ICS Partnership Provides Displaced Families with Resources for Learning & Health

The ICS community has once again come together, living our mission to support our local and international neighbors.

Students at Firin Primary in Finote Selam, Ethiopia, who have been displaced from their homes, received school supplies, work books, and emergency food stocks as a result of a fundraising campaign at ICS which raised more than 32,000 birr. ICS also sent packs of pencils, pens, erasers, and markers to the school, along with hygiene products for the students and their families.

The support campaign was part of an on-going, years-long collaboration with Partners in Education Ethiopia, a non-governmental organization committed to improving schools and training teachers in northern regions of the country. Elementary Teacher Sonia Richmond spearheaded the latest efforts, as part of her action research project, an essential element of her journey toward earning a master’s degree in Global Perspectives in Education.

“ICS has a great opportunity as a leading international school in Ethiopia and in Africa to give back to the community and be more involved with local projects,” Sonia said. “Bringing this awareness to the community about challenges that are close by that we are able to support with will hopefully help more individuals, both staff and students, to continue to support government schools and internally displaced persons populations to become more sustainable and self-sufficient so that the impact can be carried on from year to year.”

ICS has been working with Partners in Education Ethiopia since 2015. Teachers, educational assistants and leaders have offered training and helped identify pathways to achieving strategic learning goals. Our maintenance staff has created classroom furniture and playground equipment for the school. Current efforts include an extension of workshops from ICS Elementary School Counselor Cassidy Storm, who is helping with a training program for trauma-informed counseling practices for teachers, and future plans include ICS high school students working directly with the students in academics.

“Our students, parents, employees, the school administration, and everyone at ICS play key roles in realizing our mission and vision to be our best with Africa and our world,” ICS Professional Learning Manager Seble Genet said. “It is such a privilege to be part of such a caring community.”