It was a herculean effort to get the Secondary School ready for opening on January 24th.  We had nearly 30 labourers on site and a Canadian couple (who own their own greenhouse) building retaining walls, completing sidewalks, planting grass, purchasing and planting flowers, palm trees, and shrubs, outfitting classrooms, putting 25,000 books into the library.  It was truly a hub of activity and I really wish all of you could have been there to witness it!  A lot has been accomplished on the Academy in the past year and even though we still have a lot of work to do, there is truly light at the end of the tunnel to complete this amazing legacy project by mid 2012.  The campus and buildings look amazing.

It was a personal highlight to dedicate the Jeanie Dougan Memorial Library.  Jeanie was a long time Scottish missionary to China who was an inspiration in faith for the donors who committed the money for the Library.  I pray her story will serve as an inspiration to many of our students and parents in the future.

One of the best parts of this trip was signficant connect with the Academy Headmistress, Mrs. Rosette Murigande.  I loved witnessing her amazing heart for the school and her students.  She was overjoyed when the school received the results from the Primary 6 National Exams (written November 2010).  All 50 students achieved LEVEL 1 (the highest attainable), making the Academy one of the top performing schools in the country. Some of the Academy teachers told me they felt personally vindicated after some of their colleagues and parents from other schools had been making comments that all they did at the Academy was pray!  There is power in prayer my friends!

                                                                 

We held the dedication ceremony for the Academy on January 21.  Parents of current S1 (first year of Secondary) and P6 (last year of Primary) students were invited, along with board members, teachers, students, and several local officials.  My personal highlights were articulate speeches from S1 student leaders (Enoch and Samantha), the beautiful and celebratory dancing, and a laudatory speech from the Mayor of Kigali.  After the ceremony, parents toured the school, and there was particular excitement at the new library.

S1 students had their first day of school January 24 (it was delayed nationwide because it took longer than anticipated for exam results to come out).  Mrs. Murigande and the new Secondary School teachers welcomed them and they started the day by taking time to thank God for his help in achieving such amazing exam results.  I sat in the classroom as they joined hands and sang together, praising God for his faithfulness.  There is something special at the Academy and it is more than Academic.  One day I attended an assembly for 150 P4 to P6 students and sat amazed and touched as the students ministered to each other.  The P5 students led the chapel.  They led worship, they did bible skits to illustrate a message, they prayed for each other.  It was truly inspiring!  It is not just us who recognize it.  We had a number of visitors building other schools come to see the Academy personally over the past few weeks and they are blown away by what is happening there.

May God’s favour continue to rest on this extraordinary school!  We have put so much effort into it and I believe this is only scratching the service of the difference the Wellspring Academy will make in Rwanda, the region, and the World, as these special students graduate and go out into the marketplaces of life as leaders with a servant heart.

Please pray particularly for the following needs at the Academy: God’s provision for the administration building, soccer field, basketball court, second Sciences building, and Arts and Music building this year.  An international calibre sciences/maths teacher to team teach alongside our Rwandan teachers at the Secondary School and an Advisor to serve the administration and board in growing the school and help establish an Association of Christian Schools in Rwanda (ACS-R).

A highlight of the Wellspring Academy Secondary School is its new library, filled with over 25,000 books.

The Jeanie Dougan Memorial Library was donated to the Wellspring Academy by a Canadian couple who believe passionately in developing creative, principled, and capable Christian leaders for the future of Rwanda.

                                                                 

The donation was made in the memory of their friend and long term missionary Jeanie Dougan. Jeanie spent much of her life ministering in China as a member of the China Inland Mission. Her areas of service included the far northwest province of Kanzu, the island of Taiwan, and the area known as Kaohsiung. After a lifetime of ministry, she retired to Canada, where she was a member of the Dunbar Heights Baptist Church in Vancouver.

In honour of a lifetime dedicated to missionary service in China, the Wellspring Academy is privileged to partner with a couple for whom Jeannie was an inspiration of faith, in the Jeanie Dougan Memorial Library.

December saw the much anticipated containers arrive at the Wellspring site. Who would have thought a 25 and 40 foot container could bring so much joy and so much frustration... (read the full-length update)

The 25,00 books are carefully finding their way into the books shelves. Desks, chairs and much need plywood is being put to use. And we have hope that our students will soon be punching the key board of some 48 laptops. All in all, 2010 ended with a year that saw much success and progress through the continued faithfulness of donors like you and the God we place our trust.

The Crew continued their race towards the finish in completing all the required buildings and outfitting for the start of the Secondary School. So far, that includes: two classroom blocks (with eight classrooms within), the Toilet Block, the Jeanie Dougan Memorial Library the Multi Purpose Auditorium, and the Science building.

Ernie and Deb, an amazing couple from Alberta who run their own greenhouse and landscaping company, have been volunteering their services to beautify the campus with flowers, bushes, and hanging baskets over the next month.

Click here to read a full-length update,with PHOTOS!

Throwing caution to a diminishing supply of material and project funding, the Wellspring Secondary School Construction project cautiously rolled along throughout the month of October. The ring beams of the library were painted and grass planting was completed. Progress towards assembly of desks, chairs & shelves also took place. Through continued funding from donors, October will steam ahead, yet needed funding to complete the Science building ($18k), Sports field ($25k) and chairs, desks, and shelving for the Library ($9K) are still required to meet our 2010 funding objectives.

Up Next for November:

• Weld the trusses and Pulrins for the science block, and install the roof (picture below shows soon to be completed Science/Computer lab building).
• Also up for November will be putting the roof on the “Outdoor Auditorium”
• Finish assembly of bookshelves and study carols in the library
• Pour paths connecting to the science block
• Finish planting grass around all of the new buildings

Click here to read a full-length update,with PHOTOS!

Asked why this year is different than all of the other school years until now, student Joy Gatabazi is quick to mention that the teachers and students are much more concerned about academic work than they have ever been before.

Joy is a P6 (Grade 6) student at Wellspring Academy. This is the first year that P6 has been offered at the school, and as with any P6 student in Rwanda, this is a pivotal year for Joy. All P6 students in Rwanda take Primary Leaving Exams (PLE’s) at the end of their school year. The results of these exams have a hand in determining next steps for the students – schooling, career, and in some cases, life options.

The results of this year’s P6 class will also be a barometer for Wellspring Academy. Joy and her classmates will be part of the Academy’s first class to begin secondary next year.

Until January 2008, student results on the Primary Leaving Exams determined whether students were able to move to secondary. At that time, basic nine-year education was introduced in Rwanda. This means that now all students in the country are eligible to receive a free education until their third year of secondary. Though the pressure of receiving more education is no longer an issue for these P6 students, this does not mean that all pressure has been eliminated.

Wellspring Academy P6 students Joy Gatabazi & Elisha Muhirwa

“Because we are in P6, we do exams that other classes don’t do,” stresses Elisha Muhirwa, whose P6 class is directly across the schoolyard from Joy’s. “We have to work really, really hard. We cannot watch TV or play games as much as we used to do at home.”

These students have even been coming to school on Saturday mornings for the past few months. On these mornings, their teachers will often cover one topic in more depth than is possible during the jam-packed timetable of a regular school day. You would think these students come to school grudgingly on their weekends, but both Joy and Elisha are happy to be there because they understand the importance of buckling down during this time in their lives.

There is another added bonus to being the only students at school on a Saturday. “We have the playground all to ourselves during break times,” comments Elisha with a big smile on his face.

An emptier playground aside, there is a great deal of pressure on these children to succeed and sometimes their definition of success is based on how their parents and grandparents were taught.

“There will never be another P6 waiting for me,” says Elisha. “This will be another step for my education and my future.”

For these two students, it will be a mix of happiness and relief when the exams are completed in October. “I will feel relaxed, excited, and so proud of myself,” sums up Joy, and then without a moment’s hesitation, she adds, “I will praise God!”

In the midst of a demanding year, it’s good to know the students still have their ultimate focus in the right area.