THANK YOU! 

The campaign is now finished and whilst we did not reach our desired funding goal, we are very pleased that so many of you got involved to help Awra Amba build their high school. 

The high school was inaugurated in September 2012 and now services over 500 students from a radius of 20km from Awra Amba. Only 38 of the students are from the Awra Amba Community. 

If you'd like to follow the community's next steps, and stay involved, please take a look at our new project - The Awra Amba Experience - an interactive documentary produced in collaboration with the Awra Amba community - allowing their voices and important views on social change gain a global platform. 

Support HERE. 

Thank you!

Paulina and the Awra Amba Team 

The Awra Amba Story

Awra Amba is a small community located in the North West of Ethiopia – a rural, undeveloped area where most people rely on subsistence farming. The brainchild of an Ethiopian farmer called Zumra Nuru, Awra Amba was founded in the 1970s with the goal of solving socio-economic problems through helping one another in an environment of egalitarianism. Zumra himself had not had access to education and his ideas were based on lived experiences and a strong desire to create a more just society that respects all human beings. Today, almost 40 years later, the community is universally lauded as a model to alleviate poverty and promote gender equality in a country where women are generally subservient to men. Awra Amba is an extraordinary initiative within a traditional and conservative community because of its gender equality, its work ethic, its social security system and its strong belief in education.

We are a group of filmmakers and friends of Awra Amba, who have known them for years and are very enthusiastic about their progressive self-help philosophy. We want to support them with their self-initiated school project. The nearest high school currently is a 14 km walk from Awra Amba and there is a real need for a high school in the area. With their own resources, the community has already started building the foundations for the school and constructing one classroom. They still need to build more classrooms, a library and a science lab in order to meet Government standards to run the school.

Awra Amba’s goal is to build a society with good values and a strong work ethic. They believe that education is key to this. They want to educate young people to be creative and entrepreneurial citizens. The school will educate both children from Awra Amba and the surrounding communities within a 20 km radius. Although they have come a long way in making their dream a reality, the project is now facing financial challenges where it needs our little help.

Why should I support them? 

Your contribution will give hundreds of children an opportunity for the kind of education that opens doors to a better life. The high school will make a huge difference to the lives of children both in Awra Amba and in the wider community, and ultimately produce intelligent, confident and entrepreneurial young people who can develop their own communities without relying on foreign aid, leading to a more sustainable lifestyle. 

We know that our funding goal is ambitious, but so are the goals of the Awra Amba Community. Even if we do not reach the full amount, whatever amount is raised will help the community immensely in completing their project. 

How will the money be used?

Our support will help the community complete a second classroom, a library and a science lab. These are the minimum requirements for Government approval of the school. Any amount we can raise will go directly to the community, who are actively working on the construction of the school. We will be posting regular updates on the school’s progress on this page. 

A quote from Zumra Nuru, Awra Amba community: 

"We are not asking for aid; we are asking you to help us build our society and the future of our children which will help us fight poverty and to be a good model for citizens across Ethiopia."

Spread the word.  Spread the word online on your preferred social networks, tell your friends, family, work colleagues, neighbours, local cafe-keepers, pub landlords, hairdressers and anyone who you regularly chat to. Ask them to match your donation.  

Organise a fundraising lunch – why not get your whole workplace or community involved with fundraising? We will provide you with presentation materials, including a set of slides from the village, and posters to print and put up in the office. Then just get your colleagues together at lunchtime for 30 minutes and fundraise together! By donating a bigger amount to the school, you are also eligible for bigger, better perks! 

Organise a fundraising screening – for the ambitious ones amongst you, we recommend you organise a fundraising screening of the film Awra Amba – Utopia in Ethiopia. Find a room with a projector or go to your local church or community centre, ask if you can use their premises for a good cause. Contact us to purchase or rent a screening copy of the film and advertise for the screening in your community with our posters. On special request one of us will also do our best to connect to your screening via skype.