We invite you to share a word of encouragement to our staff at Lifesong Ethiopia. To do so, please leave a comment or comment on our Facebook wall and it will be forwarded to our staff. Thank you in advance for your kind words of support! 

Please enjoy this update on Lifesong Ethiopia from Gary Ifft,

"After some hectic and stressful days, school has started up once again.  The last minute crush of registering students, hiring teachers and other staff, purchasing large quantities of food, purchasing and placement of desks and other furniture, in addition to trying to get the two new school buildings completed and ready for our occupancy is not something we looked forward to.  But we survived all that and school is in operation.  

With all three campuses combined we have 760 students.  And it seems we also have about 2,000 upset families because there was no room for their kids in our schools.  That is the problem (and the blessing) of having the best facilities, the best teachers, and the best reputation for many kilometers in any direction.  We've been threatened with lawsuits, tried to be bribed, been cried in front of more times than we could count, been cursed, and been accused by government officials of corruption simply because we didn't enroll someone's child.  Never did we suspect this was part of our job description!

In Adami Tulu we suddenly find ourselves with 300 students (these are included in the 760 above).  As opposed to the two Ziway schools, they don't yet have a nice modern feeding facility like both schools in Ziway have.  Our kitchen staff is doing an outstanding job with the facility they have to feed all these kids breakfast and lunch each day.  But for next year, it is definitely a priority to get them a dining facility equal to or better than the standard set in Ziway.

Enjoy these pictures..." 

 Our new two-story 14-room building at Ziway

 Morning flag pole ceremony at Ziway