The Racquette

Issue date: 2/26/10 Section: College Life

Media Credit: Alex French Alex French and Kayla Riley receive flowers from Gembeltu villagers.

The project budget, as presented in a fundraising letter.

For Alex French, SUNY Potsdam alumnus, what started as a motorcycle ride to see a friend's family ended in an effort to help 300 young schoolchildren in a country that most people could not point out on a map. Now, French searches the Potsdam community for donors to raise the $16,500 necessary to build a school in Gembeltu, Ethiopia. With him on his quest are his soon-to-be-wife Kayla Riley and Daniel Smith, senior history major.

French lived in Ethiopia as an intern for a non-governmental organization (NGO) from November 2008 to May 2009. In a fundraising letter, he stated "During my stay, a friend I met in the cafes, Mieso, offered to take me to his village to meet his family. With him on the back of my dirt bike, we headed East off the main road for several miles." Upon arrival, however, it became clear that "family" meant the entire village. Children singing in broken English greeted French, and he got to meet the village elders. They formally asked if he could find donors so they could build a school for the children. In a meeting with the district head of education, French was guaranteed that the government would provide a yearly budget and a small salary for teachers if a school was built. "So building a school in Gembultu is precisely what I intend to do," said French.

Upon returning to the U.S., he joined up with fiancée Riley and Smith. As they started discussing the project in the fall, Smith found he wanted to be part of giving children a future. "I realized the tangibility of the project, and I decided it was something I really wanted to get involved with. In my mind, a good education is a ticket out of the cycle of poverty," Smith said. "I think that, on a basic human level and as members of a global community, we are obliged to give our time and energy to help those who were not given the same opportunities that we as Americans often take for granted. That's what this project this project is about for me. Of course, I think it presents a unique growth opportunity as well."

As the picture shows, students and teachers in Gembultu are not currently in a schoolhouse. The children are educated in the shade of a eucalyptus tree, without chalkboards, desks, books or a roof to protect them during the rainy season. In the fundraising letter French stated, "instead, they meet under the tree and listen to the teacher's lectures. The head teacher, Kasama Jera, has recruited the help of three younger teachers to assist in the education of some 300 young schoolchildren in the area." Jera and his assistant teachers are unpaid and fed by the villagers of Gembultu.

French was impressed by the unity and solidarity that the community showed, and said: "what inspired me to take this project seriously is Gembeltu's cohesion as a community." He explained that there is a trend in the development field to involve beneficiaries in projects, what he calls "to have a bottom-up approach where the community participates in the planning and completion of projects that THEY feel will improve their lives rather than what the NGO's feel they need."

French expressed that he did not see this approach in the experience of working with a NGO, something he attributes to that most NGOs are contracted by governments. In the people of Gembultu, he sees a genuine opportunity to put theory into action. "The whole village is already deeply invested in this school for their children. The teachers are volunteering. They saw a foreigner entering their community as an opportunity to build themselves a proper school house - to give their children desks and chalkboards, a tin roof for the rainy season and salaries for their teachers. Through the translation of my friend it was the elders of the village, all gathered together, who asked me to undertake this project. The community as a whole wants to have a school and they told me as a whole that if I bring funds back to them, that they will all assist in the construction of that school. This is the epitome of the bottom-up approach," said French.

Together with Riley and Smith he works to raise the necessary funds by November, 2010. November is the end of the rainy season in Ethiopia, and it will be the best time to begin the construction of the four-classroom school. As there is no electricity or plumbing in the village, the building will be simple. In the fundraising letter, French, Riley and Smith exemplified some of the budget. "For example, $1,350 will buy the stones needed for the foundation of the school, $715 will purchase wooden poles needed for the frame, $200 will buy each classroom a blackboard, and $50 can cover the cost of a window. Even just $10 will buy an iron sheet for roofing."

Smith said that while they have only just begun the fundraising process, people are excited about the project, "we have been talking to people about our project as much as we can on a grassroots level… I think that people hear about something like this, and they want to be a part of it. It's something bigger than us as individuals. It presents the campus and village communities with a chance to work together toward a really tangible goal." French agrees, and said that the response has been incredible. "Every time I tell someone new, they seem to have some sort of input about the project - either connections to make or ideas for fundraising events. It's all building momentum much faster than I thought it would."

Several events are planned to fundraise for the project. The first major event is a benefit dinner that is held in the Knowles MPR on Saturday, March 27. The dinner will be cooked by volunteers, there will be live music, raffles and information on the project. A benefit concert is planned to be held at La Casbah on March 19 with Ten Speed Taxi, but plans for this event are yet to be finalized. On a grassroots level, French has friends that are making art for an auction. There are religious organizations involved, as are local school districts and philanthropists.

In the fundraising letter, French, Riley and Smith explained how anyone can make a donation. Checks are to be written to the Forever Young Foundation, a tax-exempt non-profit charitable organization. Write "Ethiopia - Gembultu" as the reason for the check and send the check to Alex French at 15 Clinton St., Potsdam NY, 13676. French said that the reason checks go via him is so that he can let the charity know how much money that is being sent for the specific project. "Anyone can donate money by mailing me a check written out to the Forever Young Foundation, or by just contacting me at my e-mail, or phone 315-212-0634. We are going to set up a couple of donation boxes around town soon, and try to set up a Facebook cause as well. And of course we will be accepting extra donations at all of the events we are planning," said French.

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