(00:22) World Learning has been working in Ethiopia since 1996. (00:35) With financial support from the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and… (00:40) …the United States Agency for International Development,… (00:43) …World Learning currently implements a school-led program model… (00:46) …to mitigate the impact of the AIDS epidemic on children and their families. (00:50) The school-community partnership serving HIV/AIDS affected… (00:53) …orphans and vulnerable children, also known as the SCOPSO project… (00:58) …focuses on developing the local capacity to improve the… (01:01) … overall well-being of children affected by HIV and AIDS. (01:04) The model engages teachers, communities, and the… (01:09) …child beneficiaries themselves in finding lasting, relevant solutions… (01:13) …to reduce critical barriers that often prevent these children from… (01:16) …enrolling in, attending and achieving in school. (01:21) (Tahir Gero) Our immediate focus is on the challenge… (01:23) …because we need to make sure that the child is going to school, … (01:26) …the child is attending regularly, and performing, you know, … (01:31) …similar to, you know, their peers. (01:31) We have 2,082 students in our school. (01:44) About 500 of them are orphaned. (01:46) Having lost a parent, and quite often both parents… (01:48) …these children live in very difficult circumstances. (01:52) The SCOPSO project directly supports 140 of the most vulnerable children at our school. (02:02) My mother died when I was very little. (02:04) I remember her only a little. She was tall and had dark skin. (02:08) When we observed Belete, we saw that he was really struggling. (02:10) He came from a very poor family and had no one to take care of him. (02:13) His behavior was unusual at times. For example, he would suddenly start to cry… (02:14) …or get up and leave the classroom during the lesson. (02:16) I used to not like going to school at all. (02:19) The other children were not nice to me before. (02:22) They would call me names, push me around… (02:24) …and sometimes even fight with me. (02:34) My mother is alive, but she does not live here with us. She lives in another country. (02:37) Since she does not call us, she does not know how I am getting along. (02:41) I remember that sometimes I would go to school hungry, without having any food. (02:44) But when I did not have books or a pen, I did not go to school. (02:47) I would not beg anyone. (02:48) I was afraid of what people would think, or say to me, if I did. (02:51) So I used to miss school very often. (02:54) There is a structure that we call (02:58) core group which identifies the children, (03:01) assess the specific needs of the children, (03:04) and plan, implement (03:08) and monitor and and and and continue the follow-up (03:11) on the I-30 process of improving the well-being of children… (03:15) …for better educational outcomes. (03:18) Belete would fail in school before. (03:20) Since he entered the program, he has improved a lot… (03:22) …and he passed to the second grade this year. (03:25) Now he can write well, and he can express himself both verbally and in writing. (03:28) When I was in the first grade, my teacher would spend time with me… (03:32) …advise me and check on how I was doing and how I was learning in class. (03:38) Now I do not interrupt anymore an di participate well in class. (03:46) Also when I am home, I am quiet and do not fight with anyone. (03:54) Before SCOPSO I used to come to school late, hungry, and did not get very good grades. (03:59) But now, my school grades are much better, and I score as well as the other students. (04:10) When I was in grade five last year, I would rank 21st in my class. (04:12) I am in grade six now and I am ranked 10th in my class. (04:15) Next year I want to compete… (04:17) …to be the best student in my class. (04:18) Schools have established various micro-enterprise models… (04:22) ...that help earn funds to provide basic support to those children… (04:26) ...who do not have other alternatives and would otherwise drop out. (04:29) We aim at building the capacity of schools... (04:33) ...to continue this program. (04:38) The project’s economic strengthening component reaches caregivers... (04:44) ...as well and focuses on improving household level income... (04:48) ...through transfer assets, such as domestic animals,… (04:50) ...tools, or small equipment and village savings & loans associations. (04:55) It is my grandmother who takes care of me. (04:57) The program helped her get loans. (05:00) With the money she borrowed, she started a trade and now she can make a profit. (05:06) She also learned about savings groups from my school. (05:09) We used to have problems, but since SCOPSO started she is also able to save money… (05:15) …and we have not had many problems. (05:20) Our program innovations also include child social and financial education… (05:23) …utilizing participatory child-centered methodology developed by Aflatoun. (05:29) It facilitates active engagement among the children so that… (05:32) …they can gain the important social and financial skills… (05:35) …they need to thrive as they grow up. (05:37) Our experience shows that with the appropriate support, … (05:41) ...local communities can take action on behalf of their children... (05:45) ...and create lasting and locally relevant solutions. (05:48) It also confirms that schools too have a role to play… (05:53) ...in the context of the AIDS epidemic. (05:54) It is fortunate that there’s one in just about every community... (05:59) ...in Ethiopia. (06:20) In the future, I want to finish school and become a pilot. (06:28) Since I want to find a cure for AIDS… (06:32) …I want to be a doctor.