MARCH 2012 - UPDATE
from Janet Parke and Claire Robinson SIM UK missionaries serving at Mukinge Hill Academy.
It's like a dream come true. We have actually moved into the new classroom block. It was not quite finished for the start of the term, but it was close enough to being finished that we could move in. Praise be to God, and thank you to all who have supported this project in prayer or giving. Noel Reid did a great job again, and worked tirelessly despite the heat, and he's not as young as he used to be!
So we now have one classroom each for grades 1, 2, and 3. The grades 4 and 5 have to share a classroom so we can take fewer pupils in those grades. There has been a big demand for places this year. 97 pupils have reported so far, out of the 100 on roll, so we are already full with a waiting list. It seems we need to start a new building project straight away, for three more classrooms, for Grades 5, 6 and 7!
There's another dream come true also. For the first time, I am not a class teacher as well as being headteacher. We have two new teachers, a Zambian, Humphrey Kilungi and a New Zealander, Bridget Lawrence, who is here for just under a year. Praise be to God again, and thanks for praying. Humphrey was with us as a helper a few years ago.
In the last few days of the school year, we had the joy of knowing that one boy in Grade 4 became a Christian. He will move to Mukinge Basic School for Grade 5.
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HISTORY
Mukinge Hill Academy is located in North Western Zambia. The school is managed by the Evangelical Church in Zambia and staffed by local Zambians and SIM mission personnel, including two from the UK. The school currently has 81 pupils in Grades 1-5. The school seeks to provide quality Christian education for the children of staff at Mukinge Hospital, Mukinge Girls Secondary School and the greater Kasempa area.
The school consists of one building divided into two classrooms with two small store rooms, one of which is also currently being used as a classroom! The year 2 class are in a hired Sunday school room, across the road from the school. Year 2 pupils have to cross the road a number of times in the day. Earlier this year, a child was knocked down and hurt by a speeding cyclist on a bike with no brakes.
For the reasons outlined above, coupled with the increasing demand for places at the school, it became obvious that the physical capacity of the school needed to be increased.
Work has already started on a new classroom block. This will provide safe environments which are conducive to learning with adequate space for each class. It will ensure that children continue to have access to high quality education through the equipping of this building with suitable furnishings and teaching resources.
This project is about more than bricks and mortar. It is not just about a physical structure but the lives and education of children in the area. It will leave a lasting legacy as children continue to be taught at the school in years to come, as they have opportunities to know Christ, grow more like him and then take the seeds that have been sown in their lives across Zambia and beyond.
