At the Inauguration Ceremony for the Construction of the First Cycle Kidistemariam Primary School in Atsbiwenberta Woreda, Tigray Region
on 29 December, 2011

Ato Gobezay Wolde Aregay, Head of the Tigray Regional Education Bureau,
Distinguished Guests,
Community Members of Dibab-akoren Tabia,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Endemen Aderachehu.  Dahind Hadirkum.

I am most grateful to all of you for your very warm welcome today.  This is my fourth trip to the Tigray Region and my first trip to your Woreda.

It is indeed a great pleasure for me to have this opportunity to attend the inauguration ceremony for the primary school construction project here in Dibab-akoren village.  This project was funded by Japan’s grant-in-aid scheme for grassroots and human security projects, amounting to about USD 106,000, based upon the grant contract signed in March this year.  Our project partner is the Tigray Development Association, a very active and celebrated Ethiopian NGO in this Region.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Improving the educational environment is a great challenge in Ethiopia, and the Atsbiwomberta Woreda is no exception.  Since coming to Ethiopia, I have had many occasions to visit schools, and some of them were dilapidated, posing a danger to the health, safety and learning environment of the students.  The previous school building here was one such example.  I was shocked to see photos of hard stone desks and chairs in a classroom with one small window, where students had studied for several years.  There was little light and insufficient ventilation.  Sometimes it was dusty due to the wind.  It was obvious that the school lacked the minimum standard of infrastructure and facilities necessary for students to study and to thrive.

Therefore, this project aimed at improving the school environment by constructing new school buildings and renovating school facilities.  With this project, one block with four classrooms and another block with an administration office and a library have been newly constructed and fully furnished.  Two toilet blocks have also been built as well as a shallow well to supply safe water for students and teachers.   As a result, I am confident that the educational environment has been drastically improved.  In addition, 195 students who did not have access to education can now be newly enrolled.   400 students as well as teachers will greatly benefit from the new and improved environment.

There is one more point I want to mention regarding this project.  It was completed in eight months after the grant contract was signed.  This is quite impressive, as it takes a year or longer for many GGP projects to reach the same stage.  I believe that this is largely thanks to the strong commitment of our project partner, the Tigray Development Association, as well as the cooperation of the local government and community members.  I understand that the community members participated in the project by offering their labor, construction materials and so on.  I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to Ambassador Tewolde Gebru, Executive Director of the Association, for his leadership and dedication as well as many other people who contributed to the project.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The newly built school buildings and facilities are hereby handed over to the community and Woreda.  I am confident that you will make the most use of them to improve access to and quality of education.  I also sincerely hope that the children in Dibab-akoren village will enjoy the full benefits of this project and build the foundation of their future through education.  At the same time, the importance of maintaining the facilities in good condition cannot be emphasized enough so that the school can serve the local interests for a long time to come.  Finally, I do hope that we will have an opportunity to work together again in the future for the economic and social benefit of underprivileged people in rural areas of Ethiopia.

Amesegenalehu.  Yemesgin.