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Helping needy Malagasy kids to become Jesus’ kids! September 2007 Volume 10, Number 9 "A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor." Proverbs 22:9 |
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A New School Year for the Lambs School is starting again in Madagascar. As usual the private schools are already open and teaching students on a daily basis. The government run primary and junior high schools have yet to open. There are several changes this year. First, as I mentioned before there are some students (Clara, Fetra, Jean Marc, and Tsiry) that did not pass the qualifying exam for high school. Two of them (Clara and Jean Marc) were accepted into a private school near Betikara and they are already in classes. Tsiry, however, was not accepted. He has taken the test to qualify for high school for several years now and will not be able to attend a private or technical school. Presently he is taking driving lessons in Ivato which is a town about 4 miles from the orphanage. I have not heard of a final decision on Tsiry, but according to Betikara policy Tsiry should soon be leaving Betikara because he is not actively enrolled in some form of further education.
Tsiry Fetra, also did not pass the test, but this was his first try. He did qualify for a technical school in Ambohidratrimo. This is the same school that Robert attends to study engineering. I do not know at this time what subject Fetra will be studying. That will have to be announced in a future newsletter. Please pray for Fetra’s situation. He is needing a new copy of his birth certificate in order for the school in Ambohidratrimo to accept him. Getting a new birth certificate can be a long, drawn out process and many times people do not get their needed birth certificates. Andry did not pass his test to move on to junior high school. He is scheduled to enter into a school this coming year for assisted training. In the mean time he is working on the Betikara “Farm” with our gardener Martin. Andry is also overseeing a chicken and duck project that will hopefully provide some food for the orphanage. Please continue to pray for Andry and his situation. He is not the brightest person, but he does have a good heart and wants to be useful in some way. Pray that we can find some work that will be good for him. Three New Lambs I have reported to the churches about there being 34 Lambs at the Betikara Orphanage. I also told you that we have room for 6 more boy Lambs. I just received an e-mail message from John Ratovohery in Madagascar informing me that Betikara has taken on 3 new boy Lambs. However, at this time, I am not able to tell you much about them. The paperwork is still being processed for them to enter school and be officially registered at Betikara and with the Malagasy government. John wrote that he will get me some information on the children soon. I am writing him an e-mail message requesting pictures, ages, names and birthdates for our new Lambs. So, Lord willing I will be able to let you see and know more about our three new arrivals. What I do know is that one of the boys is from the northern part of the island of Madagascar. This is the area of Madagascar that Yosly comes from and where Yosly’s grandfather lives. I do remember John saying something about Yosly’s grandfather having information on a possible child for Betikara, but I do not know if this child is in any way related to Yosly. Sorry, but that is one of the bad things about being away from the work and disconnected from what is going on in Madagascar. I can only write about what other people tell me. :-) The Betikara School
is Open The Betikara School is officially open. We now have one director, three teachers, and two Christian men to oversee and help with the start up process of the school. I do not know the number of students that will be enrolled at the present time. The opening of this school was a long anticipated event and it has finally happened. Many of the area families are wanting to enroll their children at Betikara. Whether or not they will be able to do so depends on a lot of factors. First, we are going to try and keep the class sizes small in order to facilitate a good teaching atmosphere. This means that a lot of potential students will not be able to have a place at Betikara. Parents will be trying very hard to persuade the school to allow their children to attend which will possibly cause the class sizes to swell and become unhealthy for a good learning atmosphere. Second, Betikara is going to be a private school that only receives funding from the families that enroll their children in the school. Therefore, it is essential for the school to receive tuition from every student that attends the school. Many third world people are used to bargaining for the tuition of their children. This happens especially when the parents what to enroll several children that are in the same family. They feel that they should get a discount. Other parents agree to enroll their children and then find it hard to pay the necessary tuition. So, many times the school either has to try and operate on a less amount of money or remove those students from the school that are not paying students. This causes stress and hard feelings for both the school and the families that are enrolling or wanting to enroll students in the school. All of this was written to help you understand that the opening of the Betikara School is a reality, but we need your continued prayers to make it a success. Please pray without ceasing. 1 Thes. 5:17 |
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Indiana Church of Christ “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for
what he has done.” |