Education

Through Grief to Hope in Guatemala

aheckman — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 17:46:43 +0000

Through Grief to Hope in Guatemala aheckman Fri, 04/28/2023 - 17:46

Through Grief to Hope in Guatemala

APRIL 28, 2023 · BY AMY HECKMAN

Evan*is a 7th grader in Guatemala who attends the child development center in his town. Evan’s mother experienced complications with childbirth and passed away four years ago. Since then, Evan and his seven siblings have had to face life without her love and care. The teachers at Evan’s center report that despite this tragedy marking his life, Evan is a hard worker who loves to improve. He strives diligently to overcome the obstacles he faces. Evan also attends the local Nazarene church that hosts the child development center, where he participates in children’s church and youth services.

Making ends meet is not easy for Evan’s family. Evan is one of the ten percent of children in Guatemala who work in order to help out at home. He spends a few hours each day in a local bakery to cover his educational costs, as school is only free in Guatemala through the 6th grade. Sometimes, Evan uses his income to help pay for the needs of his younger siblings. To balance all of his responsibilities, Evan goes to work in the morning before school. After work, he goes to school, then to his center in the afternoon, and studies in the evenings.

Being part of the child sponsorship program means that Evan is able to attend the development center for free. There, he receives help with his homework after school, along with spiritual, intellectual, physical, emotional, and social care that is designed to develop all aspects of his life. Evan’s sponsor is a Nazarene church in Wisconsin, and Evan regularly writes notes to the church to shares gratitude and updates. In a recent letter, he expressed how happy he was to be a part of the center.

“I thank God first of all for putting in your hearts the will to help me,” he wrote. “I know that our God will multiply you in abundance.” Evan is not the only one in his family to benefit from sponsorship; two of his younger sisters attend the center as well.

The care given by the staff is impacting each of Evan's family members with the help needed to thrive despite both grief and economic challenges. In a country where only 79% of children complete primary school, the center’s activities help keep children engaged and learning. Most importantly, the center is built on a foundation of faith.

“We take the opportunity to pray with [students] and remind them of how important they are to us, to the church, and above all to God,” said Arnoldo, center coordinator. This kind of encouragement can give children confidence and a reason to hope for a bright future, no matter their current circumstances.

That encouragement is echoed in the care felt through the sponsorship relationship. “I am very grateful to my sponsor,” said Evan. “Even though I do not know them, I feel a great love for them because of the support I have received.”

When you sponsor a child like Evan, committing your financial resources and prayer support, you are making a tangible difference. Learn more here.

*Child’s name is changed for protection.

Holistic Child Development

children and youth

Education

Child Sponsorship

Guatemala

2022 Christmas Project: Holistic Care

aheckman — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 21:07:32 +0000

2022 Christmas Project: Holistic Care aheckman Thu, 12/22/2022 - 21:07

2022 Christmas Project: Holistic Care

DECEMBER 22, 2022 · DANA FRANCHETTI

Since 2019, Lebanon has been caught in a devastating financial crisis. What was a difficult situation has gotten worse and worse, increasingly amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Beirut port explosion, and the economic effects of the war in Ukraine. Now, basic items people need to survive cost dozens of times more than they used to.

Through the NCM Christmas Project, you’re providing food and necessities for the many people who can no longer afford them, scholarships for students at the Nazarene school in Beirut, support for those living in Lebanon as refugees, and salary support for teachers and psychologists.

Keep reading to hear how funds from the Christmas Project will benefit teachers and students alike at the Nazarene school in Beirut.

As the people of Beirut continue to live through an extreme financial crisis, the faculty at the Nazarene school is intentional about shaping children, families, and staff to be people of integrity who live out generosity and compassion.

One way this is done is through the influence of instructors who have developed and implemented a new curriculum for the students designed to impact their families and community.

Laur, a teacher at the school, and one of her colleagues have been working on developing the curriculum.

“It’s an anti-corruption project,” she explains. “We're trying to teach them different values because, as you know, we can see corruption everywhere. And we're trying to start with young people especially. So, when they grow up, they go out to society having good values.”

The students have identified several values that they want to encourage at the school and the curriculum covers the meaning of these values and how to live them out. Some of the values they identified were respect, responsibility, and honesty. By having the students help identify their values, it creates excitement and a sense of responsibility for everyone involved.

This holistic approach to education, of teaching more than just academics, is designed to help the next generation develop resiliency, good character, and problem-solving skills. This approach is rounded out by providing access to psychologists to aid students who have faced extreme difficulty and trauma in healing from those experiences.

However, the administration at the school also believes this kind of development and care should also be available for the faculty that works with the students and their families.

“We had a workshop for all teachers, which is called counseling,” says Laur. “This helped a lot to [teach us how to] work with students, how to counsel them, guide them, and how to help them deal with their problems, too.”

Through this equipping, the staff are more confident in their ability to help lead through really complex challenges.

“You know, we all had that fear. Not just because of the refugees, but also because of what happened here in Lebanon after the explosion too, and after [COVID-19],” says Laur. “We had so many problems and we tried to deal with them in different ways, to understand our students better.”

Beyond training, administrators at the school are working to provide for the teachers personally, too. They know that if the teachers are struggling to find food and care, they will struggle to teach well. Marlene Mshantaf, the school principal, addressed this by providing extra support.

The inflation rate in Lebanon has been around 167 % compared to the 8% average inflation rate for the United States in 2022. In addition to inflation, rising food costs due to the war in Ukraine have made purchasing basic necessities incredibly challenging. To combat this, the school administration provided raises and bonuses to teachers, waived school fees for their children, and provided access to as many outside resources as possible to ease the impact of inflation.

“We are getting vouchers to go to the supermarket, to buy food and everything we need,” shares Laur.

At the height of the pandemic, Laur’s father became incredibly ill with COVID-19. He needed access to oxygen and other medication that Laur and her siblings could not afford. The administration at the school decided to step in and help meet this need. They provided the medicine necessary for her father to heal.

These intentional acts of kindness and generosity have elevated the Nazarene school in the community. While the program exists to educate children and provide a safe place for them to learn, it has also become a place for families, community members, and the staff to find essential support. When each aspect of care is combined, it adds up to a holistic ministry that is meeting needs, inspiring integrity, creating ties across cultural barriers, and raising up young leaders who will positively impact Lebanon for generations to come.

When you give to the 2022 NCM Christmas Project, you’ll help Nazarene churches in Lebanon and educational programs like the school in Beirut provide tangible support like tuition, salary, and food packs. Learn more and give today.

2022 Christmas Project: Finding Hope at School

aheckman — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 19:24:38 +0000

2022 Christmas Project: Finding Hope at School aheckman Thu, 12/15/2022 - 19:24

2022 Christmas Project: Finding Hope at School

DECEMBER 15, 2022 · DANA FRANCHETTI

Over the next few weeks, you’ll find highlights from the children, teachers, and community members who are part of the church-led compassionate ministries in Lebanon. Keep reading to hear how two students have found help and hope through their Nazarene school.

Fadi* is a 14-year-old Syrian boy who has lived in Lebanon for 9 years. Due to the war in Syria, his education suffered. Since moving to Lebanon, he attended a few other schools before finding an encouraging community at the Nazarene school.

“On my first day here, I felt a bit strange because I didn't know anyone. I didn't know how people were going to treat me because I was a new student, and I didn't have any friends. I was also worried about how the teachers were going to treat me because I knew that teachers don't treat students well in some schools,” says Fadi.

What Fadi found instead was a school where he was able to build relationships with friends from all over the world, receive a good education, and learn important leadership skills.

The culture that has been developed at the school by teachers and staff is reflected in how the students welcome and encourage each other, regardless of where they came from and what their background is.

Zaina* is in the sixth grade. She grew up in Lebanon, and her family has been impacted by the current economic crisis in the country. The Nazarene school is the only one she has known, and she values the culture of care and welcome students find there.

“In this school, everyone is nice to each other,” Zaina explains. “No one bullies and no one lets anyone act like that ... I love all the teachers because they (have) always been nice to me and my class. They teach us good things to learn and help us for the future.”

Going to school in an encouraging environment that includes core subjects as well as conflict resolution and leadership development helps families heal from their trauma and instills new mindsets in the students. They are learning to see the differences in the people around them as something to embrace, instead of something to be feared. Fadi experiences this firsthand.

“I have a really good friend, Danny, who is from Sudan. His skin color is different from mine, and that didn’t affect our friendship. We are really good friends now. It is actually really cool to be friends with people who are different from you. Our differences shouldn’t stop us from being friends. It could actually make you become better friends,” explains Fadi.

The students at the Nazarene school know that times are hard in Lebanon right now. However, they have clear hopes and dreams for the future of their country and see themselves as being part of the solution.

“It’s not like the other schools I went to,” says Fadi. “When I started school here, I was surprised at how they treat students ... and the students who go here, or will go here, are going to be really influential because this school is so different.”

Zaina has dreams of being a veterinarian one day, while Fadi hopes to be a police officer. They both want to give back to their community and care for people in order to help create peaceful and prospering communities.

“The most important thing that I have learned here is that nothing is impossible. There is always a way to do better than what you have done so far,” says Fadi.

*Children's names are changed for protection.

Add new comment

2022 Christmas Project: Building Bridges and Building Hope

aheckman — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 22:41:36 +0000

2022 Christmas Project: Building Bridges and Building Hope aheckman Thu, 12/08/2022 - 22:41

2022 Christmas Project: Building Bridges and Building Hope

DECEMBER 8, 2022 · DANA FRANCHETTI

Since 2019, Lebanon has been caught in a devastating financial crisis. What was a difficult situation has gotten worse and worse, increasingly amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 explosion, and the war in Ukraine. Now, basic items people need to survive cost dozens of times more than they used to.

Over the next few weeks, you’ll find highlights from the children, teachers, and community members who are part of the church-led compassionate ministries in Lebanon. Keep reading to hear how one of those ministries, a Nazarene school, is helping to build bridges and uplift students.

In Beirut, the 2020 explosion left 300,000 people without homes, and the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria have brought over 1.5 million refugees into the country. Both events have created an extreme need for food, housing, and financial resources to help restore people’s standard of living in addition to bridge-building work between the different cultures that now call Lebanon home.

The Nazarene school in Lebanon has embraced the call to care for their community, including many people impacted by these crises, by providing education, support, stability, and community for around 350 children representing 14 different nationalities.

Marlene Mshantaf has worked at the school for 36 years, serving as principal for 32. Shortly after refugees from Syria began arriving in Lebanon, staff at the school noticed two school-aged children that lived in a neighboring home. The children spent their days sitting on the balcony of their home watching the students at school. After about a week of observing this, Mshantaf went to their home to see why they weren't in school.

She learned that the family were refugees from Syria and didn’t have the resources to send their children to school. In fact, they hadn’t been able to attend school for two full years. Mshantaf invited them to enroll in school free of charge, and this propelled the school to discover how to provide not only an excellent education for the children in their community but also reconciliation and hope.

Over time, the staff observed that there was tension in the school and in the community between Lebanese and Syrian individuals. To break down barriers, they began hosting weekly reconciliation meetings for the students. These meetings lasted for eight months.

“So, now you cannot see that students will say, Oh, you are a Syrian, you are a Sudanese, you are a Nigerian,” Mshantaf says. “No, they all play together. They’re all friends together ... and now it even impacts the families and the parents.” People involved with the reconciliation work have stopped seeing their neighbors as strangers from different countries. Now, they see them as friends who are working through this challenging time together.

Staff have been intentional about developing a curriculum to help facilitate this reconciliation, as well as cultivating a sense of community, safety, and dreaming big dreams for what God has for their lives. The curriculum at the school includes all the educational pieces you would expect, but it also includes education around safety and protection, leadership development, goal setting, and life skills.

“This will help us to achieve more with them and work more with them and help them feel that, yes, this is a safe place for them,” Mshantaf says.

When families struggle to meet basic needs, it can become nearly impossible for children to thrive in school. To help reduce the impact of the current economic crisis taking place in Lebanon, the school partners with local Nazarene churches to connect children with clinics and psychology professionals and provides food vouchers to families. Through mental health care and steady nutrition, children are overcoming the physical and emotional barriers they face. With this holistic approach to education challenges that would otherwise distract students from thriving in a school environment, students have found a place where they belong, and they are setting an example for their own families and the community beyond.

“We want the example of the school really to be the example of all the country. We want the people that we helped also to feel that we should be working with everybody. . . We should be hand in hand," says Mshantaf.

“We have a big dream that our graduates will be good people in society,” Mshantaf adds. “We want to help the people of the community and the students from our school become what they’re dreaming to be.”

When you give to the Christmas Project, you will enable the Nazarene school in Lebanon to continue to compassionately serve a diverse student body, including children who have escaped the trauma of war. Your gift will ensure that bridges between cultures will continue to be built, all in Jesus’ name.

Learn more and give today here.

2022 Christmas Project: Laila's Story

aheckman — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 22:27:56 +0000

2022 Christmas Project: Laila's Story aheckman Wed, 11/23/2022 - 22:27

2022 Christmas Project: Laila's Story

NOVEMBER 23, 2022 · CALLIE STEVENS

Since 2019, Lebanon has been caught in a devastating financial crisis. What was a difficult situation has gotten worse and worse, increasingly amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 explosion, and the war in Ukraine. Now, basic items people need to survive cost dozens of times more than they used to.

Over the next few weeks, you’ll find highlights from the children, teachers, and community members who are part of the church-led compassionate ministries in Lebanon. Read on for their stories.

Laila*, a 12-year-old seventh grader, has been going to the Nazarene school in Beirut since fourth grade. When she grows up, she wants to become a lawyer because, “I really like defending people,” she explains. “I want to help others. I will always help the innocent when they need it.”

Life is difficult for most people in Lebanon right now. Things that were a given have become uncertain. For Laila, school has become a bit of a safe haven in the midst of chaos. Sometimes, the crisis can be overwhelming, she explains. It can be very frightening, and when she thinks about the state of the country she loves, she can get upset. She’s still very proud of Lebanon and all of its beauty and people. At school, her teachers help her process those thoughts in a constructive and safe way. “There’s a lot of bad things happening in this country, but still there is hope,” she says. “There is certainly hope.”

Because Laila wants to become a lawyer, she knows she will have to study for a long time. (“I will do everything on this earth for it to happen,” she says.) Loving school now is a good place to start—because her teachers are dedicated to her, she feels that she can trust them.

At her old school, she struggled in classes and with the community. It was only a school, not a loving environment. She explains that now she feels like a whole different person through the holistic care at the school, which has cared for her as a whole person.

“It can really change somebody’s life,” she says. “It can change the way you act, your personality, your whole persona.”

One teacher in particular made an impact on Laila’s life. That teacher was Laila’s first friend when she arrived at the school three years ago. Laila knows that not everyone can come to her school. But if everyone could come, she believes it would change things. People could become who they want to be.

“But if you want to [come], I'm here,” she adds. “I can be your first friend, also."

*Names is changed for protection.