Let There be Light

On May 7, 2013, New Dawn Educational Center held a celebration of light!! That is "Solar Light."  Mr. Bob Cook, pictured at left, and officials from New Dawn are cutting the ribbon on the project.  The New Dawn Education Resource Center is now complete with its solar panels that effectively take the school and all its electricity needs off the grid in Nairobi.  The school is in every respect a "green school."  Irene Tongoi, Director of the New Dawn Educational Centre reports, "work on the installation began in April 2013 and the project was commissioned in May 2013.  Mr. Bob Cook was received by the Admin team as the school community gathered for a ceremony for the dedication of the Solar Power Project was commissioned.  Songs and dance characterized the ceremony with much thanksgiving.  We are truly grateful for the donation of this solar power plant worth over $35,000USD.  This will eliminate costs for energy for many years to come.  Our computer lab and the charging of our e-readers and other equipment needed for the educational program will be well sourced with energy from the sun and are running with the utmost efficiency."

 

Viola Kubo, Principal of New Dawn says, "the Solar Power Project was a great leap forward in the life of NDEC.   The Solar Power not only guarantees a constant supply of electricity but it is hoped that it will significantly reduce the amounts paid out to the electricity bills.  Savings thereof can be re-channeled to other good use.  The students were visibly excited by the school "going green" because they were now assured of more study time in the light.  Most students don't have electricity at home.  This is especially significant during the nights when they are prepping for exams. Before "solar" outages were commonplace."

e-Readers Come to New Dawn

 

 

 New Dawn Students Celebrating the e-Reader Following Training

 

 

After months of planning and training it was time to launch the Worldreader, e-Reader project.  The e-Reader came to New Dawn loaded with 100 library books and textbooks from both International and African authors.  Sixty e-Readers were provided to the school through the generous gifts of African Leadership donors for which the students and teachers at New Dawn Educational Center are deeply grateful. 

 

Margaret Chao (left)  is the school Librarian and also the e-reader Program Director.  After a short training session, Margaret, trained the teachers. 

One of the teachers held the e-Reader in his hands and exclaimed, "I have heard that such books existed, but I have never held one in my hand or had the opportunity to read one.  This is a great treasure that you have given us."  The books that he was most excited about were in English Literature, and included the likes of Shakespeare and Sherlock Holmes.  

 

Chris and Vincent were very excited with this “great treasure” and were marveling at the wonderful teaching tool it will be for them in the subject areas they teach.

 

     

Once the teachers had been trained they were given a small group of students and asked to teach them the fundamentals of the e-reader.  It was fun for me to go from group to group and hear the excitement in the teacher's voices as they shared their new found skills with the students. 



  

 

On the official launch date there was a public unveiling of the e-Reader project.  Dignitaries from the local Huruma community, the Ministry of Education, the new incoming president of African Leadership, John Walter, an African Leadership board member, Jim O'Donnell and a team from a Middle Tennessee Church all joined with students in celebration of the "coming of the e-Reader."

 

Education at New Dawn will be forever changed.  One student remarked as he held up an e-Reader, "you mean I'm holding 100 books in my hand.  That's incredible, that's a small library."

The goal of this project is to get the students reading, because:  

 READERS BECOME LEADERS!



Transforming Culture through Christ-centered Education

By Philip M. Renicks, Ed.D.

 

Editors Note: To receive the full benefit of this article see the previous article entitled "To Think of Africa is to Weep."

Children are the future of any people, country, or continent.  However, with many of Africa’s children either being killed or orphaned by AIDS, the future is bleak.  Who will be the future leaders of African communities and countries?  Wars have produced hundreds of thousands of child refugees with no access to education, child soldiers as young as eight are forced to kill and maim, AIDS orphans now number in the millions, and governments can no longer cope with the magnitude of the situation.  An estimated 1.9 million youth in Africa are infected with the HIV virus every year.  In 2010, UNICEF estimated 15.7 million children — 30 percent of the 53 million orphans from all causes in sub-Saharan Africa — will have lost at least one parent due to AIDS. The majority will live their lives on the streets of the major cities of Africa, struggling to survive, living hand to mouth and education will be only a fleeting dream.

Another devastating effect of the AIDS pandemic is the loss of teachers.  In the countries south of the Sahara millions of primary school children have been left without a teacher for their classrooms.  Teachers who remain are often sick and are expected to pick up the slack, often taking responsibility for 80 or more students or leaving them with no teacher at all.  In Tanzania alone, in 2006 it was estimated that 45,000 additional teachers were needed to make up for those who had died and left work because of HIV and AIDS.  There is a desperate need for education that will transform the moral character of students beginning at the elementary school level so that life-styles change and the future will not be so bleak.  

Is there hope?  Absolutely!  It is the general agreement of Christian Educators across Africa that the only answer is Christ-centered schools where children are taught from a biblical foundation.  There is a battle going on for the minds and hearts of the children of Africa.  Christ-centered education is the only answer for future generations.  They must be taught truth from God’s Word if they are to be changed and thus the culture changed.  It is TRUTH that transforms. 

 

One fundamental principle of Christ-centered education is set forth by the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:2.  We are to teach students “not to conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of their mind.”  When students experience the renewing of their mind, it means that the Spirit of God has worked through his divine power to “demolish the strongholds” of the world’s philosophy and the grip that Satan has over them.  “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”  II Cor.10:5. 

The devastation that has come to individuals and communities as a result of the AIDS pandemic across sub-Saharan Africa is one among many strongholds that can be demolished as the truth of God’s Word exposes the darkness of sin, and students are challenged to no longer conform to the pattern of this world but become obedient to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  John 8:32

In Christ-centered education consider that parents have the primary responsibility as the teachers of their children.  But, what about the children of Africa who have lost their parents?  I believe the early disciples would remind us that it becomes our responsibility to care for the widow and the orphan. God has opened a door of opportunity for us to be a father to the fatherless for the children of Africa, “for such a time as this.”  As Christian educators we have experienced the truth of God’s Word and know the freedom that it brings.  Teachers all across the continent of Africa need to be trained with an understanding of a Christ-centered philosophy of education.  They need to be trained how to develop the moral personality of young children. 

Where do we begin?  There is a window of hope for children in Africa between the ages of 3-14 who are not infected with HIV.  We need to begin with them.  When moral character is developed in the very young and the Holy Spirit has the power to transform those who are older and wiser in the ways of the world.  We are told “train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”  Proverbs 22:6   If the culture of Africa is going to be changed it will begin with children who have been set free by the Truth.  This is the essence of an education that is Christian. 

How do we begin?  The task is too large for any one organization alone.  The task will only be accomplished by a partnership with the African church, Theological Training Colleges (where a training program for Christian teachers could begin), Christian medical clinics, mission organizations, and Christ-centered and Mission schools.  We must apply a holistic approach to the problem attacking it from every possible angle.

Educational programs for young children must focus on literacy, numeracy, health education, and character development based on biblical principles.  As the moral and ethical character of children is established on the fundamentals of God’s word, its lasting effect will be to change society.  Hope will be restored to families, to their communities, to the country, and the continent. 

 

Africa is in need of transformation and Christ-centered education has the power to transform through the Truth of God’s Word.  It is the children of Africa who are the defense against war, corruption, and the AIDS pandemic.  However they must receive Christ-centered instruction.  This is the greatest tool that the church has today for evangelism and discipleship.  Benefits to the Kingdom as well as to society are beyond measure.

I believe the Lord would say to us today as he did to Habakkuk, “Look among the nations and watch – and be utterly amazed.  For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe if you were told.”  Habakkuk 1:5.  It isn’t so much what we will do as it is what the Lord wants to do through us.  All He asks is that we be obedient to His Word and available for His service. 

 

 

 

 

 

From Containers to Classrooms

Some have described it as the "new wave" in the construction of classrooms for the developing world while others have declared, "that is just the coolest thing I have ever seen."  The students at the New Dawn Educational Center see it as nothing short of a miracle as they watched the process from start to finish.  The fact is that it's an innovative and environmentally friendly way to provide educational facilities in locations where students are denied an education and shut out of the local educational system for reasons beyond their control.  The students from the slum communities of Huruma and Githogoro have come to call the New Dawn school a lifeline out of the riptide of poverty.  It provides hope for the hopeless and is not only breaking the cycle of poverty physically, but also spiritually as the school provides students with a Christ-centered education. 

 

The latest container to classroom project of African Leadership has resulted in a new three story  high school classroom building that is called the "Resource Center."  The project was 2 years in the making.  Architectural plans were drawn up by a local Kenyan Architect and presented to Irene Tongoi, Director of New Dawn and Dr. Phil Renicks, Educational Consultant , African Leadership.  The plans called for building a three story classroom building out of 8 recycled high cube shipping containers that would provide the school with 5700 square feet or 2,480 square meters of learning space.  When we started the project we didn't know how difficult it would be to obtain decommissioned shipping containers.  Three were donated by a local freight forwarding company and the others were purchased on the local market over a period of several months.  

 

This container school building  is unique in that the containers are opened up and then separated by an eight foot span that was filled in with steel beams and flooring to make the classrooms 24 by 40 feet or 6 by 12 meters.  The first two levels are constructed using 4 containers for each level.  The third floor is constructed using 10 foot by 10 foot cuts from the eight containers used to construct the first two floors. 

On August 10, 2012, the last day of the second term for the year, nearly 400 gathered in a mood of jubilant celebration for the dedication and inauguration of the New Dawn Resource Center.  The celebration lasted nearly 4 hours and included original plays, poetry and presentations written and produced by students. The students also presented traditional dancing.  The celebration centered on God's faithfulness and the speeches and worship time centered on giving Glory to God for his goodness and the generosity of donors who made the construction of this new educational facility a reality.  I have been told that there is nothing like this in all of Kenya or in all of Africa. 

 

Once the exterior construction was complete the interior work began by putting in all the wiring and electrical outlets and then finishing the interior walls by paneling them with plywood.  To look at it you would never know that the walls are made out of solid steel.  Through the generous gifts of donors the building was complete with a library, computer lab, chemistry/physics lab, biology/agriculture lab, a 200 seat assembly hall and a teacher lounge and work room. 

 

One of the challenges of construction in a location like the Huruma slum community is the inconsistency of electricity.  It becomes difficult for a school to function properly when it is difficult to know if there be electricity one hour, four hours or not at all.  To solve that problem and to make the school as environmentally friendly as possible a donor from a solar company in the US is working with a solar company in Kenya to provide the school with a complete solar system that will make the school energy independent from the Kenyan electric grid.  

 

This is definitely the profile for a functionally "green" school building, built with recycled materials and using the abundance of the Kenyan sun to provide electricity. The school also has an agricultural project that provides vegetables for student lunches that are cooked using methane gas from cow dung supplemented by burning Castor Beans.  Perhaps the New Dawn school will become a model for other African communities and will become the "new norm" for school building construction in developing countries. 

 

There is an age-old truth that says, "education is the engine of development, and where there is lack of education, development is stunted. The biggest factor responsible for African underdevelopment is its failure to make bold investments in education, and until we address the issue, Africa will remain poor. " Joseph Kaifala, World Africa, December 2011.  

The New Dawn Educational Center is a "BOLD investment in education" and the future of it's graduates will demonstrate not only the power of an education but the hope of a Christ-centered education.

Resource Centre Rising

In 2010, African Leadership began an assessment of its current projects. Since the New Dawn school is one of the major projects of African Leadership, Inc., I (Phil) spent 10 days at New Dawn in October of 2010 conducting a full evaluation of the program and its impact on students, their families and the community. 

As a result of he impact study it was obvious that there was a glaring need for additional classroom space to provide the students with access to chemistry, physics, biology and computer labs as well as a library and media center.

By late 2010 architectural plans were presented to African Leadership, Inc. and approved as a project. Fundraising began in earnest and by the end of June 2011 and the construction budget was fully funded through the generosity of a major donors.

I met with more than 50 focus groups that included students, parents, teachers, administrators, community leaders and Ministry of Education officials. One of the outcomes of that evaluation was a demonstrated need for additional classroom space to include science labs, a computer lab and a library. 

Because the community of Huruma is an informal settlement on government land permanent structures are prohibited making it necessary to build the new resource center out of used 40 foot steel shipping containers. Since the demand for these used containers is so great, finding a source for them has been a major challenge.

It was an exciting day not only for the students but also the community as the first containers arrived   and were being offloaded by the big green crane. This is probably the most exciting thing that has happened in the Huruma community in a long time. Community support for the school has been overwhelming as they speak of how proud they are to have a school like this in their community.

As you read this story we are still short four (4) containers. We have to have all eight (8) containers on site and properly stacked before we can begin the actual cutting and construction process.   The sturcture needs to be finished by November 1, 2011 so the students can sit their Kenayn Naitonal Exams on site at the school.  Please pray that God will intervene.

http://www.africanleadershipinc.org/our-projects/education/28

"My mom died of a broken heart."

Interview by, Philip M. Renicks, Ed.D
Francis Ikoha

New Dawn Educational Centre, Nairobi Kenya


Francis was born in 1990 into a Christian family in a small farming village in Western Kenya. His parents were productive framers. Francis’ earliest memories of his time on the land with his parents were working with them in the gardens and a jealous uncle who was constantly fighting with his father. The uncle claimed that the land had been divided unfairly and he wanted it all. He finally succeeded in chasing Francis’ father from the land. The family moved to a neighboring village where his father became a construction worker. He worked hard and was very successful. Unfortunately, the jealously of his brother didn’t stop. One day in 1998 they found his father beaten to death along the road. Francis mother went into shock and laid in a coma for 6 months. Following a slow recovery and continuing to mourn within 4 months she also died. Francis said, “My mom died of a broken heart.” Francis was nearly 9 years old and alone in the village with no family to care for he and his brother. He was now a “child head of household” caring for his little brother of 6 years.

Francis remembered the pain of losing both his mother and father. He lamented, “I didn’t know what to do. I started off for Nairobi thinking that I might find a home for boys that would take my brother and raise him. Someone directed me to the Don Bosco home for boys and I left him there where he remains today. From that day I began a struggle all my own. I was on the streets of Nairobi gathering garbage for a few shillings a day as a child laborer. I took the money that I earned and registered for the Kenya Primary School Certificate and I moved from grade 6 to grade 8 and graduated. I knew that I needed an education.”

Francis remained on the streets for 5 years. His time on the streets was frightening! There were the big street boys who wanted to manage him for homosexual favors for their regular clients. Francis said, “I had to hop from place to place to avoid being caught in their trap. At one point I got into a gang and was forced to steal cars and rob their drivers. I had started using glue and cigarettes and tried not to be addicted. I finally came to my senses and went to the chief of the area and asked him for help. Once he got involved, the gang stopped following me and before the month ended I was rescued from the streets by a family who provided me with shelter.”

The family that took Francis into their home connected him to the New Dawn High School. While it’s great that Francis to has a place to stay, he is living 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) from school. With no money to use for transport to and from school it takes him 3 ½ hours to walk each way. He said, “I leave home in the dark in the morning and arrive home in the dark at night. After walking that far I am exhausted, I haven’t had anything to eat, and I find it hard to concentrate. I try my best and I am always in the top 10 in my class.’

Francis is a leader in the school. He is the head of the Boy Scout Troop. The Scout Troop is greatly handicapped in that Francis is one of two boys who have a uniform; they have no Scout handbooks, camping equipment or anything to make the Scouting experience real. He said, “We dream one day to have the things we need to make our scouting experience like it should be.”

“I am thankful for those who have stretched their arms across the sea to reach out to me and help me succeed. My experience at New Dawn has given me hope for the future. May God bless you for opening your hearts to me! God says he will protect you for the battle is his. He also says he is our provider for everything. Don’t worry!”

Poverty Never Takes a Holiday, from COZAY Group

“I know poverty because poverty was there before I was born and it has become part of life like the blood through my veins. Poverty is not going empty for a single day and getting something to eat the next day. Poverty is going empty with no hope for the future. Poverty is getting nobody to feel your pain and poverty is when your dreams go in vain because nobody is there to help you. Poverty is watching your mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters die in pain and in sorrow just because they couldn't get something to eat. Poverty is hearing your grandmothers and grandfathers cry out to death to come take them because they are tired of this world. Poverty is watching your own children and grandchildren die in your arms but there is nothing you can do. Poverty is watching your children and grandchildren share tears in their deepest sleep. Poverty is suffering from HIV/AIDS and dying a shameful death but nobody seems to care". " Poverty is when you hide your face and wish nobody could see you just because you feel less than a human being. Poverty is when you dream of bread and fish you never see in the day light. Poverty is when people accuse you and prosecute you for no fault of yours but who is there to say some for you? Poverty is when the hopes of your fathers and grandfathers just vanish within a blink of an eye. I know poverty and I know poverty just like I know my father's name. Poverty never sleeps. Poverty works all day and night. Poverty never takes a holiday" (One Poor African)