Friday afternoon at closing assembly all the students gathered in the courtyard around the Senegalese flag and several announcements were made; one announcement made my heart sing for joy! Fatou, one of the Scholarship students, received a prize given by Unicef for being the second best female student in her class! Her name was announced with the other prize winners and she was awarded a new notebook, a pen, and a bar of soap. And to think that she would have been wasting away in a village school with no possibility of going on in her studies after elementary school if not for the Scholarship Project! It made me so grateful for all of you who are giving Fatou and the others a chance to learn and succeed. Thank you!
Today was the end of the second trimester for the five Scholarship Project students at the Catholic school. I had a chance to talk with the director of the school and with each of the teachers. In fact, I got to accompany one of the moms, a close friend and fellow believer, as she went to each classroom and received the report card for each of her four children along with the teacher’s comments. Overall, it was a very good report. Obviously, Fatou’s teacher had high praise for her, and I was pleased that all of the children have received passing marks. Each of the teachers seemed confident that the students in our program will be able to pass the final government exam required to continue their studies. This is an answer to prayer, given how competitive the system is here, and the poor educational background of these students coming from one-room village schools.
Another highlight, and at the same time, a subject for prayer, relates to the conversations I had with both the director and the teacher of the last grade in the [elementary] school. The oldest girl in the Scholarship Project, Khady, struggles in French writing (who doesn’t?!) but her math grade was outstanding. The teacher said that her grade of 55 out of 60 in math was exceptional and virtually assures her admittance into high school next year. This is evidence of great giftedness.
At the same time, the director and I talked about how difficult Khady’s living situation is. A baptized believer herself, and the children of believers, Khady is currently living in the town of Kaffrine with a Muslim aunt and her large household. Her aunt has been loading Khady down with household work every day and not allowing her to participate in church or youth group meetings regularly. There is a spirit of persecution in the household and Khady and her older brother, a high-schooler in the Scholarship program, are often mocked for being Christians, for not doing Muslim prayers or going to the mosque, or for reading the Bible. In talking with Khady recently, it seems that she is being made to do so much work before school each morning that sometimes she isn’t allowed to eat breakfast because it is not all done. Other times, when she is supposed to go to afternoon classes her aunt either doesn’t let her go, accusing her of wanting to go get into trouble, or she follows her to make sure she is really going to school. Knowing Khady, the director and I both agreed that this is a ridiculous idea! Khady is a sweet girl who loves God and tries to do what is right. I talked to Khady’s father last week about this situation and he said that he is trying to find another place for her to board next year. The problem is that the family is struggling to have enough food to eat after the disastrous rainy season so he is dependent on the generosity of his sister to house and feed Khady. Please pray for this difficult situation to be resolved for Khady’s sake and to the glory of God. Pray for Khady and her brother, Mallé, to persevere in their studies and for God to enable them to bless those who persecute them, thereby showing God’s love and grace.
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