In June 2006, Hope through Education (HtE) – an NGO registered in the State of Maryland with a tax exempt status under section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code- sent a team to the Debre Berhan area to identify, for inclusion in its three-year work program, community-driven projects that focus on education. The team was examining several project ideas when community leaders and district authorities brought to its attention the urgent need for a secondary school in Jihur town, some 20kms from Enewari and about 80kms from Debre Berhan. They informed the team that the community has already acquired land for the school and obtained official approvals from the district and the Ministry of Education. They made a passionate appeal for help.

The team was convinced that the project meant a lot for the community. It would empower the children of Jihur and the surrounding areas and give them hope for the future. It agreed to mobilize support for the project and subsequently prepared a pledging document based on information compiled from the field visits and meetings with community elders, the Jihur Elementary School Director, teachers and district officials.

The pledging document was presented to support groups, in California, Atlanta and Washington DC. The reaction from these groups was very positive. As at end of August 2007, individual pledges reached USD 45,000.

The meetings of the support groups emphasized that:

The community should demonstrate strong ownership and commitment,

• The Executive Committee should be very sensitive to overhead expenses,
• More support groups should be established for fund raising activities, and
• A website should be created and the coordinator of support groups should be asked to manage the website.

Measures have been taken on all of the above. In particular, an executive committee was elected by the community to take full responsibility for the implementation of the project. The Committee comprises ten well known individuals of the community currently residing in Addis and Jihur. The Committee is now fully operational.

Further, the Executive Committee with the help of the local administration has undertaken the following:

• Engineering drawings and bidding documents,
• Competitive bidding for local contractors and
• Negotiation and finalization of contract with the winning bidder.

The school construction work is expected to start in October, 2007 using donated funds collected so far – about USD 30,000. The total cost of the project is estimated at about USD 250, 000.

This revised pledging document is prepared on behalf of the Executive Committee for use for a second round of pledges – this time for a wider circle of Ethiopians, friends of Ethiopia and donor organizations. The document gives an overview of the state of education in Ethiopia and a brief justification for the project. It reminds that thousands of children of the community are waiting for the opportunity that education brings and argues that, if implemented, the project will have a big developmental impact. It appeals to Ethiopians and the friends of Ethiopia not to keep the children of Jihur waiting much longer.