In Illubabor district most of the schools are in a poor state or even not existing. Virtually all of them are unfurnished - the schoolchildren have neither chairs nor tables, and there are no blackboards etc.; others are so dilapidated that it is not possible to teach in them. As a result school attendance is low and illiteracy rates are high, which hinders social development in Ethiopia as it makes people more helpless than they actually should be.

Knorr-Bremse Global Care e.V. was determined to take action on this and therefore contributed towards building and equipping Yembero Lower Primary School for some 1,000 schoolchildren, grade one to eight. The project involved constructing three buildings, each with four classrooms, one administrative building and teachers' accommodation.

The partner for this project was Menschen für Menschen. This organization, which was set up by Karlheinz Böhm in Munich, has many years' experience and a detailed knowledge of existing local structures. The provincial government is responsible for administering the school and covering the running costs.

At the opening ceremony in June 2007.

Mario Beinert (left) from KB Global Care and Dr. Claas Knoop, German Ambassador.