Last March 5, students at Montini Catholic High School connected with students and the principal at their twin school, Besrate Gabriel, in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. Two classes at Montini participated in the hour-long conversation via Skype which lasted for almost an hour.
The principal, Bro. Getachew Nadew, told the Montini group about his school and his plans for the future. He is raising money to build a place where the children can learn and live. He also hopes to add a building to help reduce class size from 45-60 down to 40-45 in the K-12 school of about 1,600 students. Bro. Getachew spoke about getting a bus to transport students to class so they arrive on time, since many are late because they have to walk a long distance.
A group of Lasallian Youth students from Besrate Gabriel spoke about the service projects in which they are involved and their fundraising efforts to help feed and care for 300-400 street children in Dire Dawa.
Bro. Getachew told the Montini students that the Besrate Gabriel students pray for them every Thursday during a special prayer for their twin schools.
The idea for a Skype call came after Montini collected $1,000 through a penny drive during two weeks in January and February. The “Penny War” put each grade level in competition with each other, which ended with a senior class win. Montini continues to gather donations for its twin school throughout the year during weekly mission collections.