Hale Counselor Looks to Aid Students in Ethiopia

For Matt Sims, helping others isn't merely a passion. It's a need.

The 25-year-old Westwood resident and camp counselor at Hale Reservation spent 11 months in Ethiopia from August 2008 until July 2009 teaching English to a number of students. But it just wasn't enough to satiate Sims's appetite for aiding others.

"I really wanted to do something more," said Sims. "I really wanted to help out people that were in a little bit more need while I was there."

Now, Sims, who has also taught English as a Second Language (ESL) in Newton, is working to raise money to help fund a non-governmental organization (NGO) that he worked with in Ethiopia.

The program, called Bright Future Ethiopia, is an afterschool program that also functions as a place for kids to go on the weekends and during the summer. The program is funded in part by a Swiss NGO called Bright Future Switzerland.

Sims's goal is to raise about $2,000 by the end of the month to send to his colleague, Binyam Aschalew, the executive director of Bright Future Ethiopia. The money will help Aschalew buy such supplies as workbooks, pens, pencils, school uniforms and backpacks for 75 students.

For kids to be eligible to attend and participate in Bright Future Ethiopia, they must be orphans or have had a parent who has died. The program is geared towards those struggling in a region already stricken with poverty and hardship.

"Even by Ethiopian standards, these kids are really poor," said Sims, who tutored about 75 students, from the seventh grade through high school level, in English as well as history.

"They have a lot of dreams, a lot of ambitions," Sims said. "But this program really does start at the basics, making sure they have enough food to eat, making sure they have a place to do their homework. That's kind of what this program provides."

Still, it pained Sims to see so many underprivileged students have to find any means necessary just to use a writing instrument or a pad of paper.

"He's (Aschalew) already pretty stretched," Sims said. "He's brought in more kids, and he has a waiting list of these families who have children they'd like to see in the program."

The funding that comes from Bright Future Switzerland helps pay for basic operating costs and rent for the compound the schooling is held in, but money is not provided for capital expenditures.

What's more, while a vast number of children and families in the region are in need of resources, educational and otherwise, Sims wants to ensure that the money he's raising goes to a particular group of students in need. Sims also is looking to ensure that all funds are given to Aschalew, as opposed to going through a larger non-profit organization, which could potentially use some of the funding to pay for administrative and operating costs.

"It's really amazing how much corruption is in aid," Sims said. "What I'm trying to focus on is sending money over that can be used most efficiently, and that there's trust and there's assurance that it's going to the right place. When resources are scarce, it becomes really competitive. "

The program targets a specific population of 75 students ages 3 to 18, and Sims aims to raise the money to have over to Aschalew by the end of August, as the schooling program begins in early September.

Sims, who will be entering a master's program at Boston University in the fall for International Education Development, has already been tapping into family and friends for donations.

To help his cause, he also plans to have a bake sale for campers and counselors he works with at Hale. He also plans to host a series of pot-luck dinners at his house in Westwood and another at a location in Somerville, where those interested could donate money to help the cause. 

"These kids have a lot of support already," Sims said.  "There's a lot of potential for them to go on to universities, and the best thing about these kids, they're going to give back if they have success in their lives. They will reinvest their time and energy and a good portion of the money that they make into these communities."