Ethiopia project

The pupils of 9D at Dyffryn Taf School in Whitland have been working together for the past two years to raise money for a school in Ethiopia. This long- term project began when the pupils were in Year 7 and was established by their form teacher Mr. Paul O'Neill.

"I wanted to highlight a cause that they could identify with, that would capture their interest and make them think about their position in the world," he said.

"One of my former colleagues at Dyffryn Taf, Anne Davies, had left to work at a school in Ethiopia with the Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) and it was through her work I first had the idea of connecting with a school there."

Anne's husband, Negusse Tadasse, had been the first pupil from his school, in Kora - a small town two hours' bus ride from Addis Ababa - to go to university and he put forward his former school to link with Dyffryn Taf.

In Kora, every child wants an education, but the school - which with 1,000 pupils is approximately the same size as Dyffryn Taf - has just 17 teachers, catering for children from ages six to 17, and has very limited resources and facilities.

Mr. O'Neill said that the scope of what could be done to help the school was immediately obvious. Having Anne and Negusse as a personal link to the school meant that the Dyffryn Taf pupils could really see where their money was going and hear first hand from Anne and Negusse about the developments at the school.

"In Kora, many children have to walk miles across a harsh landscape every day, crossing rivers just to get to and from school," said Mr. 'O'Neill.

"We thought that if they make such an effort to get to school, we should make sure they have something there to make it worth their while." Since the form started fundraising in 2006, they have raised nearly £3,500, with the help of the rest of the school.

The pupils of 9D have been visited by Anne and Negusse and have sent and received letters to pupils at Kora School, this has all helped then really understand the circumstances the children in Ethiopia have to deal with and the importance the money they have raised has made to them and their school.

They have also received photographs of the buildings and resources that their money has created. This has all contributed to them having a sustained interest in the school, 4,000 miles and a world away from their own.

Mr. O'Neill hopes this interest will stay with them far into the future and inspire them to do similar work when they are older.

"It would be wonderful if when they were in the sixth form, some of the pupils could actually go out to Ethiopia to visit the school in person.

"The class has worked together devising fundraising activities and really committing themselves to making a difference to other young peoples' lives.

"It's been harder work than anything I've done in 30 years of teaching, but to see such a determined effort to take shape is a remarkable credit to all the children involved."

With the challenge set to raise as much money as possible for Kora School, Mr. O'Neill and his form set to work straight away. In 2006, the then Year 7 pupils organised a sponsored water-carry across the school field - an empathetic activity that emulated the struggle many of the children attending Kora School face every day simply to fetch fresh water.

This project raised £400 which was sent directly to the school where it was immediately spent on new shelves, books and equipment for the classrooms. There was even enough left over to build a barbed- wire fence around the premises, replacing the hand-made fence that had to be rebuilt out of wood and brambles each year by the students.

Last year, the efforts of the class took on a grander scale, involving the whole school to help raise money to fund a new building for the school. "Everyone wanted to contribute," said Mr. O'Neill. "It was remarkable. Years 7 - 10 took part in the water-carry with individuals raising as much as £50 each in sponsorship."

The fundraising bonanza also saw the sixth form charity committee join in by organising an auction of fellow sixth form students. The students who volunteered for the auction were sold to the highest bidders who were then able to get them to do a days work. All the fundraising events were well supported by everyone at Dyffryn Taf and great fun for all involved.

As a result, over the past two years in total £3,500 has been raised all of which has gone directly to the Kora School. In addition to the new shelves, resources and fence this money was also vital in building a new school house.