By expanding an overcrowded school in a remote mountain settlement, our Onura Primary School Project will empower children to fight the causes and effects of extreme poverty in their lives and build a brighter future for themselves, their families, and their community.
The Challenge
Since the signing of the peace agreement in 2005, the remote Onura settlement has seen an influx of returning refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), including more than a hundred war orphans and former child soldiers. Thanks to Hope Ofiriha’s generous donors, the two-classroom Onura Primary School opened in the settlement in 2006 to serve 72 students. Since then, the school has grown to more than 350 students (150 girls and 200 boys), forcing some classes to be held outdoors. The school also doesn’t have enough school books and has no pit latrine, creating unsanitary conditions and an unpleasant odor on the school grounds.
Our Solution
Hope Ofiriha’s Onura Primary School will build an additional classroom and a pit latrine with soil blocks and thatched roofs. The ultimate goal is to build a second additional classroom once they are complete. The expanded facilities will enable the school to continuing educating children through primary 8 as well as providing literacy and life skills training to young adults.
Potential Long-Term Impact
Enabling more children to fit in Onura’s primary school will help give more children a ticket out of poverty. Educated girls will eventually be able to give their own families a good start in life. Educated boys will be able to escape a family cycle of hard labor. This will ripple to their families and community.
