+500 books distributed
+500 books distributed
A Classroom Restored
A Classroom Restored
After months without access to education, children returned to learning through a safe.
After months without access to education, children returned to learning through a safe.
Voices Returned Here
Voices Returned Here
There is a particular kind of silence that settles over a school that has stopped being a school. Not peaceful. Not restful. Just absence — of voices, of chalk dust, of the small chaos that means children are present. For nearly a year, that silence held over the only schoolhouse in this part of the Tigray region.
There is a particular kind of silence that settles over a school that has stopped being a school. Not peaceful. Not restful. Just absence — of voices, of chalk dust, of the small chaos that means children are present. For nearly a year, that silence held over the only schoolhouse in this part of the Tigray region.
When displacement forced more than 600 families from their homes in early 2023, the local primary school closed within weeks. Teachers had fled alongside their students. The building itself remained standing — its walls intact, its blackboards still faintly marked with the last lesson anyone had taught — but it stood empty, a structure without a purpose. For the children who remained in the area, this meant more than missed lessons. It meant the loss of one of the only stable routines left in their lives. Many had already been displaced once or twice before. School had been the one place that stayed predictable, even as everything else changed.
When displacement forced more than 600 families from their homes in early 2023, the local primary school closed within weeks. Teachers had fled alongside their students. The building itself remained standing — its walls intact, its blackboards still faintly marked with the last lesson anyone had taught — but it stood empty, a structure without a purpose. For the children who remained in the area, this meant more than missed lessons. It meant the loss of one of the only stable routines left in their lives. Many had already been displaced once or twice before. School had been the one place that stayed predictable, even as everything else changed.
I remember walking past it every day," said one local father, whose two children had attended the school before its closure. "It just sat there. Nobody talked about it anymore. It felt like talking about something that was already gone.
I remember walking past it every day," said one local father, whose two children had attended the school before its closure. "It just sat there. Nobody talked about it anymore. It felt like talking about something that was already gone.
When Karuna's field team arrived in the region in late 2023, the priority was not immediately the school building itself. It was trust. Families who had been displaced, deprioritized, and disappointed by short-lived aid efforts in the past were understandably cautious. The first weeks were spent simply listening — understanding what the community believed it needed, rather than arriving with predetermined solutions.
When Karuna's field team arrived in the region in late 2023, the priority was not immediately the school building itself. It was trust. Families who had been displaced, deprioritized, and disappointed by short-lived aid efforts in the past were understandably cautious. The first weeks were spent simply listening — understanding what the community believed it needed, rather than arriving with predetermined solutions.
The first 500 books arrive — stacked beside the schoolhouse before distribution began.
The first 500 books arrive — stacked beside the schoolhouse before distribution began.
Listening Before Building
Listening Before Building
When walls fall, hope rises
When walls fall, hope rises
That listening shaped everything that followed. Rather than rebuilding the original structure, the community proposed something simpler and faster: a temporary classroom under a shared roof space already used for gatherings. It would not look like a school in the traditional sense. But it would function as one, immediately. Karuna provided materials, a small stipend to support two returning teachers, and — critically — more than 500 books, ranging from early literacy readers to upper-primary textbooks in both Tigrinya and English. For a community that had been without consistent reading material for over a year, this was not a minor addition. It was, for many children, the first time they had held a book that was theirs to keep. The first day back, only eleven children showed up. Word had not yet spread, and trust takes time to rebuild. By the end of the second week, that number had grown to over sixty. Some had not held a pencil in months. A few did not remember how to hold one at all.
That listening shaped everything that followed. Rather than rebuilding the original structure, the community proposed something simpler and faster: a temporary classroom under a shared roof space already used for gatherings. It would not look like a school in the traditional sense. But it would function as one, immediately. Karuna provided materials, a small stipend to support two returning teachers, and — critically — more than 500 books, ranging from early literacy readers to upper-primary textbooks in both Tigrinya and English. For a community that had been without consistent reading material for over a year, this was not a minor addition. It was, for many children, the first time they had held a book that was theirs to keep. The first day back, only eleven children showed up. Word had not yet spread, and trust takes time to rebuild. By the end of the second week, that number had grown to over sixty. Some had not held a pencil in months. A few did not remember how to hold one at all.
Children gather for a reading session in the temporary classroom, three months after reopening.
Children gather for a reading session in the temporary classroom, three months after reopening.
Grief & Arithmetic
Grief & Arithmetic
Relearning Together
Relearning Together
One of the returning teachers, Tsehay, had taught at the original school for nine years before its closure. She described the first weeks back as "relearning how to teach grief and arithmetic in the same hour." Several children needed time before they could focus. Others arrived early every day, unwilling to risk being late to something they had waited so long to have back. By the fourth month, attendance had stabilized at just under 90 children — nearly matching pre-displacement enrollment. The community, with Karuna's continued support, began discussing a more permanent structure for the following year.
One of the returning teachers, Tsehay, had taught at the original school for nine years before its closure. She described the first weeks back as "relearning how to teach grief and arithmetic in the same hour." Several children needed time before they could focus. Others arrived early every day, unwilling to risk being late to something they had waited so long to have back. By the fourth month, attendance had stabilized at just under 90 children — nearly matching pre-displacement enrollment. The community, with Karuna's continued support, began discussing a more permanent structure for the following year.
Outcome
Outcome
What changed, in the months that followed.
What changed, in the months that followed.
10M
Children supported
10M
Children supported
100+
Schools Assisted
100+
Schools Assisted
90+
Community Established
90+
Community Established
It just sat there. Nobody talked about it anymore. Now my children walk to school every morning, and I don't have to wonder if it will still be open when they arrive.
It just sat there. Nobody talked about it anymore. Now my children walk to school every morning, and I don't have to wonder if it will still be open when they arrive.
