Capital: Asmara (15°20′N 38°55′E)
Largest City: Asmara

Area: 46,830 sq mi
Water: Negligible

Population: 4,561,599 (July 2005 est.)
Official language(s): Tigrinya and Arabic

Climate: hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually, heaviest June to September); semiarid in western hills and lowlands
Terrain: dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains

Kisanet Elementary School Project
September 2006

January 1-December 31, children play in the streets of the Kisanet area of Keren. Year after year after year…what else can they do? The elementary school roof is sagging so badly it may fall at any time. Rain water has found it way through the sagging tile, soaked the ceiling tile and deposited most of it on the floors of the classrooms. The two small boxes of educational toys have long since seen their best days.

But, there is hope! Fatuma who loves the children as her own will not let the dream of education die. It is their only escape from the cycle of poverty into which they were born. Fatuma pursued every possible Eritrean avenue for help. She refused to accept “no way” for the answer. She was so persistent the government finally admitted they had no resources to repair the school…or was it no interest?? They gave the school property to the people.

Fatuma found help through a short-term team from Innovative Humanitarian Solutions. A team of six traveled to Eritrea in September 2006. Tools were purchased (too difficult to get their own tools through customs). Materials were purchased. Four local construction workers were hired to help. And the work began. In just one week one of the three buildings was completed. The cost was a little more than $5,000.

In September 2007 another team will visit. Tools will be purchased. (The 2006 team gave their newly-purchased tools to the Eritrean workers who were in construction work with almost no tools.) The same four construction workers have agreed to help again. The goal is to complete the last two buildings…in just one week of work!

Needed for this project:
1. Eight team members who have a basic knowledge of construction
2. Approximately $8,000 for tools and materials
3. Permission by the Eritrea government to enter the country…more difficult than you might think.

How can I help…you might ask?
1. Contact Jerry Squyres at jerrys@tamh.net and volunteer to go. The cost is $2,700 which will take care of all your expenses except your passport.
2. Give toward the goal of $8,000 by sending a check to Innovative Humanitarian Solutions, 10592-A Fuqua Street #241, Houston, TX 77089. Indicate the money is for the Eritrean school project.
3. Say a prayer that visas will be available.
 

Eritrea Water Projects

Korbawib is a village of less than 1,000 Sudanese refugees on the Eritrean-Sudanese border. There is no local water source in town. In April, 2005, a team from Innovative Humanitarian Solutions built a small dam which provides a small reservoir of water during the rainy season (roughly June-August) each year.

The primary water-sources for the village are wells in the Gerger river, a little more than 3 kilometers away. Water is drawn by hand and carried on the back of donkeys to the village.

It is difficult to estimate the overall demand for water in Korbawib. Villagers carry the water from the reservoir to their homes in "jerry cans" on the backs of donkeys. A typical jerry can holds 5 gallons of water. It is likely that the average person uses no more than one jerry can of water each day. In that case a village of 1,000 people would require 5,000 gallons per day.

In April 2005 the group of volunteers built the first dam in Korbawib. It is about 6 meters long and 1.5 meters high. A plastic, waterproof membrane was used to cover the rock fill dam. This project was a small experiment performed very quickly and using generally very inexpensive materials. Early rain storms in May, 2005 filled the reservoir and showed that the dam does hold water.