Following is Bishop’s description of how the school came
about. Any errors can be attributed to my own inability to type as fast as he
spoke. I love seeing how clearly God used a bad circumstance to make something
good and bring him glory.
Congolese rebels attacked
Uganda. When they did, they caused a lot of displacement. We found ourselves in
IDC. The International Steward workshop taught principles of stewardship and
generous giving: Four key principles 1) everything belongs to God 2) stewards
of what god has entrusted us with 3) God has work for all these resources 4) no
scarcity of money but scarcity of stewards.
In the camps, there were so many
orphans and no one to care for them. When the government gave food, they had no
one to go and get food for them from these programs. God opened my eyes and
showed me that the church could stand in the gap for them. They could be part
of our family, we could help the older ones start their own temporary
structures. Even if we give them shelter and food, they still needed education.
The church elders and church people started making contributions to provide for
the education and requirements. Soon, the number of orphans we cared for grew very
big. I saw they needed Christian instruction, particularly when the number grew
so large. They could not have good instruction about Christ if they were
scattered in all kinds of schools, so we gathered them to our own school.
People in the church volunteered
to teach them. They started raising money in the church to start paying them.
Now the students were too many. We needed more teachers, shelters, and the
construction of classrooms. In time, we built three classrooms – Mt. Zion One
Orphanage School. As the school flourished very many orphans came. The church
could no longer meet all their needs. Now we opened the school to all children
so that they can pay fees. When they pay their money will go toward the costs
of the orphans. Keep the number of paying students to 50% of the number of
orphans so that we don’t look commercial.
People around were not well off
and so meeting the fees for paying children was difficult. God gave me the idea
of moving to this town because people are better off, they’re working class. We
opened the town school for paying students and that money goes to the village
school.
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| The school / church |
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| These boys finished their work and are lounging in the kitchen. All the logs are for the fire needed to prepare meals. |
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| Boarding students are responsible for their own laundry. |
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| Drying the laundry Leslie-style. Though the day is so moist, I doubt any actual drying took place. |
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| The future canteen where students will purchase requirements, sugar, and other needed items. |