond we have raised enough money to build a music room in memory of Holin Hammerton. There will be a room for music lessons as well as 2 private tuition rooms for young students. We have also been donated 5 clarinets, recorders can be supplied locally and we have been offered a piano, which needs some tuning but otherwise is in beautiful condition. The local music tradition is also strong, so we look forward to many happy musical events in the future

Library building about to start!

kroozing — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 21:15:59 +0000

We are just waiting for the bid analysis and then we will start building the primary school library. This will accommodate many of the 22,000 books we shipped from a US charity last year. There will also be a fun reading room for our younger students and an IT facility for the older students……..

The Secondary School

kroozing — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 22:25:45 +0000

The Secondary school will cover grades 9-12 (the same ages as in the US system). The Ethiopian education system demands that national exams are taken at the end of grade 8 to pass to secondary school. Then at the end of grade 10 there are more national exams which determine if the student can take the last 2 years of school. At this stage the student must decide between social science (history/geography/language emphasis) or natural science (biology, chemistry and physics). The country is in desperate need of more scientists and so there is now an emphasis on natural science and the availability of University places is 75% natural science: 25% social science to encourage the study of natural science. At the Nicolas Robinson School our focus will reflect the national need for students at all times. We are especially keen that our science facilities will be equipped to the highest standards.

Musical instruments for the school

kroozing — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 17:10:52 +0000

Music is a great way for children to learn to express themselves. Children at the Nicolas School will benefit from the influence of Ethiopian and western cultures and will get the chance to learn to play traditional instruments as well as more recent ones. Already we have been donated a clarinet, and we have bought recorders for the school. Once the music room is built we hope to be able to introduce the children to many other instruments. If you have any portable instruments that you would like to donate to the Nicolas school we will be delighted to take them to Ethiopia. Just let us know! info@rainbows4children.org