July News Letter

Tuesday  |  July 21, 2020  |  22:33 PM

Greetings of peace to you. We are living in changing and challenging times. Our brothers and sisters all over the world are experiencing similar difficulties, so know you are not alone, and let me assure you that this too shall pass. I am speaking not only from a faith perspective, though that is my ground for saying that, but I also have had the blessing of living through difficult time and can testify to the providential blessings of God.

As some of you may know, I was born in Nigeria, shortly before the Biafran was for independence. Over three million Igbo of Biafran land died in that war, and those that survive lived through months and years of wondering where their next meal will come from. Many children of Biafra with protruding stomach succumbed to kwashiorkor (severe malnutrition). My family home was in the heart of the Biafra land, and we survived that experience. My vocation and my passion to build a school in Abakaliki are inspired by that experience. At the time I did not know that to be the case; I did not perceive them as any conscious motivation, but in hindsight I have seen how they all came together. God Always brings some good out of every situation, no matter how bad the situation is. Let us trust that the one who has promised to bring us to a place of safety (Jer. 29:11) will fulfill His promise.

Since the last time I shared with you, a lot has happened at our school thanks to your generosity. We have built six classrooms, which make up the first floor of the classroom building. This has made it possible for us to open our doors to some 67 students this past fall, 21 in the 7^th grade and the rest in K to 1^st grade. We were blessed enough to ship a 40ft container of school supplies to our school. Currently have eleven staff members on board and are about to complete the first floor of girls’ hostel which will accommodate about 50 students.

The administrative building is ready for use even as we hope to do the painting at a later time. The school toilet facility is in place and running. The sisters’ resident is rising, it is at the roof level at the publishing of this newsletter.

Admin Building	Sister's Convent	New Shuttle Van

Our goal is to make the school less dependent on external support. This can be achieved by enrolling students who can pay the affordable tuition we have put in place. Such students will be coming from outside this village and will need accommodation or daily shuttle to the school. We are committed to provide education to the children from this village though their parents cannot afford to pay tuition. We have recently been blessed with an 18-seater shuttle bus. Jim Wood, our president has acquired some iPad for us, a seed donation for our computer laboratory. Jim, thank you for your benevolence!

We have initiated electrification of the school, laying 23 electric poles from the school to connect to the national grid, about 960 m or 3150ft. It is almost completion. We have also installed water storage containers and distribution tower. All these were made possible by your support. God bless you!!!

The sisters are not only busy with the school, they are also organizing the youths and the local women to cultivate the school land. They are planting Rice, Yam, beans, corn, cassava, and vegetables.

We are amazed by God’s abundance as we continue to see astounding progress, but we still have so much more to do for our children at the Kassie Braun Memorial School.

Here is what we still need. The major challenge this community has is access to town and the amenities it provides. Our staff come from Abakaliki town which is approximately 12 miles from our school. There is no form of accommodation for them in this village. We have been shuttling the sisters and the teachers to school and it has been a challenge because sometimes the students arrive prior to the staff. The urgency of having some accommodation for the sisters and the teachers cannot be overemphasized. We have taken on this challenge as you can see in the picture above. We need another $45,000 to complete the building, making is livable for the sisters.

Here, we have the sideview of the girls’ hostel. We will be able to accommodate about 50 students by September if we could complete this first floor. The concrete deck is in place, as soon as funds are available, the rooms will be ready for the students to move in this fall. It is estimated that $53,000 will pay for the electrical wiring, the plastering of the interior, bathroom fittings and tiles, and room cabinet, including bed for the students

My friend, I thank you from the depth of my heart for taking the risk to go on this journey with me. I am amazed and joyful at how far we have come, and I am confident that the one who began the good work in us will bring it to completion.

I am asking you to consider chipping in a little more. Remember that you can memorialized yourself or a loved one on the memorial brick of the classroom with $1,000. Name a classroom after yourself or a loved one with a donation of $5,000 to $10,000. Please check with us for other levels of donation and memorialization. We will accommodate your need. Would you like to sponsor a child? Please contact us for information.

May the Lord continue to bless you and your loved ones and keep you all in His loving care.
Gratefully Yours in Christ Jesus,