Southern Nations Nationalities & Peoples Regional State
The Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Regional State (SNNPRS) is located in south-western Ethiopia. It is the most diverse region in the country, with a population of nearly 15 million. There are 56 ethnic groups with their own languages and cultures. SNNPRS comprises 10% of the land mass of Ethiopia. The regional capital is the city of Awassa, 270 km from Addis Ababa.
The Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Regional State (SNNPRS) is located in south-western Ethiopia. It is the most diverse region in the country, with a population of nearly 15 million. There are 56 ethnic groups with their own languages and cultures. SNNPRS comprises 10% of the land mass of Ethiopia. The regional capital is the city of Awassa, 270 km from Addis Ababa.
SNNPRS divided into 13 zones, 8 special woredas, 22 town administrations and 125 rural woredas (a woreda is the equivalent to a district). Agriculture is the dominant activity with sedentary farming in the highlands and livestock and flood retreat farming in lowland areas. The main crops are coffee, maize, fruits, spices and enset – otherwise known as ‘false banana’.
Link began working in the Wolaita Zone SNNPRS in 2007 and is now working with 115 schools in four woredas of the Wolaita Zone. Wolaita Zone consists of 12 rural woredas and 3 town administrations. The capital town is called Soddo. It is 130 km from Awassa. There are 420 primary schools and 31 secondary schools in the zone. The main language is Wolaitinya, and pupils learn in this language from grades 1 to 4. From grade 5 upwards, English becomes the language of instruction. There is a primary school population of approximately 395,000 students.
The initial pilot phase was with Damot Gale and Bolosso Sore woredas and we are now implementing phase two in these woredas along with Damot Pulasa and Damot Sore woredas.
View LCD Ethiopia in a larger map
Link began working in the Wolaita Zone SNNPRS in 2007 and is now working with 115 schools in four woredas of the Wolaita Zone. Wolaita Zone consists of 12 rural woredas and 3 town administrations. The capital town is called Soddo. It is 130 km from Awassa. There are 420 primary schools and 31 secondary schools in the zone. The main language is Wolaitinya, and pupils learn in this language from grades 1 to 4. From grade 5 upwards, English becomes the language of instruction. There is a primary school population of approximately 395,000 students.
The initial pilot phase was with Damot Gale and Bolosso Sore woredas and we are now implementing phase two in these woredas along with Damot Pulasa and Damot Sore woredas.
View LCD Ethiopia in a larger map
Damot Gale woreda is situated 370km from Addis Ababa and consists of 31 rural kebeles (villages). The majority of the population of 188,000 live below the poverty line and have poor access to social services. There are 34 primary schools in this woreda, and approximately 35,000 primary school students. The area is very densely populated with more that 770 people per square kilometre. Bolosso Sore Woreda is situated 330km from Addis Ababa and has a population of 201,000. It consists of 29 rural kebeles. Poverty levels are high and over-population is a major problem. There are 37 primary schools in this woreda, and more than 40,000 primary school students.
Damot Pulasa woreda has 24 primary schools, of which seven are first cycle (grades 1-4 only) and 17 are first and second cycle (grades 1 - 8). The main town of the woreda is called Shanto, and is approximately 15km from Soddo town. There is a primary schools population of approximately 27,000 students and around 430 teachers.
The main town of Damot Sore woreda is called Gununo. Damot Sore has 21 primary schools, approximately 22,000 primary students and 365 teachers.
