Our Impact

  • 5 schools built

  • 40 classrooms (3 additional classrooms in construction)

  • 4 libraries (1 in construction)

  • 3 Girls’ Rooms (1 in construction)

  • New furniture provided for schools and libraries.

  • Sewing program launched for menstrual pads

  • 1600+ reusable menstruation pads provided

  • 6 tutoring programs active

  • Teaching material provided for all schools

Future Plans

  • 3 new classrooms in Kora Bela

  • New library

  • New Girls’ Room

  • Water pipeline project

  • Photovoltaic energy for teachers

We have signed a contract to build another block of 3 classrooms, 1 library, and one girls’ room in Kora Bela.

Water: None of the schools we support has access to clean running water. This is a major issue in many other parts of Ethiopia and the world. In rural communities of Oromia, people -mostly women and girls- may have to spend an average of 1 ½ to 3 hours per day to collect water, often from springs, wells, and rivers. We are presently in discussion with local farmers to obtain the right to build a pipeline crossing their land to provide running water to the school in Kora Bela.

Photovoltaic power: Only the school in Bilo has intermittent access to electric power, not enough to run computers, only to charge phones.  The school in Kube Chitu has 1 solar panel to provide minimal power to charge phones and to provide short-term lighting at night for the teachers who have to stay in the village during the week. (image: Solar Kube Chitu). We are presently in discussion with a provider of photovoltaic systems in Addis Ababa with the goal of providing teachers in Kora Bela with enough energy for nighttime lighting

Transparency

  • Our work in Ethiopia is almost entirely financed by donations of board members, friends and colleagues.

    We are also very grateful to the First Congregational Church of Berkeley whose members have generously supported EVS from its inception.

  • We have kept our overhead cost, ie. costs not directly related to building projects, furniture and educational material, at a minimum.

    From the beginning of 2023 - June of 2025 we dedicated almost 95% of our expenses to building and educational expenses. The remainder is used for essential operational cost such as website maintenance, travel, PO Box cost, bank transfer fees, etc.

  • Project Costs (building and education): $86,477

    Overhead: $4,721

    Direct Project Cost: 94.6%

    Overhead cost: 5.4%