Reaching Out Over the Wall
TeachBeyond Partner School, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
It’s been a year since a TeachBeyond partner school at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, started thinking about developing a sustainable outreach program. As the team met, prayed, and discussed possible ideas, they were led to reach out to the local government school next door.
The K-8 public school has 1,200-1,300 local students from lower-economic backgrounds, living at the outskirts of the city. The teachers at the school are all Ethiopians. Teaching is not considered a noble profession in the country and this affects the student-teacher ratio. The school struggles with a ratio of 50:1. Being under-resourced is another struggle that the teachers have to deal with.“That school was an obvious choice. We have similar goals yet have not done much with each other. And we even share a wall,” said Joshua Horstman, High School History Teacher and mobilizer of the school’s outreach team.
The team spent the first year building a rapport with the school. “We stressed that we wanted to have a relationship with them, that we want to work together so that we could make each other better. We were not just looking to come and give, but to engage with the teachers and students, and work closely with them,” shared Joshua. “When we go to the campus, being foreigners, we get a lot of attention, but we want the presence of our teachers to become a common sight at the local school.”
A few teachers now co-teach grade 7 & 8 English and Math with local teachers at the public school for a couple of days a week. They also plan to have the local teachers over to their school in later months.
“We hope to extend this program to include middle and primary school students as well, so that we get to engage with the students over many years. We can’t do Bible lessons, but we want to be able to share Christ’s love with them through our relationships,” shares Joshua. This outreach has also been supporting the team’s other outreach efforts in the local community, as many of the public school students recognize the team members when they are out in the community.
“Prayer has been crucial to the success we have had so far. We have seen God at work in the positive reception that we have received at the school. There is a real softening of hearts and a willingness to engage,” said Joshua. “I am very thankful to see what God has been doing and to be a part of this. It’s very exciting!”
Pray for this partner school
- Pray that the relationships developed with those in the neighboring school would be renewed post the coronavirus period.
- Pray that they would be able to fill their open positions for the next academic year. Find opportunities to serve in Africa.
- Pray that they would have all of the resources they need to function next year.