American and Ethiopian Partners Dedicate Refurbished Abadir Primary School in Addis Ababa (10/16/08)

(U.S. Embassy, Addis Ababa) – Ms. Deborah Malac, Charge’ d’Affaire of the United States Embassy in Ethiopia, praised the partnership between the Ethiopian and American governments that led to the refurbishment of the Abadir Primary School in Addis Ababa.  Speaking at a dedication ceremony at the school on October 16, Ms. Malac praised the American soldiers who spent the past eight months working a total of some 1600 man/days on the project.  Some 300 students will benefit from the reconstruction project, which cost just over USD $175,000.

With the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Section, two Naval Marine Construction Battalion detachments (“Seabees”) upgraded facilities at the Abadir Primary School by replacing the roofs on the classroom and administration buildings, rebuilding the latrine, refurbishing the buildings, providing a new cistern for water supply, and installing a covered area in the courtyard.  USAID provided new and refurbished school furniture, while the Embassy is contributing books to the new library.

U.S. Army Major Stanley Oswald, a Civil Affairs Officer working alongside the Seabees and who supervised the overall project, noted the active partnership with the local community that made this project possible.  “From the first day,” he said, “the people here accepted us into their community and supported our efforts to rebuild this school for their children.  Many of our soldiers working on this project have children of their own and they left their families behind while they did this important work.  So in a very real sense, they felt like these were their children, too, and they wanted these kids to have a good school and a good environment for studying.”

Ms. Nancy Estes, USAID-Ethiopia Program Office Chief, noted the importance of good conditions in schools for the success of students.  “We want all Ethiopian students,” she said, “to learn in an environment that helps them be the best students they can be.  We are proud to work together – with the leadership of the Ministry of Education, the City of Addis Ababa, and the staff and students of the Abadir School – to help these boys and girls be successful in their studies and to support the hard work of the Abadir teachers and staff.”

The Abadir School reconstruction is an initiative of the U.S. Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), under the command of Rear Admiral Phillip H. Green Jr.  With the completion of the project, the Ethiopian partners are committed to maintaining the school, while the U.S. Embassy will continue to support the growth of the school’s library with more books and related materials in the coming months. ♦