It's been a busy few months in Chacha and in Tennessee!  At the beginning of the rainy season we suffered some setbacks in Chacha.  We lost our kitchen, our classrooms flooded and our entry bridge collapsed.  Luckily, despite these challenges, we prevailed.  We merged our two classrooms and turned the back classroom into a kitchen, so that we would not lose the ability to feed the students.  Our meal program is one of the most effective aspects of Project HEAL's efforts in Chacha. With teamwork, we still managed to move forward and overcome the rest of these obstacles. We are glad to report that a majority of our upper class students "graduated" to the next level during a graduation ceremony held at a local government high school at the end of June.  The staff at LFCA did an incredible job helping them to grow more confident each day.  Academically, both classes exceeded any expectations we had for them throughout the school year.  Another praise to report is that our meal program has helped our students to stay strong and healthy during the colder, rainy months of June, July and now August.  Our in country Director, Dereje Yeshidinber has been quite busy in meetings discussing the design plans for our new academy building.  We are really hoping to break ground over the next few weeks and cannot wait to share pictures and updates with you.

This summer we have also been very busy here in TN with fundraising events and planning for the upcoming school year!  We had an event at Paddle Dog Adventures in Franklin, TN with TigerMeat which had a great turnout!  So thankful to the Mattox and Abrams' families for making this possible.  Most recently we attended the Nashville Sounds game and will be having our a fundraiser with Noonday at the end of the month.  Our big fundraiser, the Second Annual MFC (Music, Food, and Cornhole) will take place October 7th in Franklin, TN.  Stay tuned for more details about these and more exciting upcoming events!  We are always looking for ways to spread awareness to other areas, so if at any time you want to plan an event or get more involved in fundraising for Project HEAL, please send a message to contactus@projecthealethiopia.org.

Lastly, we are excited to share that a mini team will be traveling to Chacha at the end of the month to check in on our students and their families, as well as our staff.  We will address any medical needs we see during our time in Chacha and will make any necessary arrangements to continue the wellness of our students.  We will also be overseeing the building progress and will have the ability to weigh in on decisions for the new Academy.  Sponsors, please be on the lookout for an email about this upcoming trip and your ability to send letters and pictures to the child(ren) you sponsor.  We are excited to be able to share new pictures and most importantly to provide an update on your sponsor child(ren).

Finally, enjoy the below pictures highlighting the past few months with Project HEAL and LFCA!

All the best,
Colleen and Dan Taylor