Monday was the opening day for the T-3 preschool. After a year and 1/2 of trying to get through the gauntlet of new government regulations, construction of a new building, training of teachers, and gaining the needed permits, the church finally has the license they need to operate at long last. Monday morning we visited and were greeted by the Isabel the school director seen in this picture coming to open the gate for us.
They started with only a few students on Monday, with more expected over the coming days. We hope to return to our former levels of nearly 100 students but it is good to start back up slowly. There was alot of crying and when Isabel left the room, the kids all started boo-hooing but it was music to our ears. After all, it is pre-school!... But we know she'll have them all happy and well adjusted in short order! Isabel, Luisa, and 
Theresa (the staff) were grinning ear to ear; the school is open at last.
Theresa (the staff) were grinning ear to ear; the school is open at last.We praise God for His faithfulness. It has been a long journey in this land where the harder you push, the slower it goes.
In the one photograph you can see the little kitchen room with the small fire where Theresa was fixing chicken and rice for the children.
Wednesday, 
the Khongolote pre-school has called us up to train them on health and business ideas for the pre-school. They are using a rented 1968 VW beetle (I'm not kidding) as a school bus, running the pre-school kids back and forth each day, making three runs (how many pre-school kids can you fit in a volkswagen?). They want to purchase the car, but based on the economics of the pre-school, I figure they are losing money right now just on the gas. They wanted us to help them purchase the car, which isn't a bad idea actually (to have a bus-type vehicle), but the tuition needs to cover it and that concept seemed to be lost somewhere. So, we'll sit down with the leadership and try to work through the issues with them. The government wants pre-schools to have buses but the economics just don't work; you can cover the operating expense, but not the 
initial capital expenditure for a small sized pre-school.
the Khongolote pre-school has called us up to train them on health and business ideas for the pre-school. They are using a rented 1968 VW beetle (I'm not kidding) as a school bus, running the pre-school kids back and forth each day, making three runs (how many pre-school kids can you fit in a volkswagen?). They want to purchase the car, but based on the economics of the pre-school, I figure they are losing money right now just on the gas. They wanted us to help them purchase the car, which isn't a bad idea actually (to have a bus-type vehicle), but the tuition needs to cover it and that concept seemed to be lost somewhere. So, we'll sit down with the leadership and try to work through the issues with them. The government wants pre-schools to have buses but the economics just don't work; you can cover the operating expense, but not the 
initial capital expenditure for a small sized pre-school.We'll sit with them Wednesday and work together on a budget for this current school year and see where that leads.
Ann is especially excited at the invitation to train the staff on health issues.
As an update, the rumor is that the police have arrested someone they think was stealing wells and they may have our well. Wouldn't that be a great answer to prayer! We're waiting for some of the people at Intaka to advise us on the next step. It is better if we don't show our face at the police station until they are ready for us to go get the well parts. Keep praying!
Blessings to you this week!
Dave & Ann
"Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me." Mark 9:37
No comments:
Post a Comment