An Inauguration ceremony for The Project for the Expansion of the Konda Primary School, Kaffa Zone, SNNPRS, was held on Saturday 17 March 2012. This Project was funded by the Japanese Grant-in-aid Scheme for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP), amounting to USD106,358. Mr. Hajime Kitaoka, Minister and Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Japan in Ethiopia, celebrated the completion of the school blocks, together with representatives of the Kaffa Zone, as well as members of the community. The Project was implemented by the Gewata Woreda Education Office, in collaboration with the local residents who supported the project with their labour.

In this project, the Embassy of Japan supported the construction of two school blocks with eight classrooms, and provided 184 combined desks and 8 blackboards. The Konda Primary School was established in 1976, and today more than 1,400 students are studying at this school. However, the school blocks are made of mud walls, which are partly broken and the students cannot shelter from the rain and wind. Some of the students were forced to stand during the class due to the lack of school furniture. Moreover, the average number of students per a classroom was over 60 while the recommended number is 50 according to the Ministry of Education. Under this harsh educational environment, the dropout rate was very high, nearly 20%. In order to change such a situation, this project aimed at improving the educational environment for students in Konda village by the abovementioned construction.

The GGP scheme was first introduced in 1989, and thus it has a history of 21 years to date. In Ethiopia, since 1997, over 300 projects have been implemented under this scheme in such sectors as education, water supply, health services, and other basic human needs. In 2011 JFY (April 2011 – March 2012), the Embassy of Japan is planning to award grants to 19 projects submitted by various not-for-profit organizations and local authorities throughout Ethiopia for the economic and social benefit of underprivileged people in rural areas.  One of the characteristics of GGPs is that they are directly beneficial to local residents.