Saro-Suri: Tourism Service Development (SS-TSD)

Tour operation: where ‘Saro-Suri’ promotes indigenous cultural attractions of the Suri and communities of the Omo Valley offering tour packages and services.
Friends of Saro-Suri initiative: where ‘Saro-Suri’ will launches a community of “FRIENDS OF SARO SURI” who are interested to take part in the initiative through different membership modalities. It also promote for technical and professional voluntary services in Suri and the Omo Valley. I believe the community of “FRIENDS OF SARO SURI” can also serve as a venue, beside volunteerism, for mobilizing resources and funds for the actualization of the “Saro-Suri: Pastoral Community Development Initiative” (SS-PCDI)

ITINERARY

Education Platform and Support: The Omo Valley, for many reasons, have remained marginalized and hard-to-reach community groups being denied of access to basic education services. This has profoundly affected pastoral children and youth participation in the formal educational system in the region. Quite large number of potential school going age children (boys, girls and adolescent/youth) remained out of the formal education system. Besides access to education there prevailed wide gender gaps in formal schools as compared to children in other parts and regions of the country. As a result, this has greatly affected children’s participation in education and hampered their academic performances in schools which leads to high rate of school dropout and widened gender gap both in terms of enrollment and retention in schools. Looking at the overall challenges of the education system in the Suri, SS-PCDI Educational Platform and Support envisages to work towards the following key strategic intervention areas;
Support the establishment of Community Based/Managed Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCD): Despite the fact that ECCD plays a pivotal role in the psycho-social and cognitive development of children. ECCD interventions in the Suri and communities of the Omo Valley do hardly exist. Above all it has to be noted that the government Education Sector policy framework do give little or no attention and engagement in implementing ECCD programs than involving in curriculum design and development. The policy strategy clearly indicated that ECCD interventions solely remain the mandate and responsibilities of the private sector, the community and the NGO. The role of these stakeholders’ in Suri and communities of the Omo Valley is insignificant or negligible. Therefore, SS-PCDI will introduces the establishments of ECCD centers where potential school age children (4-8 years) are found in Suri settlement villages/kebeles. The centers will be equipped with all the necessary teaching-learning materials and equipment, play and recreational facilities that support children cognitive developments.
Child Education Sponsorship: As mentioned earlier, dropping out of school due to reason such as lack of financial resources to cover costs related to accommodations (children attending schools from distant villages), scholastic materials, school uniform and clothing to remain in the school. SS-PCDI Educational Platform and Support therefore promotes Child Education Sponsorship initiative to help the most needy school dropouts resume their education.
Quality Formal Education support: The SS-PCDI Educational Platform and Support do exert efforts that are geared towards strengthening quality education service provision in schools through extending both financial (to arrange tutorial classes and organize teacher’s refresher courses and trainings) and/or inking support such as provision of reading and academic reference books, access to ICT facilities and the like that will help to improve academic performances of children attending school thereby becom
Supplementary feeding for school going children: SS-PCDI Educational Platform and Support considers that provision of school feeding support is also a strategy that help school going children to remain in their schooling than dropping out due to shortage of food thereby contributes the smooth transition of children who attends ECCD program the formal primary schools