Our Story

Ethiopia with a population of over 99 million is one of the poorest countries in the world. According to the World Bank, if all adults achieved a fourth grade level education, poverty in Ethiopia would be reduced by 18%.

Ethiopia has made major strides in enrolling school age children into school. At the present time it is estimated that 95% of children start first grade by the age of 7 years. However, the children once enrolled are poorly prepared to learn. 25% of children drop out by the end of the first grade, and over 50% by the end of the fourth grade.We believe that in partnership with the Education Bureau of Addis Ababa we have created one of the finest Wrap Around Pre-School programs in the emerging world. As a result, the children will acquire the tools necessary to succeed in school.

ESRI began operations in October 2007 with 80 students. There are now more than 11,500 children in our program in 52 schools throughout the City of Addis Ababa. The School Readiness Initiative (SRI), our licensed NGO affiliate in Addis Ababa, is a partner of the Bureau of Education of Addis Ababa in this pre-school project. As a result, for the first time, the children of Addis Ababa have free access to a comprehensive pre-school program which provides the tools required to learn to succeed in school.