Awra Amba RJ 300612 EN - Contacter un comité local d'Attac

5. Education
Awra Amba has paid specific attention to education. It is seen as a key factor of development, not as
a simple way to improve his livelihoods like in the neighbouring communities (Ya08/92). It is geared
towards promoting the group, as well as individual (At05/94).
So children must help each other: every child is responsible for the welfare of every other child and
for the welfare of the community children as a whole. Therefore, children help each other in their
studies, care for each other when they go to school and come back, and when they are at school
(At05/94).
Before looking at the relationship of the community with the public education system, we focus
above on an education tool specific to the community: self-help education. Finally, we will assess the
education level of the community, which is a consequence of that and is much higher than the
regional one.
5.1. Self-help education
Awra Amba had created first a self-education or peer education system. At the beginning, this
system has been implemented to allow women and parents in general to work outside their home
without having to care for their young children; then, it became an excellent tool of education for all
community members and of transmission of community values. Children able to walk, those aged 4
or 5, students of primary school between school and meals as well as illiterate adults are encouraged
to enter this education system by older young people who have finished primary or secondary school
(At05/90-91; Yi07/60-62).
Children have first a free play period before breakfast. After breakfast and after lunch, their activities
are collective and supervised by an older young people. Therefore, children are not left to their own
devices, but are watched, which allows to inform parents about what do their children, and the
parents to follow up on, even to correct their children's education when they are together during
lunchtime and during the evening (At05/91).
The community had built firstly a small school in the centre of the village (Crespo, 2012): 64 adults
have this way learned to read and write on the spot through internal training (At05/61), which
corresponds to the number of people who are only able to read and write (in 2005). The need of adult
learning is still important: 97 % of the household heads think they are in great need for learning,
especially in modern weaving and spinning, in general mechanics and wrought-iron, and in joinery
(Ya08/100). Since 2011, night school is given to adults in this small school; it is foreseen to open at
the expense of the cooperative night school for adults in the public primary school as soon as it will
have electricity (Crespo, 2012).
This school has been then converted into a nursery school – or kindergarten, where a woman from
the community welcomes every day children from 8am to 9am and from 2pm to 3pm (see Picture
14). Beyond basic teaching, much education deals with values, standards and principles shared by
the community. At the beginning of each day, children sing a song stating their commitment to
follow the principles of the community (Yi07/61 & 92). Children repeat at any time slogans
reflecting the values of the community (At05/93): "Children do not steal! Children do not lie!
Children do not insult others! Children do respect people! Children do enjoy working! Etc." This
education makes children more ethical, more respectful of others, better speaker (Yi07/94). Children
are motivated to read and raise issues, in order to be creative, innovative and capable of building a
better world through their individual and collective efforts (Ya08/92).
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