Electricity for Adane's Village
Donation protected
My friend Adane is raising funds for a transformer in his village in Ethiopia. As someone who travels to Ethiopia twice a year, I know the great change electricity can bring to a rural village. It often becomes the first step towards further development. I will be traveling with Adane to his village this summer, and his dream is to be able to announce that a transformer has been paid for. I asked him to share more of his incredible story.
My name is Adane Elilo. I am from the small ethnic group called Kambata with the population of 890,000. I have three brothers and two sisters, and I am the youngest. My parents live in a rural area where there is not good infrastructure. They never went to school, but they were very compassionate and devoted to their childrens’ success at school. Except one of my brothers, none of my brothers and sisters finished high school. Severe poverty, the long distance between school and home, an oppressive government, social, emotional and psychological factors all contributed to their not finish school. I am the only person from my family who overcame those challenges and became successful in my school.
My coming to the United States of America is the greatest opportunity I have ever had. In 2013 I won a free visa lottery to come as a legal immigrant. I had a long time dream to come the United States of America. My dream was to get a better opportunity to go school, to get a better life, and to help those in my community back home. As it is well understood, living in a foreign country is challenging. When I came to the USA, many people helped me to get a job, to go to school and to learn the language and culture of this country. Now that I have established my life here, I would like to help my community back in Ethiopia.
My elementary school and my church are located on the same property. To get electricity, all that is needed is a transformer that can get power from the main source. To get that transformer $25,000 is needed.
Many lives will be changed by this single transformer. Since childhood predicts much of our adulthood, the benefit of having electricity at the school is undeniable. In a globalized world that is becoming more connected each day, a school without electricity is like living in a dark room, without hope and dreams. If the 1,500 students at the school have electricity, they will be able to take tutorial classes in the evening, have access to reference books, internet and computers. This will help them be prepared for rigorous university exams and the future job market. In addition, the electricity will improve the teachers’ life as well, providing them computer access to updated information to teach their students. Electricity could be brought into the nearby homes radically changing the lives of those families that have lived so many years without electricity for lights at night, cold storage for food and a stove to cook. My church of 3,000 members would also benefit as the church could become a location for the community to gather after work and into the evening.
With your generosity, I can return home this July with the amazing news and gift of electricity for my community.
My name is Adane Elilo. I am from the small ethnic group called Kambata with the population of 890,000. I have three brothers and two sisters, and I am the youngest. My parents live in a rural area where there is not good infrastructure. They never went to school, but they were very compassionate and devoted to their childrens’ success at school. Except one of my brothers, none of my brothers and sisters finished high school. Severe poverty, the long distance between school and home, an oppressive government, social, emotional and psychological factors all contributed to their not finish school. I am the only person from my family who overcame those challenges and became successful in my school.
My coming to the United States of America is the greatest opportunity I have ever had. In 2013 I won a free visa lottery to come as a legal immigrant. I had a long time dream to come the United States of America. My dream was to get a better opportunity to go school, to get a better life, and to help those in my community back home. As it is well understood, living in a foreign country is challenging. When I came to the USA, many people helped me to get a job, to go to school and to learn the language and culture of this country. Now that I have established my life here, I would like to help my community back in Ethiopia.
My elementary school and my church are located on the same property. To get electricity, all that is needed is a transformer that can get power from the main source. To get that transformer $25,000 is needed.
Many lives will be changed by this single transformer. Since childhood predicts much of our adulthood, the benefit of having electricity at the school is undeniable. In a globalized world that is becoming more connected each day, a school without electricity is like living in a dark room, without hope and dreams. If the 1,500 students at the school have electricity, they will be able to take tutorial classes in the evening, have access to reference books, internet and computers. This will help them be prepared for rigorous university exams and the future job market. In addition, the electricity will improve the teachers’ life as well, providing them computer access to updated information to teach their students. Electricity could be brought into the nearby homes radically changing the lives of those families that have lived so many years without electricity for lights at night, cold storage for food and a stove to cook. My church of 3,000 members would also benefit as the church could become a location for the community to gather after work and into the evening.
With your generosity, I can return home this July with the amazing news and gift of electricity for my community.
Organizer
Heidi Sherry
Organizer
Los Gatos, CA