As part of fundraising for a school in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia, we spent time and were so impressed with what we saw at Bazen Complete Primary School, a delightfully inspiring school located in the western part of the historical northern city of Axum and named after an early Axumite Emperor. The school caters to a primarily agricultural community. This modest government school was considered a model school in Axum because it had received the same funding as other local schools but it is how these resources were used that set them apart.
At the head of the school at the time was Brzaf Abebe who had been a teacher for 18 years, the last five as the Director of Bazen School. We witnessed a caring individual who was dedicated to enriching the lives of her students.
Despite clear evidence of what this school had achieved, their needs remained substantial and we were so pleased to be able to provide this school with vital items (desks, chairs, books, blackboards etc).
Within this Model School however and despite lack of resources, we came across Tirewerk Zewdie who was the Model Teacher! With few books and no practical teaching aids or resources, this teacher had been amazingly innovative. Along with her students she had literally created her own creative teaching aids – all beautifully handcrafted by the students themselves! A plant for example created from green and yellow plastic – a unique form of recycling. Because the class lacked textbooks, this teacher taught English using practical methods – with a model shop and hospital again using student created props. The students engaged in role playing which made learning English not only educational but fun too.
PROJECT PENCIL CASE 