Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Okay, One Last Push!

The beginning of August finds me just $7105 away from the $70,000 goal. Actually, the money is not the goal. Helping the people of Waku Kungo is the goal! Specifically, helping the church finish off the construction of the school, so they can educate 500 more students who would otherwise receive little or no education.

I haven't done too much of this, but because of a recent email I received from Luis Samacumbi (the overseer of the project in Waku Kungo), I am going to tug at the heartstrings a bit. Take a look at this:


This is a young girl, named Gizela, in Waku Kungo who lives without the use of her legs. Such childhood disabilities are common in Angola, for a number of reasons. Sadly, many such children face very difficult lives, because Angolan society, and even their families, believe they have little potential.

This sad reality is connected to the school building project in Waku Kungo, because one of the special goals of this school will be to help students who have fallen behind in their education. The church in Waku Kungo is committed to this. Students fall behind for many reasons completely unrelated to their academic abilities, with poverty, illness, distance, and discrimination against girls being the four most common reasons.

For example, Gizela, pictured above, is twelve years old, but only in third grade. Because of the extra challenges she faces, she is already 2-3 years behind in her education, and if left to the regular schools, will likely fall further and further behind. She is exactly the kind of student the school in Waku Kungo will have a particular mission to serve.

Can you make a contribution today to help kids like Gizela get the education they deserve? The church in Waku Kungo recently gave her a wheelchair. Can you help her, and 499 others, also get they education they need to thrive in life?


We have $7105 to go. The Mission Board of my congregation (Second Congregational Church, Rockford, IL) has decided to match all the remaining gifts to get us to our goal of $70,000. So every dollar you give is worth two!

You can give online by clicking here. Or you can write a check to "Second Congregational Church," with "Angola School" in the memo line, and send it to Second Congregational Church, 318 N. Church St., Rockford, IL 61101.

I will be visiting Waku Kungo in October, and it sure would be great to get the full $70,000 to them before the end of August, so they can have the pride of finishing the school before I arrive.

Peace,
Mike


1 comment:

debbie said...

What a great thing for your church to start matching funds to get you to the end! It's kind of like the final push you did at the end of your swim across the channel. Prayers abound!!