The Basic Education Learning Center (BELC) started officially on May 5, 2007. For the previous 3 months we had been interviewing students, building a classroom (pictured above), and preparing our lesson materials. My Ethiopian colleague and I had found a translator to help us teach the 5 subjects... Math, English, Christian Education, Science, and Social Studies.
So when the first week of May arrived, we were ready! A community wide celebration had been arranged and our meal had been organized (a cow, locally made bread, rice, and juice powder were purchased in the market). It's funny to recall now, but at the time I didn't know the significance. Apparently the Sudanese rarely eat enough to feel "full". But with all the food we had, people were filled to the point of refusing more. They later said that we had prepared a very nice celebration - and they laughed at their inability to keep eating!
Tomorrow I will travel again to celebrate with the students. Only this time, it is for their graduation. They have achieved a grade 8 level education in 3 years of work. It will be a pleasure for me to see their progress and to be one of the speakers this Thursday, delivering a Biblical message of encouragement. And as the founding teacher of this BELC, it will be a very satisfying moment... one of the many thrills of having invested part of my life in Sudan.
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