In November of 2021 TPLF (Tigray People’s Liberation Front ) terrorists marching south from Tigray into the Amhara and Afar region had inflicted incalculable death, destruction, and trauma on the civilian population. With the TPLF pushed back into Tigray and now rapidly facing defeat despite their launch of a 3rd wave of attacks, it is now finally time to start looking around at the horrific devastation and start picking up the pieces to rebuild. The landscape is grim. A new study from the Amhara region estimates that due to the TPLF attacks, in the Amhara region alone 240,236 people were killed or injured and $5.6 billion worth of damage was incurred within just a 6 month period from June to December 2021. With the 3rd round of attacks from TPLF already launched on August 31, the deaths and damage only get worse.

For over 15 years Dir Biyabir, a registered 501 (c)(3) has been funding grass-roots environmental, educational, and economic empowerment projects in Northern Shewa, working with our local partner Adheno, a charity registered in Ethiopia and licensed to work in the Northern Shewa region since 2003. With this devastating conflict, the last 2 years we have diverted our focus to fundraising for emergency efforts including emergency relief for Amhara civilians displaced from Wellega to Debre Birhan due to the violence of OLF-Shene, as well as emergency relief for Afar civilians fleeing attacks from TPLF terrorists.

Now we at Dir Biyabir are focusing our rebuilding efforts on N. Shewa. Our local project partner Adheno has been working with the education office of the town of Shewa Robit to identify the most devastated schools and clinics. The TPLF caused huge damage to the town of Shewa Robit during their invasion in November 2021. Adheno received a list of 14 primary (elementary) schools and 1 high school that had been looted and damaged by TPLF. Dir Biyabir has chosen the most impacted 4 elementary schools, as well as 1 secondary school (high school), and 1 clinic to focus our rehabilitation efforts on.

The following 5 schools and 1 health station were selected based on the extent of their damage as well as the number of students they serve. With the exception of Wurba Primary School where 2 classrooms and 2 offices were destroyed, the other schools faced less structural damages such as broken windows and doors. The biggest loss in these schools was in looting and damage to learning materials and school property which has significantly impacted students. As you can see in the budget section, with our target of raising $70,000 we will not be able to replace all the looted and damaged material. Our goal is to meet the most basic needs so these 5 schools and 1 Health Station are able to serve the students and community as much as possible.

1.    Wurba Primary School

2.    Robi Zuti Primary school

3.    Hedase Primary School

4.    Chare Primary School and

5.    Shewarobit General Secondary school

6.    Shewarobit Health Station

The needs of each school were assessed by a team that consisted of Ato Isayias Fikre (ADHENO’s Project Coordinator), Ato Zelalem Mekonen (head for the Office of Education of Shewarobit town), Ato Tadesse Lemma (expert at the Shewa Robin Office of Education) and principals of each selected school.

Details on each school as well as a summary of the looted items and the cost to replace them are summarized below and we encourage you to read the details. Please note that with our target of raising $70,000 we will not be able to replace the total quantity of all the looted/damaged items. We have identified in the budget section below the quantities for each item that we can replace if we raise $70,000.

Key points on the fundraiser

We kindly request your support for this urgent appeal, and we thank you in advance for your generosity. We will post updates as we receive them.

Thank you

The Dir Biyabir Team

Summary of Damage to Schools and Health Center, and Cost to Rehabilitate:

1. Wurba Primary School

According the school principal, Ato Asasahegn Mamo, the school was established in 2004 G.C. and in the 2021/2022 academic year, there were 129 students in grades 1-6. In addition there are 32 pre-school kids including one with special needs. TPLF fighters destroyed two classrooms and two administrative offices. As a result, 30 combined student desks, office supplies, student text books, and science aids were destroyed. Out of all the schools in Shewarobit town, this school was the most damaged one.

What is left of destroyed 2 classrooms and 2 offices at Wurba Primary

2. Robi Zuti Primary School

Robi Zuti Primary School was established in 1976 G.C. In 2021/22 academic year, the school and has 1,167 students in grades 1-6. In addition there are 150 pre-school kids including 8 with special needs.  According to Principal Kelele Abate, this number will increase in 2022/23. The school has 11 classrooms and 212 students’ seats. All but 17 seats were damaged during the conflict. The library was severely damaged and reference books were stolen. Media equipment, office computer and printer, farm tools, sewing machine, and a microscope were plundered.

Above all, the shops built in front of the school and rented to the local community for various businesses were destroyed. The education of more than 300 children was funded through income from these destroyed shops. The school has been downgraded from level one to level two due to the looting and destruction.

3. Hidase Primary School

Established in 2012 G.C, during the 2021/22 academic year, there were 669 students and an additional; 162 pre-school students including 3 with special needs the total number of students was 699 (328M & 371F). During the conflict, the library, laboratory equipments, office chairs and tables, computers and other electrical equipments were looted and destroyed. The principal of the school, Ato Kasahun Eshetu told the team that Hidase primary school students were psychologically traumatized by the brutal invasion and up to 30 students have fainted in a day.

4. Chare Primary School

Established in 1997 G.C., during the 2021/22 academic year there were 681 students and an additional 138 pre-school students. During the conflict, the school was looted and destroyed severely. Reference books were stolen; chairs and tables in the library were destroyed; windows and doors of 12 classrooms were broken; computer, printer and a projector were looted.

5. Shewarobit General Secondary School

This school is the oldest and largest school in Shewarobit. Established in 1961 G.C. during the 2021/22 school year, there were 3,744 students in grade 9 to 12. Principal Ato Tadiwos Worku stated that during the conflict more than 12 different microscopes, projectors, generators, printers, 30 new plasma screens and 30 desktop computers were looted. Moreover, 30 computers, 18 plasma, and two printers were damaged. Additionally, accounting files of the school were damaged; there was theft of cash; and doors and windows were broken.

Broken windows at Shewrobit Secondary School

6. Shewarobit Health Station

According to Ato Asmare, the head for Shewarobit Health Station, a health station is supposed to serve about 40,000 people. However, the Shewarobit Health Station serves about 80,000 people. During the invasion, the TPLF looted medical equipment, medicine, computers, printers and chairs. Windows and doors were broken. Among the looted machines, Ato Asmare prioritized the replacement of the stolen CD4 checking machine (for HIV/AIDS patients) as well as the chemistry machine (which calculates the concentration of certain substances within samples of serum, plasma, urine, and other body fluids). However, the CD4 checking machine is not available on the market. The automated chemistry machines costs more than a million birr so there is an agreement to buy the semi-automated one which costs about 500,000 birr.

Budget: Summary of Looted/Damaged Material, Quantities Targeted for Replacement, and Cost

Please give generously to help the Northern Shewa community to recover from the devastation of the TPLF invasion. 100% of your donation will be allocated specifically to this rebuilding effort and will be sent directly to Adheno to implement this project. Thank you for your generosity!

The Dir Biyabir Team