Faith Works Schools - Day 1

Wednesday, July 6

Today was the first day to tour five Faith Works Schools in the Kanyama compound. 

Each of the four Basic (or Primary) schools is located in the sanctuary of a local congregation that serves as the host instituiton for the school, which receives additional support from CAC-Z and from partner congregations.  MVPC's partner is Garden Presbyterian Church and School, which we will visit tomorrow.

The four Basic schools we saw today are the ones that still need the most help.  Nonetheless, amazing things are happening at each one.

True Gospel Community School (girls' football tourney runner-up) recently had moved from the limiting church grounds to their own space nearby.  The church remains involved with the school, but they have additional help from a local agency called Children Concern.  They have sponsored Hiv/AIDS awareness and testing programs among the parents of school children and are building a clinic at the school to deal with those who test postive.  Children Concern also has started an income generating venture in which the metal from 55-gal. drums is turned into beautifully crafted African animals.

True Gospel students greeting their visitors with enthusiasm.

Older True Gospel students.  Grades attend class in shifts with some coming for 4 1/2 hours in the morning and others in the afternoon.

Posing at True Gospel with the principal.  The elephant over the door was once a part of a 55-gal. drum.

The next school was Tithondidze, which is even more difficult to pronounce than to spell.  There they have added some classrooms in another building.

The newer classrooms.

Several grades still meet simultaneously in the sanctuary. They have a problem with sufficient lighting, but there is no problem with spirit!  They also have a problem with odd guys sneaking into their group photos.

Edwin King was the third school we visited. 375 students have their bellies, minds, and spirits fed in just a couple classrooms.

We found that taking the students' picture and then displaying them on our digital cameras for them to see was a great ice-breaking gimmick.  Here, Joe B. got the students to take OUR picture and they are admiring the results.

The Edwin King students posing.

The school with the greatest need was Free Baptist, deep in the Kanyama compound.  298 students are educated in several shifts in one small sanctuary.  Even in the brightest noon hour, the classroom was too dark to see very well.  One cannot imagine how dark it must be during the rainy season. This did not stop heroic educators from teaching these kids Science, English, and Math.

Students checking out their smiles in a recently taken picture.

Baston C. tells us about his school.  This was one of the real heroes we met, accomplishing miracles with very limited resources. Baston is continuing his education (working toward the equivalent of a Master's) and it takes him 2 hours each way every evening to travel to class.  Thanks to gifts from our MVPC friends, we thought purchasing him a bicycle was the best thing we could do right away for this school. 

The exterior of Free Baptist school.

The brightest spot in the Kanyama compound is the Helen DeVos Christian School.  Many of these grade 8 - 12 students are graduates of the four Basic schools we visited.  Their facility is clean, functional, and spacious enough to accomodate the maximum of 450 teenagers they presently have. Many of these students are sponsored by MVPC families for $200 a year.

An assembly was held to welcolme us with songs and a brilliantly comedic drama. 

When Joe B. announced that starting in August Helen DeVos and MVPS students will be Skyping with each other on newly installed computers, there was a very loud cheer.