To Build A School

It Takes a Village to Run A School

It is a common saying that it takes a village to raise a child. The same can be true for keeping a school running. In one village tucked in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, the school lay barren and empty. The teachers had grown weary and discouraged. Students came and went as they pleased. Bringing life back into this school seemed impossible. 

This is what Stefanie felt when she and her husband, Robyn, visited the school for the very first time. They agreed to help restart it. After meeting the teachers, who no longer had the motivation to teach, the couple’s task looked bleak. As they began making repairs, none of the locals seemed eager to have the school run again. Despite the lack of excitement from the village, Stefanie and Robyn pressed on and continued making much-needed improvements. 

As the school began to look like a school again, the children in the village took renewed interest in attending and learning. Their mothers and fathers rallied behind them and offered to help in any way they could. Some of the young men climbed a nearby mountain and spent more than fourteen days there, cutting down trees and milling timber into various lengths for the construction of the classroom. As they gathered the wood, mothers and other women cooked food and sent it to the men in the mountains. Those who owned trucks loaded the timber and brought it to the construction site. 

A project like rebuilding a school becomes possible when the whole community comes together and takes ownership to bring it to fruition.

One of the young men said, “I was not a good student. I left school because I was not interested. But this is my village, and I willingly came forward to help because I want my children to attend this school.”

Though this young man is not yet married, the positive changes the school has brought to his community give him hope and excitement for the brighter future he envisions for his family someday. 

This is just one of the many projects our field workers with Freedom Challenge do to make a positive impact in the communities they are in. We invite you to partner with us in the work the Lord is doing through their faithful hands, bring hope and a brighter future to communities around the world.