Published Mon, Mar 11, 19.
Written by Scott Chleborad.
When the high school building in Hosanna was finished, RJ and Teresa Devick, of Bond & Devick in the Twin Cities, made a generous donation to the Adams Thermal Academy. Their gift provided equipment for all the science labs in the school, and offered its students an opportunity rarely found in Ethiopian secondary schools – hands-on learning in a lab setting. As opposed to just listening to lectures, or reading about science projects and experiments, Hossana students are now able to do projects and conduct experiments to supplement their classroom work.
Enter Henok Tadesse Ergogo, a junior at Hossana High School with a passion for science. Henok took to the new science lab like a duck to water, and has completed a number of projects using scientific principles and found objects and trash. His projects have inspired other students and staff at the Academy and impressed the ATF staff on three different trips in the past year. In one case, Henok built a functioning hand crank electrical generator from an old loudspeaker, a pulley and a piece of wood. Another project is a Bluetooth enabled remote control car built from plastic and some wheels that he found. Most recently, he built a wind powered electrical generator from an old fan.
Henok, with his enthusiasm and innovation is a perfect example of the remarkable potential that exists in so many students who would not otherwise have a chance to learn and grow. Thanks to RJ and Teresa and their support, Henok and hundreds of other Hossana students have the opportunity to discover their passions and work towards a promising, productive future in the sciences.