about US
Jayne Morrison and Dr. Jan Arrowsmith have a long history of helping enable Ethiopians to help each other since the early 1990's. They are partnering with locals in under-priviledged areas of Addis Ababa to improve literacy and teach English. They are uniquely gifted to this work since Jayne is fluent in the native language of Amharic and trained in teaching English as a second language, (TESL). Jan is a family practice physician and has a passion for encouraging and helping children to read. The library and literacy program at Hands in Hands is the 3rd that Jan has established in Africa.
The concept of Hands in Hands was begun as we saw a need to enrich the education of Ethiopian children in public schools. With a high student to teacher ratio, some children were falling behind. Beginning in grade 7 in the public schools, all classes except language are taught in English, yet many children are not able to read or speak English. Our idea is to come alongside the current system to enhance learning, not to create new schools.
"The ability to read and understand a text is the most fundamental skill a child learns. Without literacy there is little chance a child will escape the intergenerational cycle of poverty".
"...the green bars show the effect of having extra reading materials at home, which was significantly larger than being wealthy (except in Tigray) and larger in some cases than having the school reading textbook".
https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1860/Ethiopia_Early_Grade_Reading_Assessment.pdf
Our team
Our team is made up of Volunteers who are dedicated to the children and facilitate their learning with enthusiasm and warmth.