THE JOURNEY.
The Shashamane Foundation gives thanks to Our Most High God for His mercies and guidance in allowing the accomplishment of this JRDC Kindergarten facility project. We are so thankful and grateful for all our grass-roots supporters of generous individuals, organizations, families and well-wishers from all over the world whose labor of love brought this Project to a completion. We now have a new KG facility built in proximity to the JRDC Elementary school facility and serving a student population of over 450 children with a staff of 28 teachers and auxiliary workers.
We also encourage our Diaspora community to take up similar projects as it only takes faith in the Almighty, sacrifice, focus and small collective efforts to affect the lives of generations in Africa and needy communities throughout world. However our journey towards sustainable development is far from over. The provision of these modern buildings will only provide the environment to facilitate the education of these children.
We need continued prayers and support to maintain and secure the employment of well trained teachers who are responsible for shaping minds of these youths to be the future developers of the rich natural resources of their country, improve health and sanitary standards, eliminate poverty, ensure food security and last but not least, holistic African centered solutions to Africa’s needs. We rejoice in the things accomplished but can not be satisfied merely with erecting buildings. Shaping the genius of our youth for Africa’s progress is our collective responsibility and goal. We pray The Most High continue to bless us all with endurance, wisdom and vision.
Please go to our website www.shashamane.org and donate to our goal of sustainable development, either through our secure donation links on Pay Pal or STRIPE. You may also mail checks and Money Orders to the: Shashamane Foundation, 6909 Laurel Avenue, Suite 5845, Takoma Park Maryland 20913
Please see this leg of #THEJOURNEYINPHOTOS.
Giving Thanks Bro Karl Phillpotts, President
Bro Roy McPherson, Executive Secretary
The Jamaica Rastafarian Development Community (JRDC) School is located in Ethiopia in the city of Shashamane. This community organization is registered as a local Charity with NGO Status. The Kindergarten and Elementary school represents the first phase of the organization’s community development (NGO) Education project, which has been underway since the year 2000.
Its early beginnings can be traced to the home schooling of the children of early settlers on the Shashamane Land Grant. This all started in 1970s at the humble homes of Rastafari brethren Daniel “Bro. Flippin” Leach and followed by Karl Hamilton both of Jamaican nationality. The responsibility of educating their young children in this rural, remote, non-English-speaking environment, was a number one priority for the newly arrived English-speaking settlers .
In the early 1980s this home schooling operation was fully assumed by Brother Karl Hamilton, a trained teacher from Jamaica and New York . With limited and scarce resources he conducted classes under a shady tree in his yard, with the students sitting on flat stones and make-shift wooden benches. Bro-Karl was an excellent teacher and taught his students well including Bible Knowledge. His favorite and often repeated class-room nursery rhyme and mantra was “silver and gold will vanish away, but a good education will never decay”.
In the early 1990s, brother Albert “Teach” Allen, a trained teacher from Jamaica arrived with a plan to establish a school and soon assumed the responsibility of expanding the effort and vision by relocating the school of 15 students, into a 15’ X 30’ zinc-shed on the premises of the Twelve Tribes of Israel HQ. Bro. Karl Hamilton continued as a volunteer teacher and Sister Janet McLaughlin was brought on board as a volunteer teacher/secretary.
In late 1991, for the fourth time since its founding, the school was relocated into a newly-constructed two room adobe building at its current 3-acre site, on land given free-of-cost by a member of the community in support of the community’s development effort. There 45 students and the 3 teachers were also joined by Yoseph “Mamoosh Leach, a son of one of its early initiators, Donald Leach.
With the establishment of the community organization, The Jamaica Rastafarian Community (JRC) in 1988 at the behest of Vernon Carrington AKA Prophet Gad , the community organization developed with the assistance of settlers on the ground and the Shashamane Foundation, into a full fledged NGO with the addition of the word Development to its name and was registered as the JRDC.
