Our Staff Writer
2 June 2009
Addis Abeba — Western Union, a leading provider of global money transfer services, along with its Agents in Ethiopia, officially handed over a new school building project to a local school in Addis Ababa, it said on Monday.
According to the a press release from Western Union, the school project was a result of partnership with the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, the Construction and Business Bank and Dashen Bank.
The building which comprises eight classrooms, complete with desks, chairs and blackboards was officially donated to the Omedla School, in Lideta, Kebele community in the southern part of the city.
The project, which cost $120,000 was selected by Western Union's Ethiopian Agents and supported by the Western Union Foundation, as part of its Agent Giving Circle program, which matches Agent donations one-for-one.
"Western Union and its Agents recognize the core value of learning, and that education is one of the most important tools to improve the quality of life of individuals and communities," Western Union said adding the construction and equipping of the new school building will significantly improve learning conditions for the children and adults of the Kebele community.
Constructed in 1970, the Omedla school buildings had gradually deteriorated resulting in dwindling student numbers.
The new facilities are expected to reverse that trend by attracting new students from among the 10,500 children of school going age within the community.
In addition, the new Omedla school premises will be multi-purposed to host evening literacy classes targeted at the 2000 adult learners residing in the Kebele.
Overall the community hopes to see improved literacy rates among children and adults, as an indirect result of access to a more conducive learning environment.
Identifying education as an important driver in development, the Western Union Foundation along with Western Union's Agents in the East Africa region have donated more than US$500,000 to education related projects alone since 2001, said the press release.
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