Fred Buyinza, the chairman for the Association of Committed Teachers (ACT) Rwanda, has spent the last two weeks traveling all over Rwanda. These trips are not uncommon for Fred, as he often goes to the different provinces for short visits to encourage teachers. This trip, however, was slightly different. Fred wasn’t just meeting with teachers, he was also going to speak with pastors.  You might be wondering, “What do pastors have to do with education?” As far as ACT is concerned, pastors, and the church, are perfectly placed to play a key role in supporting education within their communities.

At the beginning of the year ACT’s National Committee, made up of representatives from each province, sat down to discuss the areas they wanted to focus on. One of the committee’s main goals was to strengthen the unity between teachers; to encourage them to serve and learn from each other, to grow in their Christian faith by meeting to fellowship together, and to help create support networks for teachers.  During their discussion, they realized the critical role pastors could play in supporting teachers.

In Rwanda, teaching is not a highly paid or highly valued profession. In fact it is considered to be one of the least esteemed jobs out there and sadly, teachers are sometimes looked down on by society. Part of the work Wellspring is involved in is empowering teachers and helping them to see the incredible value of their work – as they are training up the next generation for the future of their country. ACT is a kindred spirit in sharing the message that teaching is not a crumby job; it is a calling from God!

You might assume pastors would feel the same way, but the reality is that many pastors in Rwanda think that the only way to serve God is by actually being a pastor. They view schools as being part of the world and wonder why some schools call themselves “Christian” when there is no difference between them and public schools. So Fred went to meet several different groups of pastors in order to open their eyes to the way God can use teachers to develop a child’s love for Christ through education. These meetings were very successful in revealing to pastors the opportunity they have to become stakeholders in encouraging and building up teachers. One pastor commented that he had previously thought schools were only good for making money, but now he sees them as a place where children can be discipled.

During the two week journey Fred felt that “God opened many opportunities to support and value teachers.” In some areas, residents had been mocking teachers by saying that intoryi is the meat for teachers. Intoryi is the Kinyarwanda name for little bitter tomatoes that grow wild and are very cheap.  They were saying that teachers are so poor, they can’t even afford real meat. Fred was able to encourage teachers during his time with them: “They call you poor, but you make many people rich!”

The simple act of taking time to travel to these remote villages, meet together with pastors and teachers, and discuss solutions to some of the problems they face is a huge encouragement to teachers. This is why Wellspring believes in the work ACT is doing. ACT has the calling to get out there - to go where Wellspring can't presently go. They are loving and encouraging teachers on the ground, where they're at; reviving their hope and helping them to find value within themselves.