Happy High Schoolers- 11th and 12th grades at Keleta

Keleta High School is now expanding to include 11th and 12th grade!

For years, Keleta had only 9th and 10th grade at its secondary school.  In order to finish 11th and 12th grades, students from this rural village needed to rent rooms away from home in Mudula town order to finish their high school education.  Now Ethiopia's Southern Region Educational Department has given the community permission to add 11th and 12th grades to its school- but only if certain criteria are met. This a really BIG deal!  

In order to meet these criteria, the community needed to raise money. They came together and hosted a community day where people donated whatever they could such as agricultural goods, livestock, etc.  And they did it!  Criteria met!

WEEMA is honored to play its part in this community effort and will help with the construction of a new library and computer center.

Happy Studying, Keleta Kids!  One step closer to University...

IZUMI Foundation visits WEEMA program in Ethiopia

Last week, Gretchen Stoddard, the Program Director at the IZUMI Foundation, traveled south with the WEEMA team to see our mHealth program in action.  IZUMI Foundation is generously supporting this innovative approach to empower community health workers with a $100,000 grant.

Gretchen reports, "What a wonderful experience to visit WEEMA in Ethiopia! IZUMI Foundation is excited to see the mHealth program grow and thrive to improve child health. We were thoroughly impressed with all of WEEMA's programs and their dedicated and passionate team! Thanks you for the excellent visit!"

The community health workers also shared their enthusiasm with the team.  Here are some of their comments: 

• "This (program) contributes to the quality of our service. We are sure of what we are doing."
• "Previously caregivers preferred to go to the Health Center. Now this is improving. They are also coming for (their child's) followup appointment, and they are coming before their appointment to say children are getting better."
• "Different organizations have come and some cause confusion...This is clear and exemplary."
• "Mothers are happy."
• "Before we were using chartbooklets...now things are clear. Everything is guided. It simplifies the work....The number of children coming has increased."

Thank you, IZUMI Foundation!

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This past spring, IZUMI awarded WEEMA for it program Empowering Health Extension Workers in Ethiopia: Addressing Under-5 Child Mortality with Clinical Support Tools. The tool is an app designed by D-Tree International that allows Health Extension Workers (HEWs) to more quickly and accurately diagnose sick children and provide appropriate treatment. Thanks to this grant, WEEMA is able to keep more families and children healthy!