Murga Primary brings hope to a resilient community

November 1, 2024

In the heart of a community recovering from a two-year conflict is Murga Primary School in Abala woreda, Afar region.

Ali Moussa Kassa is a young man who teaches Afari and English. Ali has also been serving as the school principal since the conflict.

“Teachers were displaced, and they did not return to the school after the conflict ended,” Ali explained.

a person standing in front of a building

Before the conflict, the school was thriving, providing education for over 500 children, covering grades one to eight, a library and a feeding program. The school had 16 teachers on the payroll.

After the school building was rehabilitated 250 students were back in class. Currently, the school takes in grades one to six. Five teachers, including two females, are on the payroll.

Although the library was restored the building now temporarily serves as an administration office due to the lack of reading materials.

Despite the lingering scars of the past, Ali expresses his enthusiasm: “The children are motivated to learn. I’m happy to teach them, and the community looks forward to a brighter future for their children.”

Fatuma Maamiya, a mother of ten, was previously displaced to the Afdera IDP site. She highlighted the importance of education in rebuilding lives. Fatuma’s children walk a challenging distance to attend Murga School, but she remains determined to ensure they receive an education. “The only hope we have is by sending the children to school,” Fatuma says, emphasizing the power of education to pave the way for a better future.

The community is gradually rallying to support Murga Primary, but challenges remain. Fatuma highlighted that some families preferred to keep their girls at home because they would have to walk a long way to get to the school, and this placed them at risk of getting ambushed and attacked on the road.

Mohamed Ali is a community leader who reflects that the girls in the community are still haunted by the trauma of the conflict.

He also explained that parents prioritised the family's survival over sending their children to school. This meant that in communities without access to potable water, children were sent to fetch water. This connection between water access and education has prompted the woreda administration to develop a new integrated approach for future programs, contingent upon securing new funding resources.

As stability returns to the area, the school attracts children from nearby villages, some of whom endure long treks just to learn as their local school has been destroyed in the conflict.

The PSF has helped local authorities rebuild 16 schools across the Afar, Amhara and Tigray regions rebuild schools. These include two in Tigray, one in Afar, and 13 schools in Amhara regions.

* The Peace Support Facility is implemented in Afar, Amara and Tigray following the northern Ethiopia conflict. The PSF supports Ethiopia’s peacebuilding efforts, aligning closely with the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) nexus principles and bridging immediate humanitarian relief with long-term development initiatives.

The Peace Support Facility is supported by the governments of Germany and Japan, as well as with resources committed from UNDP’s Core Partners and Funding Windows.