Hero Teachers

March 8, 2010

Dear Grassroots Heroes,

One of the most inspiring things about being at the Mango Grove Community School is watching the teachers in action. They start their days very early in order to arrive at school by 7:30. They walk together in a group up the dirt road for about 4 kilometers. This time of year is the rainy season which lasts from November through April. Daily rains are common. Some rains are torrential downpours, and happen day after day after day which flood the dirt road to the school. The teachers have to wade through the mud and knee deep water to get to the school. I am astounded at how they make it.

When they arrive, they start their day with a prayer meeting in the teachers’ office. They close the door, sit on the little animal-skin-covered stools and begin a passionate appeal to God for his help and strength to face the challenges of their day. They pray for the children, for the community, and then simply bless God with praises and honor. They pray out loud all at once- creating a sense of being in a thick cloud of prayer – surrounded by it on all sides. Some stand up and raise their hands high in the air, some keep their heads bowed in reverence. But all seek, and cry out and praise.

At 8:00 the official school day begins – the children gather outside under the mango tree. They line up according to classes, and then the teachers begin the school assembly. They lead the Zambian national anthem, read a Bible passage, say the Lord’s prayer all together, and then sing lively praise and worship songs in their tribal language and finish with the children all praying intensely – all at the same time – lifting their voices to heaven for help and rescue from the daily indignities and suffering that they endure.

Then the teachers go to their classes to teach the lessons they have planned and written out by hand the night before. They have no computers, they struggle to even have file folders or other materials to help them keep their lessons organized. In addition to teaching the children, they also have to deal with the parents – with their emotional problems, their drunken tirades, their fearfulness over witches who are casting curses on the school, their bickering with each other over who is supposed to cook breakfast for the students, their needs for help with issues at home, etc. The teachers become the role models and arbitrators of all kinds of issues. They are well respected and loved by the community.

They are on the front lines every day. Please pray for them! They need our support.

Blessings,

Tanya