Reminiscence
Yayu Preparatory School, Ethiopia, October 2017
Felix Matschie. Arriving in Addis Ababa, brought up feelings of familiarity the city I grew up in for several years during my childhood, had changed again. It felt like the entire city was scrambling towards the future with construction sites popping up on every street corner. A metropolis driven by the chaotic energy of millions of people striving for a better life for themselves.
In the first few days the expedition group and I had several meetings with the UNESCO Liaison Office in Addis Ababa, as well as the Ministry of Science and Technology, discussing the upcoming trip to the Yayu Preparatory School in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. As well as the broader future of the entire project.
The day after at the crack of dawn our group now includes a Ministry of Science and Technology official as well as a camera crew from the German Television station MDR. Driving through the now slowly awakening capital city of Addis Ababa, our bus weaves itself through the early morning traffic and out to the Ethiopian countryside. Leaving the early 21st century behind is in the city we enter a world that in many places feels more like the 16 hundreds than the age of technology. Driving through beautiful lush valleys of green, being greeted along the roadside by a pack of apes watching a bunch of us pulling out cameras to take pictures.
At the end of day one we arrive in Bonga, a city in one of the key coffee farming areas in the country.
The next morning we meet near the local bank with a group headed by the CEO of Ecopia, a company focused on income generating activities in Ethiopian biosphere reserves, Dr. Mitslal Kifleyesus is taking us on a tour to a new project with an organic coffee farmer. Now traveling in a convoy of several jeeps, a bumpy ride begins into the Bonga jungle. Here we have the honor to meet a man running his own Coffee plantation in the middle of the jungle and learn a great deal about the possibilities to create income in synergy with nature.
On the last day of traveling we finally reach Yayu, first on the schedule, a meeting with the mayor of Yayu. After a 2 hour meeting, introducing him to the Green Academy initiative, he issues us a permit to proceed. Next on the list a tour of the school and a meeting with the school administrators.
The Yayu Preparatory school, situated on a small hill above the town, teaches over a 1000 students every day. Talking to the student body and teachers we were introduced to an array of daily problems, ranging from snake invested libraries, no access to water on campus and inadequate teachings tools as well as unconstant electricity. But even through all these obstacles the students of the environmental club we had the honor to talk to, jumped at the opportunity to contribute their vision for a Green Academy at their schools. After a week of workshops, a deal was signed with the school agreeing upon a roadmap for the implementation of a Green Academy at the school. Beginning with the installation of rainwater harvesting capabilities to ensure that 1000 students have regular access to water on school premises.