Most of us probably have not seen a blackboard in a very long time. I am not even sure that there are any blackboards anymore. I know that this is hard to see but this is an assignment board from a Project 24 Center. The blackboard is a curiosity but what is on it is stunning. There is a five part assignment and I don’t know what the time frame is for the completion but ……
Here it is.
Catechism assignment – must be memorized. The Apostle’s Creed and the Sacrament of the Altar.
Two hymns from Ibada Takitifu, the Hymnal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kenya. I am not sure if the children are supposed to memorize the hymns or learn to sing them, but the next part of that assignment is fascinating. They can choose their own hymn but they get to arrange it themselves. Does that mean they can write their own music? Not sure but it has to follow the church calendar.
They are to do a drama based on the story of Abraham going to sacrifice Isaac.
They must recite a poem. I don’t know if that means write it themselves or choose one from someplace but it must deal with “peaceful” elections. August 8th the Kenyans go to the polls to elect a new government and sadly Kenyan elections often go badly with a lot of violence. We always pray for the safety of our missionaries and church workers when elections take place.
Finally they must prepare for a debate. Most Americans have no idea what a debate is. What we see in our elections is not debating. What we see on news programs is not a debate. Calling each other names and gainsaying the other position is not debating. If a suggestion is made on heath care for instance and the immediate reply is that one party wants to kill old people that is not debate.
A debate is based upon a proposal, statement or issue of fact. In this case the children must debate whether a boarding school is better than a day school. One side speaks in the affirmative and one takes a counter position. Each side makes speeches that have to be fact based and not opinion based, which makes this debate so interesting. Each side must defend their position in a question and answer period.
Every one that I know who has gone to visit one of the Project 24 sites and has talked to the students will tell you of the desire these children have to learn. They are anxious to learn and love going to school. There language abilities are amazing. These children have their own tribal language and they also speak Swahili and as you can see, they learn to speak and read and write English.
If you would like to support one of these students general sponsorship information can be obtained from Jennifer Hummel at Jennifer.Hummel@LCMS.org or 800-248-1930, ext 1326.
