Worship Team at Gitega International Academy
Gitega International Academy students are spiritually growing. This is a very exciting news! Some of our students have been so touched by the chapel services and testimonies of the staff during their time in the school, that they decided to give their lives to Christ. This is cause for a great celebration! They created a worship team two years ago and now they’ve started visiting some of other worship teams in churches to exchange their experiences and share testimonies.
A big thank you to all the volunteers who have worked hard in the chapel services, even when there was no sign that their words or actions were taking root. Everything happens in God’s time.
Affordable Healthcare
Healthcare in Burundi is very hard for the poor to access especially during this period of crisis when everything is expensive and the country classified the poorest country in the whole world. Clinics and hospitals require payment in advance of treatment, and pharmacies would not dream of letting you take medication until it was paid for in full. Shammah Health Center is cutting new ground with their affordable healthcare. Not only are their prices relatively low, but they allow people to get the treatment they desperately need, even if they don’t have enough money on their person, on the promise that they will return to pay later. In these days of crisis in the country, about 10% of the patients have not been able to pay in full especially in case of hospitalisation, and over 70% of them have already returned to clear the debt at a later date.
The gratitude of the patients is overwhelming, some crying tears of joy when they realise that they will still get treatment, despite not having the money to pay for it straight away. There have also been a few cases where patients have honestly told us that they don’t know if they will ever be able to raise the money to pay the debts, which has resulted in the work scheme programme. Patients can return to the centre when they are well and do a few days manual work in our fledging malnourishment programme to pay off their debt. During this period of crisis, the grassroots are in extreme poverty and are really in the need of assistance. Shammah’s trust in people gives them dignity, empowerment and responsibility for their own healthcare, whilst providing access to those who would otherwise be denied. Everybody wins! Let’s serve the Lord!
Building work
The constructions are going on at different youth for Christ sites.
We keep trusting God to provide funding for the new urgently needed classrooms and dorms. We are currently building 3 classrooms on the other site at Gitega, hoping to open a science and arts section at Future Hope secondary school in September . There are very few schools in that area and the local population is very eager and impatient for us to open. New classrooms and headmaster’s office are also needed and expected at Makamba and they are under construction now.
We once more trust that God will allow us to add more students by end of August at Gitega International Academy as many parents trust in our schools. Through his people, we have seen God providing miraculously the past years. Would you please join us praying for the needed funding?
