The Educational/Literacy Problem in Ethiopia
(Cited from UNICEF, 2005)

• Adult literacy rate (% age 15 and over who can read and write): 42.7%
  o Male: 50.3%
  o Female: 35.1%
  
• Primary School Attendance:
  o Male: 33%
  o Female: 28%
  
• Secondary School Attendance:
  o Male: 13%
  o Female: 10%
  
• Overall Literacy ranking: 163 of 179 countries providing information
  

Objectives of ESCI

• To educate local schools and communities about the humanitarian and educational conditions in Ethiopia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
  
• To raise $30,000 toward construction of a Pre-K to Grade 10 school in Awassa, Ethiopia.
  

Partner Organization: Ethio-American Friendship School

• Founder: **Yohannes Gebregeorgis
  
• School Mission: to provide a secular, high-quality education to children in Awassa and the surrounding area, especially for orphans, vulnerable and rural children.
  
• Curriculum: emphasis in reading and cultural literacy, as will as advocacy in human rights, environmental awareness and animal rights
  
• School Motto: “Education is Freedom”
  
• Study Body: 203 students (Grades K-4) as of 2007
  
• Expansion goal – 1000 students (Grades K-9) by 2012 with new building

**To learn about Yohannes’s extraordinary accomplishments on behalf of Ethiopian literacy, go to: www.ethiopiareads.org

The Humanitarian Problem in Ethiopia

The following shows Ethiopia’s ranking in a variety of development categories according to the United Nations Human Development Report for 2004. There were 177 countries that supplied information for this study.

Additional Data for Ethiopia

• Malnutrition: 46%
  
• Access to water supply: 22% (This is by far the lowest access of any country listed)
  
• People living with HIV/AIDS: 1.5 million (as of 2003)
  
• # of orphans: 4.8 million