HOPE 2020 project Proposal on construction of Primary School at Chancho Qabana Rural Kebele
September 2007
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

 

Project Summary

Project Title: Chancho Qaban

a Primary School Construction Project
Project Location: Oromia Regional State, West Shoa Zone, Jeldu District, Chancho Qabana Peasant Association Kebele
Project Total Cost: From Donor $ 89,593.00
Community Contribution: $ 8,753.00
Total project Cost: $98,346.00
Donor: Royal Embassy of the Netherlands in Ethiopia
Implementing Agency: HOPE 2020
P.O.BOX.: 24198/1000
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 Contact person

Gudeta Gelalcha  /General Manager/
Tel.: +(251)-(112)-707533,
Cellphone: +(251)-(911)-175360
Fax: +(251)-(012)-707534
Project Duration: One Year
Direct Beneficiaries: 1000 school age children every year
Indirect beneficiaries: 51,315 inhabitants of the project areas Kebeles

Acronyms:

 

 

Executive Summary

The project entitled  ‘Chancho Qabana Primary School Construction Project’ is designed to be implemented in Oromia Regional State, West Shoa Zone Jeldu District Chanco Qabana Peasant Association Kebele. The district has 38 rural kebeles of which 13 kebeles are located in the low land areas adjacent to Abay River Gorge and there is only one elementary school for the thirteen kebeles that resulted in low school age children enrolment, high dropout especially for girls due to fear of abduction, rape and other problems since they have to travel 8-10km to reach the nearest school.

Therefore, the objective of this project is to increase children’s access to primary education and improve the quality of education in the targeted thirteen-peasant association Kebeles of Jeldu district by constructing one primary school at Chancho Qabana kebele, which is the center for all the kebeles.  The primary school has about 12 large and medium size blocks designed for classrooms, administrative purposes and other services. When completed the school will have the capacity to enroll and provide quality education for 800 -1000 students. The school is designed to have both primary and junior secondary program (Grade1-8).

The project addresses gender inequality by organizing and conducting different workshops for local community structures and community elders to encourage the community to send their girls to school and also on eradicating traditional practices that hinders and reduces girls’ enrollment rate.   

The total budget required for implementation of the project is USD 98,348 of which USD 89,593 is to be covered by the donor organization and USD 8,753 to be covered by the local community through labor work and supplying local construction materials.

 

About HOPE 2020

Establishment

HOPE 2020 is an indigenous non-government, non-religious, non-tribal, non-political and a non-profit humanitarian organization established in 2004 by concerned and devoted Ethiopians. It is established for the purpose of participating actively in Integrated Rural Development Programs (IRDP) in line with Ethiopian government development strategies in alleviating economic and social problems prevailing in the country.

Legal Status

HOPE 2020 is a legally registered and licensed organization by Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Ministry Of Justice with a registration certificate No.1865.The organization has been undertaking its activities by signing operational agreements with regional Food Security Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission/FSDPPC/. It has also signed region based project agreements with relevant regional bureaus.

Governance

The organization has a General Assembly consisting of founding members and other members who have joined the association after its establishment to oversee and deal with all policy issues. It has also a managing board of five members to decide on major administrative matters and oversee major developments and guide its operations. There is a management committee consisting department heads and chaired by General Manager to deal and execute day-to-day administrative and managerial matters.

The General Manager, responsible to the Board of directors, is entrusted with the main task of overseeing   and implementing decisions passed by the General Assembly and Board of Directors. He also manages the day-to-day activities and operations of the organization. The organization has four major departments, namely Administration, Finance, Program and Public Relations departments, and each department has also three to five sections.

Vision, Mission and Objective

Vision

To see a health, gender balanced, prosperous and productive societies that live in a clean and fresh environment.

Mission

•        Improve the health situation of the rural community
•        Fight the spread of HIV/AIDS and its associated problems
•        Improve the livelihood of the rural community
•        Protect environmental degradation
•        Create gender-balanced society through women empowerment activities
•        Increase the rural community’s access to basic education and health services

General Objective

The general objective of the organization is to alleviate poverty, which is the main cause of socio-economic and political problems prevailing in the country for centuries, by supporting and stimulating the economic growth of the target community with priority to women, children and the elderly

 

Major programs

•       Water supply, Sanitation and Hygiene program
•       Education and Health Program
•       HIV/AIDS Prevention, Care and Support Program
•       Women Empowerment and Elders Capacity Building Program
•       Promotion of Alternative Energy Resources Program
•       Environmental Protection Program

Major Achievements

Though HOPE 2020 is few years old, its integrated rural development programs to solve the various socio-economic problems of the rural community attracted international NGOs like Water Aid-Ethiopia, Comitato Internazionale per lo sviluppo dei popoli (CISP-Italian based international NGO), Water Millennium Alliance (USAID), Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia and District of Colombia University which are currently the major donors and partners of the organization.

The following are some of the major achievements of the organization in its four years journey to solve the various socio-economic problems of the rural community:

• 22 water points each having 6 faucets have been completed and are serving about 35,000 people
• Four 50m3  & five 25m3 water reservoir that serve 23 kebeles residents have been completed and under use
• 406 traditional pit latrine that serves about 4,060 people constructed and under use by the local community
• 319 common waste disposal that serves about 3,190 households have been excavated and under use in its intervention areas
• 35,000 people have obtained mass education on hygiene, health, sanitation and HIV/AIDS
• 120 community washing basin that serves about 6,000 has been constructed and under use
• 120 Shower house has been constructed and under use
• 18,000m trench, which costs about 40,000 USD have been excavated by the community which shows the organization’s capacity to mobilize local resources
• One primary school has been constructed and under use in Tume Wayu kebele of Tole district
• 50 village health, sanitation and hygiene promoters trained and deployed in its operation areas
• 100 farmers trained on traditional irrigation practices and some are already generating lucrative income

Manpower Status

One of the most important organizational resources to fulfill its objectives is its manpower, both skilled and unskilled. The following table shows the manpower status of the organization as of August 2007.

 

 

Background of the Project 

Ethiopia is located in the eastern part of Africa neighboring the Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia and Kenya. It is the third largest country in Sub-Saharan Africa with a total area of 1.13 million sq km. and estimated population of 80 million in the year 2004 (Central Statistical Authority, 2004). Ethiopia follows a federal system that divides the country into nine regional states and two city administrations. It is a multi-ethnic state with more than 80 languages and 200 dialects.

The 1999 CSA report indicates that about 86.3 percent of the population lives in the rural areas and 13.7 percent reside in urban centers. Subsistence agriculture is the mainstay of the economy; it accounts for 55 percent of GDP, creates 80 percent of employment and contributes 60 percent of exports (Assefa, Mammo and Wanna, 1997). When one looks into human development indicators (HDI), which take into account the quality of health and nutrition, income and productivity, education level and empowerment, “Ethiopia is at the lowest level of human development compared to its neighbors and other developing countries” (UNDP, 1998).

According to international poverty line estimates, 46 percent of the Ethiopian population gets below $1.0 a day (Habtamu, 1999). In such a context, access to health services, modern transportation, clean drinking water, education, & other activities and services are beyond the reach of the majority of the population.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, Article 26, states that every child has the right to education, regardless of family background, sex, religion or geographic location. Since the 1960s, it has also been realized that education is an investment in the human resource necessary for economic development (Glewwe, 1991; Schultz, 1980; Psacharopoulos, 1988). Both formal and non-formal education play significant roles in developing human resources, which means the process of increasing the knowledge, skills and capacities of people through schooling.

Ethiopia has made substantial investment in the development of education with efforts going back to the introduction of modern education in 1908.Despite the efforts, however, the country basically remains the land of the thumbprint. The country's literacy rate is very low. According to the 1994 census, less than one fourth (23.4 percent) of the country’s population is literate.  Compared with other African countries, Ethiopia has one of the lowest gross enrolment ratios. Oxfam’s new measure of the national educational performance index (NEPI) ranks countries on the basis of their performance in school enrolment, school completion and gender equality. In this worldwide ranking, Ethiopia is at the bottom of the list (Oxfam, 1998/99). Furthermore, in the same publication Oxfam also reports that Ethiopia, which is classified as a highly indebted poor country (HIPC), spends about $6.0 percent of per capita on debt-servicing and $2.5 percent of per capita on education. Debt repayment poses a huge obstacle to financing basic education.

As indicated earlier, Ethiopia introduced modern education in the year 1908; however, the majority of the people, especially the rural population and most particularly girls and women, have not been served well. The high population growth rate (3 percent per annum) means the schools that do exist in the country are unable to meet the growing demand for education. As a result, a large number of school-age children (49 percent) are out of school. If the educational delivery system continues as it is now, the slogan " Education For All’’ cannot be realized.

The denial of the right to education hurts people’s capacity to work productively to sustain and protect themselves and their families' livelihood. Comparatively, the dropout rate for girls is higher than that for boys, and the largest number of girls drop out in grade one. From those who enroll in grade one, 53 percent of the boys and 48 percent of the girls reach grade five. This rate is of a particular interest since the completion of at least four years of schooling is commonly considered a prerequisite for sustainable literacy. Low participation rate, high dropout, repetition, poor quality education, rigid curricula, and regional, gender, urban and rural disparities characterize the Ethiopian educational system.                 

Generally, some of the multifaceted problems of access to education in the Country especially in rural areas include:

• Parents' un-willingness to send their children to school because of ignorance and their inclination to exploit their children’s labor. In addition mothers also highly need the support of their daughters   in household tasks.
• The proximity of schools from the communities hinders children from coming to school. Besides, females will be exposed for sexual abuse thatincludes abduction and rape.
• Large class size limits the admission of children in school.
• The increase in dropouts due to various reasons at National level, dropout rate for 2001/02was as high as 22% especially in rural areas (MOE).
• These problems are in one way or anther the problems of the whole country except the fact that Addis Ababa is to some extent better in accessibility to education. Almost participation rate is reached 85 percent in 2000/2001 as the data obtained from A.A Education Bureau indicates. 

The Federal and Regional governments’ efforts to address the rural communities need for education is very encouraging, but it is foolish to think that the government can reach the whole rural communities with its scarce financial and material resources. Therefore, to support the efforts of the government, the role-played by local and international Non Governmental Organizations to meet the educational needs of the rural communities, especially women, girls and the marginalized destitute children should be encouraged. Among the local indigenous NGOs that is contributing its part in expanding formal education in rural parts of the country is HOPE 2020. In its five years Sustainable and Integrated Development Strategic Plan/SIDSP/, the organization has planned to construct 15 elementary schools and 3 high schools and also rehabilitate different schools located in its operational areas.

 

Statement of the Problem 

Investment in people is becoming more important for two reasons. First, a country’s future economic and social growth will depend less on its natural resources, which are being depleted and are subject to long-run price declines, and more on it labor skills and its ability to accelerate a demographic transition. Second, growth in today’s information based world economy depends on a flexible, educated and health workforce to take advantage of economic openness.

In 1994, Ethiopia adopted a new education policy and strategy with the aim of restructuring the education system and expanding its accessibility in a form that is directly relevant to the present and future manpower requirements of the economy. To translate the statement of policy and strategy into action, the government has designed the Education Sector Development Program/ESDP/ with the intention of expanding educational opportunities, which is considered as the first step in a long-range program to achieve Universal Primary Education by the year 2015.

As mentioned above UPE is a compelling goal for all nations. It improves the lives of children and the economic and social wellbeing of nations. A child who has access to quality primary schooling and who knows how to read, write, and do basic arithmetic has a solid foundation for continued learning through life. Education gives better chance for a full, healthy and secure life.

Education benefits nations because it is a major instrument for economic and social development. In particular, at the basic level (primary and lower secondary), it is a major contribute to the reduction of poverty. It increases the productivity of labor; improve health and enables people to participate fully in economic development of their societies. In the world today, a child who is not educated is disadvantaged in terms of income, health and opportunities.

As mentioned earlier, the federal and regional governments are promoting NGO’s participation in the development program of the country as a result of which the number of NGOs participating in expanding education in rural areas of the country is increasing significantly. This is because no task should command a higher priority for a national growth than a viable human resource development that would release the potentials of individuals at its center. Primary education in particular is an initial phase in the process of lifelong education and also the fundamental social services that enables the citizens to modern life.

Henceforth, HOPE 2020 has made expansion of education in remote rural kebeles as one of its five years intervention areas with all its efforts aiming to increase access to education for children of the rural communities.

Jeldu district, one of the districts of West Shoa Zone of Oromia Regional Sate, is located 97 km from Addis Ababa. It has 2 urban Kebles and 38 rural Kebles with a total area of about 937.7km2. Though the district is relatively near to Addis Ababa, it is very backward in every aspect of development mainly due to its location, 40km away from the high way to Ambo on the way to Gindabarat, which is the most inaccessible districts in the zone. It is very recently that all weather roads access the district.

The population of the district is estimated to be about 147,233 of which 72,600 are male and 74,633 are female. The average family size of the district is 6.4 persons per household, which is higher than the national average of 5 persons. 98.6 percent of the district’s people live in rural areas. About 99% of the people in the district are Oromo while the rest are different ethnic groups like other parts of the regional state.

The district has one high school, 8 first cycle schools and 4 2nd cycle schools (junior secondary schools) all established and run by the government. Most of the schools are located on the highland areas of the district. There is only one elementary school in the lowland areas of the district that includes about 13 kebeles. Children are expected to walk on average 5-8km on foot to reach the nearest primary school in these lowland area kebeles. The school enrolment of boys and girls in these kebeles is 27.1 percent and 22.8 percent respectively. The school age education coverage is about 50 percent. The dropout rate is high in these Kebeles especially for girls due to fear of abduction, rape and other problems since they have to cross 2-3 kebles to reach the nearest school.

 

General and Specific Objectives of the Project 

General objective

The overall objective of the project is to increase children’s access to primary education and improve the quality of education in the targeted peasant association Kebles of Jeldu district by constructing one primary school.

Specific objectives

• Create learning opportunity for 1000 school age children
• Increase children’s school enrolment in the peasant association kebeles of the project area by 95 percent in the year 2009
• Reduce school dropout rate in the project area, especially school girls, to 5 percent by the year 2010
• Increase the literary rate by 90% in project area by the year 2013
• Increase the project area community’s awareness on the importance of educating children and minimize gender disparity in the stipulation of basic education, by working on affirmative action with    the community.

 Activities of the Project 

The following are the activities to be carried out during the implementation of the project in accordance with the 1995 Ministry of Education primary school education construction standard.

• Construct five blocks each having 4 classrooms that accommodate 40 students. Each class room has a size of 7.20 x 6.40 = 46.08 m2 and the block size should be 7.20 x 29.80 = 214.56m2 
• Construct a multipurpose hall block the size of which is 16.25 x 26.20 = 425.75m2
• Construct a library block the size of which is 8.2m x 8.2m=67.24 m2
• Construct one pedagogical center the size of which is 12m x 8m =96 m2
• Construct one administration block the size of which is 142.39 m2 that includes director’s office, secretary office, staff rest room, clinic, janitor room, latrine, documentation room, counseling room   and store.

The size of each room will be as follows:

• Director’s office = 12.53 m2
• Secretary office = 10.59 m2
• Staff room/office/= 28.12 m2
• Staff rest room = 14.13 m2
• Clinic = 14.83 m2
• Janitor room=4.14 m2
• Latrine room =6.13 m2
• Documentation room=12.53m2
• Store=26.86 m2
• Counseling room=12.53 m2
• Construct male latrine block with 8 sections and 6m deep hole & the size of one latrine is 0.90 x 1.20.The size of the block as a whole is 5.30 x 4.20 = 22.26 m2.
• Construct female latrine block with 8 sections and 6m deep hole & the size of one latrine is 0.90 x 1.20.The size of the block as a whole is 5.30 x 4.20 = 22.26 m2.
• Construct one Store the size of which is 11m x 9m = 99 m2
• Construct one guard room the size of which is 2.45 x 2.45 = 6m2
• Purchase and furnishing each classroom with student desks (20 desks x 20 classrooms= 400 desks)
• Purchase of blackboards for each classrooms (20 classrooms x 2 blackboards=40 blackboards)
• Purchase and supply of different student books and reference books
• Fencing the school compound with wire
• Conducting different workshops for community elders and women groups on awareness creation on girls education and community contribution to the implementation of the projectStrategy of the proje

·      Strategy of the Project   

• Looking for potential donors to secure fund
• Preparation of tender documents and guidelines
• Publishing tender documents and guidelines
• Publishing the tender notice on official news papers
• Distribute the tender document to applicant suppliers
• Collecting the tender documents
• Analyzing and approving of the tender documents
• Offering the construction work to the tender winner
• Mobilizing local community contribution
• Close supervision of the construction Process

Inputs o the project 

• Professional employed staff for coordinating the project
• Professional support from government organization and administration leaders in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the program.
• Construction workers
• Community members involving in cost sharing activities
• Teaching materials
• Construction materials
• School supplies like desks, blackboards, books etc.
• Office equipment
• Land for construction
• Finance

Expected Output of the projec

The expected output of the project is a well furnished and attractive one primary school that includes 1st and 2nd cycle and accommodate 800-1000 students at Chancho Qabana Peasant Association Kebele

·    

      Project Stakeholders 

• Royal Embassy of the Netherlands
• HOPE 2020
• Oromia Education Bureau
• West Shoa Zone Education Bureau
• Jeldu District Education Bureau
• Oromia Food Security Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission and line offices
• Local community

Project Management 

HOPE 2020 will be responsible for the management of the project until it is handed over to Oromia Education Bureau. This shall be done by employing an experienced and professional project coordinator who is responsible to follow up implementation of the project. The project coordinator will be reporting to HOPE 2020 head office where centrally compiled report would be sent to the donor and stakeholders by program manager of the organization.

 

Project Monitoring and Evaluation 

Periodic monitoring focuses on the day-to-day activities of the project. It uses clearly stated activity indicators in the plan for monthly, quarterly and annual targets to be accomplished. Monitoring activity includes measuring the physical performances, budgetary utilization, quality and quantity of work done, correlation of the work done with the set objectives and the set plans and timetables. The project coordinator and also the communities in the project areas shall conduct the day-to-day monitoring activities of the project.

A final evaluation will be jointly held with all stakeholders including, donors, community, and relevant government counterparts before handing over the project to Oromia Education Bureau.

During the evaluation process the following indicators will be considered:

• Financial system, cost effectiveness and budget utilization
• Community contribution in the implementation of the project
• Quality of materials used for construction
• Government standard for the construction of primary school

Project Phase-out Strategy 

HOPE 2020 will take the full responsibility for the implementation of the project after securing the necessary financial resources. HOPE 2020 provides construction of the school to competent and experienced bidder. After the construction work is finished it will invite experts from Oromia Education Bureau to assess the whole process and once the experts confirm that the establishment of the school is in line with Ministry Of Education primary school standard, HOPE 2020 handover the school to Oromia Education Bureau.

 

Conclusion 

Ethiopia is one of the rock bottom poor countries in the world. Although the country is a potentially rich country, majority of its people both in urban and rural areas live in absolute poverty caused by natural and manmade calamities exacerbated by long years of internal and external conflicts.

After identifying poverty as the root cause of the country’s socio - political and economic problems, the Ethiopian government has been working intensively on poverty alleviation program since the downfall of the Derg’s regime in the early 1990s. Many national and international Non Governmental Organizations operating in the country have also shifted from relief and rehabilitation programs to integrated development activities to contribute their share in the government’s effort to eradicate poverty and change the status of the country from rock bottom   poor country to a medium income country by the year 2020.The federal and regional governments are promoting NGO’s participation in the development program of the country as a result of which the number of NGOs participating in expanding education in rural areas of the country is increasing significantly. This is because no task should command a higher priority for a national growth than a viable human resource development that would release the potentials of individuals at its center. Primary education in particular is an initial phase in the process of lifelong education and also the fundamental social services that enables the citizens to modern life.

Although the efforts of the government to address the rural communities need for education is very encouraging, it cannot reach the whole rural communities with its scarce financial and material resources. That is why HOPE 2020 has made expansion of education in remote rural kebeles as one of its five years intervention programs in its five years sustainable and integrated rural development strategic plan with all its efforts aiming to increase access to education for children of the rural communities.

HOPE 2020 is currently implementing HIV/AIDS prevention care and support project and potable water supply project in Jeldu district rural kebles. Though Jeldu district is relatively near to Addis Ababa, it is very backward in every aspect of development mainly due to its location, 40km away from the high way to Ambo on the way to Gindabarat, which is the most inaccessible districts in the zone. It is very recently that all weather roads access the district.

The organization has identified lack of primary school in the low land area kebeles of the district as a serious problem, which is further, underlined by Jeldu district education office and community elders of the project areas. 

Therefore, HOPE 2020 has prepared this project proposal to solicit fund and to construct one primary school, grade 1- 8, at Chanco Qabana Peasant Association Keble based on the demand from the rural communities. The project will benefit 1000 students every year and 51,315 inhabitants of the project areas Kebeles.

 

Project Cost Estimate Summary

Note: HOPE 2020 will prepare the detailed budget breakdown and implementation time frame immediately when a budget for the project is secured.