Interviews
Grounded Voices. Shared Vision. Lasting Impact.
At Early Childhood Education Ethiopia, we believe the most powerful solutions come from the people closest to the challenge. Our work begins by listening, truly listening, to the voices of parents, teachers, elders, and community leaders in the rural regions we serve. Their insights shape every preschool we build, every training we deliver, and every child-centered innovation we implement.
We don’t arrive with answers, we co-create them. Our role is to uplift the wisdom, aspirations, and lived experiences of local communities, ensuring that early education reflects not just global standards, but local truth. In doing so, we’re not just building schools, we’re restoring dignity, trust, and opportunity where it’s long been denied.
Because sustainable impact begins when the people on the ground lead the way.
In this touching interview, W/o Belaynesh, mother to three-year-old Alehegn, shares her education journey. Filled with challenges but aspires for something better for her son.
A community elder speaks about what this preschool means to him. Stating ” the school is so dilapidated that the room is falling, you have to lower your head to go inside, how can you call this a school? “
Voices from the Ground
Ato Umer Hussein, the current elementary school principal and ECEE’s liaison and partner, remains instrumental on our progress and advancement with the project.
Ato Jember Adugna, one of ECEE’s longest supporters on site shares his take on the construction, we are always humbled to hear from our elders.
Voices from Educators, Area Supervisors and Staff Members
At our Bahir Dar site, an administrator shares the realities on the ground. As a practitioner involved in elevating practice, she candidly shares the challenges, barriers, and the inequities in ECE.
We must preserve history. Specifically, history told from those that live in the community, remain part of schools and have generational knowledge that is often overlooked. Are you curious to know about how the Gaffat School was founded?
Interviews and Insights
The number of students failing Ethiopia’s national high school exit exam continues to rise, with more than 95% scoring below the passing threshold. In this interview, we explore the deeper roots of this crisis, looking beyond the test scores to examine systemic shortcomings and reframe the conversation: instead of asking why students are failing, we ask who has failed the children?
How do we support young children in their developmental and educational journey? This interview gives insight into what we mean when we say the first five matter most.