Where rain stops school
THERE are still parts of the world where, when it rains, children cannot go to school.
The remote school in Gush Koto, in the Gurage Mountains in Ethiopia, is just such a place.
The school is situated 3,439m above sea level on the edge of the rift valley escarpment that drops sharply away close to the school.
The charity Action Ethiopia and their partner charity in Ethiopia, SUNARMA, have been working with the local community to build the school.
The classrooms have a corrugated iron roof and the walls are made of a lattice of strips of juniper and rendered with a mud straw plaster.
The children sit on homemade benches and desks and often learn by rote as there are not enough books and learning material.
The biggest challenge, however, is the mud floor. There was simply not enough money for the parents to concrete the floors of the class room.
When it rains the floor becomes wet and then waterlogged.
The children have basic plastic shoes and sandals which become quickly encased in mud. The mud causes a painful NEEDLES, drugs and a fridge are among the items stolen from hospitals in North Wales.
Almost 100 items ranging from car hub caps to a birthday present have been reported stolen from sites run by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board since the beginning of 2015.
Figures released following a Freedom of Information request by the Mail’s sister paper, the Daily Post revealed that of the 98 recorded items taken, just four have been recovered – the fate of the remaining items is listed as “unknown”. rash on the children’s feet and ankles and the infection quickly spreads around the class affecting everyone.
No-one wants to go to school to pick up a nasty foot sore. Some children are walking for more than an hour to attend school in the first place.
The Gwynedd Explorer Scouts are travelling out to Ethiopia to help change that. They have been raising funds with sponsored events, cake sales and with the support of their families, friends and School. Ysgol Llanllechid held a ‘Talent Llechid’ which raised more than £200.
Their biggest event was to take on the Welsh Three Peaks – Pen y Fan, Cadair Idris and Snowdon – in one day! In total, they have raised a terrific £2,000 to help concrete some of the classrooms.
They will soon be travelling out to Ethiopia, where they will be helping to lay some concrete, before heading off to explore more of the country. They will also be doing a project on how children get to school and how far they have to journey to school.
The Scouts – Meical, Bethan, Freya, Ffion, Ross, Gwilym, Emma, Maija, Thalia and Matthew (a cub) – are looking forward to a fantastic trip.
A spokesperson for the health board said: “We do our utmost to keep patient and staff property safe within all our hospitals.
“Sadly, whilst these incidents are infrequent, things do occasionally go missing.
“We strongly advise patients not to bring valuables into hospital and to keep their belongings safe, and whenever possible to send them home.
“We also advise staff to use lockers for their belongings where possible, to keep their belongings out of sight and offices locked when unoccupied.”
The spokesperson added: “We sympathise with people who lose items and take swift action to assist and recover whatever we can.”
There has been a slight increase in the number of reported thefts over the period, with 26 items reported stolen in 2015, 35 in 2016, and 37 up to November 2017.
Most of the recorded thefts involved cash, clothing or phones.
Other items taken include unused needles and blood bottles, alcohol gel, vending machine supplies and a birthday gift.
There were also reports of five boxes of Diazepan, cleaning chemicals, an auriscope and a fridge being taken.