The Garasalan primary school is located in the heart of the RiftVolc project study area. RiftVolc is an Ethiopian-UK consortium of academic researchers who are studying the past, present and future of volcanic activity in central Ethiopia, an area which is known in the geological literature as the Main Ethiopian Rift. The school is in rural Ethiopia, in a spectacular landscape dominated by active faults, fumaroles and volcanoes. We have selected this school to organise a range of educational activities as part of the project, with the aim to make the children aware of the unique geological environment they grow up in. Who knows, one of them may be inspired to become a geoscientist one day!

In addition to the activities we will organise, the school directors have expressed that the school would benefit from having a solar panel. There is currently no electricity in the school, or even in the village - except in the local health centre - and this complicates teaching. A solar panel would allow them to power a TV unit and provide recorded lectures for the 1000 children attending the school. The use of recorded educational material is a common method applied in schools in larger towns in Ethiopia, and so we hope to be able to provide the rural school with this tool as well, thereby significantly releasing the burden on the 15-strong teaching staff.

Some of the activities we will organise include an interactive session with the children to learn about geology and a teaching-the-teachers session. The school is also kindly giving us space on one of the walls to create an educational painting. They already have a few on biology and chemistry, so geology will also take its place!

The activity and delivery of the solar panel is foreseen for January 2019. In order to support the fundraising, we will take on a few challenges during the course of 2018, starting with Karen running her first Marathon in her hometown of Antwerp.