Empowering the world through education!

Selam (hello), my name is Naomi Belayneh and I am a biology major from theUniversity of Washington. I aspire to become a physical therapist in the near future.

I am currently a collaborator of the ILAE project as I have tried to elicit awareness about this exciting school that we are all determined toestablish and am currently coordinating an Ethiopian dance group to perform atthe December 12th ILAE Winter Gala kick off. I am trying my best to be of any extra help to Laura, the current project manager in making sure this event is asuccess.

My inspiration to join to the ILAE project primarily had to do with the fact that it impacted the area of education, but also because I once took qualityeducation for granted, thinking that everyone had access to it. It wasn't untilmy first trip to Ethiopia (about a 3 month stay) that I realized there were manyyoung and bright kids strolling around the streets shining the shoes of older,educated folks. There was obviously something wrong with this picture. I immediately came to realize that the infrastructure of the educational system inEthiopia was in turmoil.

While the rate of literacy in Ethiopia has increased over the years, there's still a hole in implementing programs that allowstudents to make a transition from high school to college. That's where the ILAE steps in and what it my opinion makes it a truly gifted school. By providing aquality academic education in state of the art facilities, the ILAE will allows students to pursue opportunities to higher education throughout the world.

My experience within these last two months of participating in the ILAE project has impacted me profoundly. Watching the collaborative process of this projectand the diverse skills and knowledge people have been able to contribute iscompletely amazing. It's my dream that the launching of this school that will godown in history and be recognized for producing leaders with values such as empathy, dignity and respect who will potentially contribute to the positive changes and differences we want to see in this world.

Empower the world through education!

Naomi Belayneh