.png)
Kera Hora Elementary School, Bishoftu, Ethiopia
Mandala Trust also supported a project to construct new toilet blocks at Kera Hora Elementary School in central Ethiopia. Previously the school had a single insanitary metal shed, used by pupils and teachers of both sexes. The new blocks have separate cubicles for males and females, as well as toilets with disabled access.
Kera Hora Elementary School is located in Bishoftu, a town about 60 kilometres southeast of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Around 1570 pupils from Grades 1 to 8 (ages 7-15) are taught in a shift-system, whereby half attend school for four hours in the morning and the other half attend in the afternoon.
Adequate sanitation is essential to prevent the spread of intestinal parasites and diseases (chiefly bilharzia, or Shistosomiasis) which are currently widespread among young Ethiopians and are seriously life threatening. Before the implementation of this project, teachers and students shared a single small, insanitary toilet block – a corrugated-iron hut covering a few holes in the ground. The doors did not shut properly, there weren’t separate facilities for males and females, and there was no access for disabled students.
Now, thanks to the support that Mandala Trust gave to Link Ethiopia in this project, the teachers and students of Kera Hora have brand new concrete toilet blocks, with separate male and female cubicles and a larger cubicle for disabled students. Not only have the new blocks improved the working environment for staff and students, it has allowed the school to attract more disabled students and cater for them more effectively. It has also reduced absenteeism, especially amongst girls.
