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New Generations, Old Challenges: Questioning Grassroots Development in the Horn of Africa
JOURNAL OF YOUTH RESEARCHES
In the context of the target neighborhoods under study, there is a highly sluggish progress
in the education sector contradicting a practical-change expectation as compared to
preceding decades. In recent years, the government has launched primary level schools
in the three neighborhoods. Teachers are assigned (five for Dobba, while Wodesha and
Shumoro have six teachers each), and text books distributed. Most importantly, parents
tend to send children (HOARCM31, 23/04/11). However, once can simply detect vari-
ous messes related mainly to the distance that most students should walk from and/to
school, and school infrastructure and follow up.
The first crisis appears water scarcity in the schools. In all the three schools, there is no
single water provision. While Wodesha primary school has the potential to collect some
amount from a nearby water reservoir, the other two schools have no any reachable water
source. As aggravated by water scarcity, sanitation has become the forefront challenge.
Unquestionably, primary schools are supposed to be clean and comfortable, mainly be-
cause they are institutions where the ideal ‘new generations’ are emerging from. Regretfully,
these schools do not seem to have a near future hope to protect school children health.
At some corners in the schools, one can notice ‘imaginary latrines’ in the sense that they
are there for a mere presence. After all, they are already poorly built, and the children are
totally un-oriented about latrine handling. As a result, these so-called ‘latrines’ turn ter-
ribly dirty, dangerously smelling, and completely exposed. One can observe the human
waste already subjected to the reproduction of flies. As a result, there is high level of smell
already disrupting the teaching-learning. Even if some students turn courageous enough
to make ‘use’ of the latrines, they are not prevented from any harsh levels of the sun, the
wind, the rain and the sights of others. Simply, these latrines are unexplainable. There is
a risk that these so-called latrines, together with other sanitation problems, will have be-
come a threat to the lives of all the children attending that school, while others not coming
to school could avoid the risk to some extent.
Figure 1: A Rural Pre-school ‘Classroom’.
Source : https//www.facebook.com/GURDA
