Our school continued to improve every time, from dusty floor to paved floor, from sitting on stones to combined desks, from just listening in class to asking and answering questions and also involving in group activities. We like our teachers and I think they like us because they encourage us to participate in class and in clubs and they also know the names of all of us. Our school compound is also clean and it has play grounds. Even our small siblings like staying in our school compound. In confirming the impact that the projects created in transforming the school into child friendly institutions, Haileyesus Solomon, Este WEO Head said “The project created child friendly schools. The schools have improved compounds and furniture, the teachers apply active learning, The children actively participate in class, in academic competitions and also clubs. This idea of child friendly school has also influenced our government schools and we are trying to improve other schools and make them as child friendly as the project schools” According to Mersha Yigzaw, PTA chair of Alemeda Primary school in Este Woreda, the schools gradually became very friendly to children, teacher handled student better due to training, and that children love to come to school because it is welcoming to them. The evaluation team has been able to confirm that what has been stated by all kinds of respondents on how the projects have impacted on creating child friendly schools are generally true and are visible on the ground. Some of the views that have been given by children who have been transferred to other schools even without being asked are testimonies to how the project has created child friendly schools. For example first generation students that were transferred to non-project government schools of Loke and Loke Kecha upper primary schools in an FGD with them gave the following contrast with their former project school: Learning was very attractive in their former NFBE Center compared to their current government school where they are transferred • Their school environment is less clean and less friendly • The education is not sufficient and teachers come late • There were different clubs in their former NFBE Centers, in their present schools there are no clubs. • The facilitators at their former Loke Sifo NFBE were very caring, friendly and knew them and also their parents. But, in their current schools they don’t know most of them by name. in most case the teachers ask and students respond. 17
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