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February 2010 Update
"The plans for the new grade school in Ziway are finalized, the builder has been selected and the work has just begun. The block wall or "fence" surrounding the property is also going up. In Ethiopia towns, similar to other third world countries, a property usually has a secure fence surrounding it to mark its boundaries and to secure the contents on the inside from theft.
Lifesong for Orphans pays an elderly widow woman to make the injera used to feed the 300 children at school. She delivers the injera twice a week to the school on a horse cart. Injera is the traditional Ethiopian bread that is made from a tiny grain called teff that is grown locally. Teff is naturally high in iron, fiber and calcium, which is really beneficial to the children's diet. The injera looks like a huge crepe that has bubbles in it, since it is made with a sourdough yeast starter which gives it a distinctive sour taste. It is used as a base on the plate with the main dish added on top, usually as gravy. The meal is eaten by tearing off pieces of injera and scooping up the gravy with your fingers.
The children in the feeding program are taught to pray to Jesus and give thanks before their meal. This is a wonderful opportunity since not all of the children come from Christian homes.
Nursery School in the town on Adami Tulu: The kitchen and the dining facility at the Nursery School are getting close to being ready to feed the 55 nursery students a hot meal twice a day.
Plans are made to divide the Nursery School into two classes during the summer break recess. There will be a room for nursery students and also lower kindergarten.
About Ethiopia
Location
Eastern Africa, west of Somalia
Capital City
Addis Ababa
Area
1,104,300 sq km (slightly less than twice the size of Texas)
Population
85,237,338
Languages
Amarigna 32.7%, Oromigna 31.6%, Tigrigna 6.1%, Somaligna 6%, Guaragigna 3.5%, Sidamigna 3.5%, Hadiyigna 1.7%, other 14.8%, English (major foreign language taught in schools) (1994 census)
Religion
Christian 60.8% (Orthodox 50.6%, Protestant 10.2%), Muslim 32.8%, traditional 4.6%, other 1.8% (1994 census)
**data from www.cia.gov
