Much of our work over the past few days has been at The School of Hope. The School of Hope was started with just 5 orphans being taught under a tree. Gradually, as the orphanage grew, the school grew as well. Soon neighbors from nearby villages began to want to have their children enrolled in a school that had caring teachers, supplies for the students, a Christ-centered education and that did well in the national exams.
In Zambia every 7th, 9th, and 12th grade student must take required exams issued by the Zambian Dept. of Education. The national passing percentage is 33%. If you don’t pass, you must drop out of school. That creates a very high unemployment rate of 80%!! The passing percentage from the School of Hope is 98%! Praise God!!
Over the years, The School of Hope has grown from 5 students to 650+/- enrolled currently. Supplies are sent from the U.S. by teams like ours, as well as by shipping containers sent from the U.S.
One of the main goals of The Village of Hope is to be 100% self sustaining and not depend on U.S. dollars being sent over. To accomplish this, The Village of Hope has nearly 1/2 mile of frontage property along The Great North Road (a very busy trucking road). To create operating money, several businesses have been started along The Great North Road. One of our team members has been working specifically on the business end of things. More about the businesses and what Uncle Gary has been doing tomorrow.
Thank you for your prayers! We all remain healthy! We remain strong (but tired) and will start the journey back tomorrow night.
Madolliso! (Blessings!)
(Don’t forget to click on the photos to see them full size and scroll through the other photos.)
