Debre Work Ayer Tena High School
Following the success of the Debre Work Primary School project, the community requested Partners’s support to establish a new high school that would provide the same quality of education through grade 12. Responding to that need, we built Debre Work Ayer Tena High School (DWATHS) in Enarj Enawuga Woreda, East Gojjam, in close partnership with the local community, which contributed 85% of the total cost and funded a three-and-a-half-year salary for a locally based Junior Project Officer overseeing both schools.
Opened in 2022, the school features 16 classrooms, biology, chemistry, physics, and ICT labs, an administration block with teacher resource centres and a first-aid room, separate latrines for students and staff, and a menstrual hygiene management room. A digital library with internet connectivity allows teachers to deliver simulation-based lessons and assessments, while students can access multimedia learning materials on computers or mobile devices.
Partners has trained 74 educators and leaders, introduced schoolwide hygiene and sanitation programs, and helped convert 2.5 hectares of open space into outdoor classrooms and educational gardens. These gardens not only promote hands-on learning in nutrition and horticulture but also generate sustainable income — over Birr 260,000 ($6,000 CAD) in a single season — to support students at risk of dropping out and fund ongoing improvements.
