Leadership Development - taking off?

As you may know from posts last year, Living Hope and all Non-Government Organizations (NGO’s) – non-profit organizations – were kicked out of school-ministry in Cape Town as of Jan 2012. School test scores have been low, and teachers’ classroom time has been taken up by so many outside organizations coming into the school doing educational, wonderful programs, but cutting in on the teacher’s time to fulfill their curriculum and goals. So, the Board of Education in the Western Cape of South Africa asked all NGO’s to back out of schools during school hours. The Department of Education was not unsatisfied with the quality of work NGOs were doing in schools, it was just a matter of going back to basics and trying to protect their teachers’ goals for educational scores to be boosted.

So Living Hope was crushed and our school ministry was cancelled. This decision effected about 13 Life Skills Educators and left a whole in ministry schedules. But, a huge opportunity has come our way that surpasses the number of schools we ministered to last year and is God-sized.

A local high school (with a Christian assistant principal who attends John and Avril’s church) put in a proposal for her school at the end of 2011. The proposal was blatantly Christian in theme – speaking of wanting Biblical ethics and morals to be taught as Leadership Development in her school and an initiative toward values-based curriculum to be taught to the student body counsel. The Department of Education supported the proposal but took it one step further; the Western Cape Department of Education wanted the action for all 53 schools they serve – not just the one proposed. The assistant principal in charge of this proposal approached Avril for guidance. It just so happened that Avril and I had just spoken about how to continue Leadership Development in the communities and were working on a plan for where this ministry was going to take me in 2012. Meanwhile, God was busy orchestrating lots of opportunities unbeknownst to us.

Avril and I met with this passionate educator last week to see what help she needs and how Living Hope might partner to educate all these schools. The deal isn’t done, but it’s looking like our Life Skills Educators could be teaching Biblical, ethical, values-based courses in all of the Western Cape schools. A truly overwhelming task, but a door flung wide open. We’re walking through all the doors and taking it one conversation at a time. Pray for this opportunity. Pray that we’re capable of meeting this need – we have little staff, little resources, little transportation, but God is the one over all those issues and we’re trying to trust that He’ll guide us and make it all possible in His time.

Huge things happening here through Teen and Leadership Development Ministry!