the life of a rural teacher | the life of a rural student | the impact of education on the Church

School Adoption Program
     
What if you couldn’t read?

What if you were the only child in your family who got to go to school?

What if your communities future depended on your education?

     These are very real situations for many of the children of Africa. As national economies and development struggle, it is often the children who are left behind. Low literacy makes children less likely to find good employment and more likely to contract HIV/AIDS.

     AfricaHope’s School Adoption Program comes alongside of schools and teachers in their effort to provide quality education. Adoption funds provide books, pens, new classrooms, food, teacher helps, and the ability for more children to go to school. More than anything, it gives schools in rural areas hope, the hope of knowing that somebody cares.

     One school in Kenya went from 160th in test scores to 4th in two years after receiving this kind of assistance. Would you like to have that kind of impact for children who’s futures depend so heavily on their education?

      School Adoption costs $500 a month which comes to about $2-3 per child. For more information on what this money provides click here.

The life of a rural teacher?

     John is a rural teacher. He grew up in a town. He went to college. Now he lives 25 miles from the nearest town, the nearest place to buy bread and produce.

     John speaks the national language and his own tribal language. Most of the people in his area don't speak either one. His students and fellow teachers are the only people he can talk to.

     John has to travel 50 miles to get to a bank to collect his paycheck. Sometimes, it costs half of his check just to get there. He makes less than $2 a day.

     John lives in a very small house. He has to fetch water from a river 5 miles away. The water is dirty and brown and has to be boiled to be safe for drinking.

     John teaches science and math at 6 different grade levels. He's a good teacher. He likes his work and his students. He keeps teaching because he believes in education, he believes in his students.

     John is every rural teacher. Some have better situations, some have worse. Helping teachers like John is as easy as adopting a school. Would you like to help?

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The life of a rural student?

     John is a rural student. Jane, his sister, is too. They have 4 more brothers and sisters who don't go to school. John is in the 5th grade. Jane is in 4th.

     John is the first child in his family to go to school. He was chosen to go to school because he is small. His family chose the child least likely to be of help at home to go to school.

     Jane is John's sister. She is very smart. The teachers came and asked her family to send her to school. She is older than John, but started at an older age.

     John and Jane walk 6 miles to school each day, and 6 miles home. Some days, they have to walk farther to avoid the wild animals. They cross 3 small rivers on their way. To get to school on time, they leave at 6am, before sunrise.

     After school, they stay as long as they can to study and still get home before sunset. When they get home, they help their family with the evening chores before going to bed.

     At school, John shares a pen with three of his friends. Jane shares her notebook with her best friend. Because there aren't enough teachers, they often huddle around a workbook with their whole class to try to figure out a lesson or copy down their classwork.

     John and Jane drink a cup of milk before going to school in the morning. They get some boiled corn for lunch at the school. In the evening, they eat a porridge made from corn flour and maybe some potatoes.

     They both got very good scores on their final exams last year. John always studies very hard. He knows that if he doesn't pass his exams, his family will make him come home and help his father with the herd.

     Jane isn't studying very hard this year. It may be her last year at school and she has lost heart. Money is in short supply at home, there's not enough for two children to go to school. Her mother needs help at home, fetching water and repairing the house. Besides, her mother tells her it will soon be time for her to get married.

     John and Jane are trying very hard. They know that education is the key to their future and that of their family. There are millions of children just like John and Jane, and even more who are like their brothers and sisters at home. Helping them is as easy as adopting a school. Would you like to help?

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The impact of education on the church?

      John is a Christian. He became a Christian 10 years ago when he lived in a town and heard some missionaries speaking. Now he lives in his family village and is the leader of a small group of Christians.

     John can't read. On Sundays, when the Christians get together, he stands under a tree, walking back and forth, making big gestures and shouting like some of the pastors do in town. He tries to remember the things he's heard them say.

     The Christians are mostly women. None of them can read. They all became Christians out of a burning desire to know Jesus. That passion still lives. Sundays, however, have become a difficult time. The group struggles to grow in their knowledge of Christ.

     They sing songs and pray together, but wonder if they're missing something. They know there's a book called the Bible. They've even got two of them. Sometimes they walk 10 miles to get to a church where there is a pastor who can read. They rejoice to hear the word and fellowship with other believers, but it is so far to walk.

     Some people have said that the church in Africa is a mile wide and an inch deep. John doesn't want to be an inch deep. He longs to know more about Jesus and how to follow Him.

     John's youngest brother is going to school. He can read. John wants to send all of his children to school, so they can read their Bibles, so they can know more about Jesus, so they can read to him.

     Christians who are unable to read can't read their Bibles. They must depend on others for their spiritual growth and knowledge. Education changes that. Someday, people will read or not read their Bibles because they want to or they don't, not because they can or they can't.

     Adopting a school is more than just providing education. It is providing hope for tomorrow's church.