I was nervous, my thoughts swirling. “Will there be desks?” I wondered, “or will the kids still be sitting on the dirt floor? Did we bring enough craft supplies?” It was April of 2010, and the village primary school was now three years old. We parked the van and climbed out after a bumpy, three-hour journey from Kampala and walked toward the school. I expected to be greeted by a flood of children offering us high fives and hugs but where were they?
Finally, I spotted our head teacher, Resty, waiting for us under the shade of a lone umbrella tree. Relief flooded me: she stood by a row of desks, which meant the funds from the Crystal Springs Co-op Preschool’s fundraiser had been received and used correctly.
Cheri, a pediatric nurse who was becoming a dear friend, walked with me, and we sat down under the umbrella tree. It was her first time to visit the village school, and I couldn’t wait for her to see the children…but they still hadn’t appeared! What we saw in front of us was the fledgling primary school, which resembled a multi-room fruit stand. There were gaps between the uneven boards, bumpy dirt floors, and open windows.
After a warm welcome speech from Resty, several hundred children marched from behind the fledgling primary school, some wearing new uniforms of neon green with orange trim and red socks, some wearing clothes that were on their last legs. Musoni, a handsome 12-year old boy with an engaging smile began thumping a goat hide drum. Six girls stepped forward barely moving their feet, swiveling their hips, their skirts flapping to the beat of the drum. I was elated to see the progress since my last visit: children in uniforms, dancing in a line, singing in English. Desks. I was inhaling the goodness of it all. “Isn’t this AMAZING?” I gushed to Cheri.
She was ashen. “I wish I could turn off my nurse’s eyes,” she said.
For her, the singing and dancing couldn’t outweigh the signs of malnutrition, the patches of white fungus on children’s heads, or the yellowed eyes from repeated malaria infections that were calling out to her. It was true. The problems of a community often affect children the most. It was a vast improvement that the kids now had the chance to go to school, but they still walked long distances to carry home water from contaminated ponds. Healthcare was inaccessible, there was no electricity, and there were obvious symptoms of malnutrition. Education for their children was the community’s top priority, but the other needs were pressing—and overwhelming.
I recalled my struggle in prayer when I first felt tugged to ministry so far out in our village in 2006, “Why THERE? It’s so far! Why not Mexico? Lots of people go to Mexico! It’s overwhelming! There’s nothing to build on.” I was weeping in prayer, and God’s answer had dropped into my thoughts, “Why would I send you some place that only needed a little bit of me?” It answered every question. God hadn’t given us the easy thing. He had brought us to the need. This village needed more than a little bit of God’s intervention.
We returned from that April trip realizing that it was unrealistic to empower children through education if they were starving and unhealthy. We were going to have to engage with the community on the systemic issues. Once more, I was in over my head. I knew nothing about community development.
I would have to learn. When I arrived home, I called a dear friend, Cori, who managed a large ministry throughout Europe called Youth with A Mission. “Cori, I need to understand development better. Can you please download your entire brain into mine? I need a recipe!”
Cori laughed. She indeed had a recipe for a development strategy that was rooted in scripture but aligned with the most important secular principle of contemporary development work: the work must be collaborative with and eventually led by the community. “You want the Old Testament Template by Linda Cope,” Cori said, “It has straightforward principles that I think will give you guidance to develop a good strategy.”
I ordered a copy of the book, and several others, hoping for some clear direction. As I read the Old Testament Template, I found neatly categorized principles from the Bible that could guide our development strategy. Many came from the book of Exodus. As I read, I realized how similar our situation was to the Israelites when they left Egypt as freed slaves. The Israelites were the poorest civilization on earth when they left Egypt - no land, no skills, no government, no schools, no army, no industry, and no agricultural system. They were an impoverished mob in the middle of a wasteland, and Moses had to teach people who had been slaves for more than 300 years how to form and run their nation.
I could relate to Moses. He felt too small for an impossibly big job. In Numbers 11:11-14 Moses bemoans to God, “...What have I done to displease you that you have put the burden of all these people on me?...Where can I get meat for all these people?...I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.” I laughed when I read of Moses’ complaints that mirrored mine.
God answered by telling Moses to bring 70 elders before him so that he could divide the burden of leadership among them. This model, inspired by God, introduced the principle of shared leadership, was noted in the Old Testament Template in the section on government. Cori had directed me to the perfect recipe!
I felt rescued. I knew I could trust the principles God laid out for the creation of Israel’s society and throughout the rest of scripture. The principles would be cross-cultural and create common ground. HEED’s mission would eventually expand from education to include water, sanitation, health, a church, and skills training. But it all began with a shift in perspective that day ten years ago when I sat on a desk under an umbrella tree with Cheri. God always provides, and that day, he used Cheri’s eyes to open mine.
***
Old Testament Template by Landa Cope
Overview of Old Testament Template:
The Template categorizes biblical principles for the issues of society: government, economics, family, science, communication, education, arts, and the church. From that wisdom, these are some of the principles we pulled out to guide our work:
Economically, Israel was instructed to have a national commitment to the elimination of poverty, to avoid debt, and to emphasize opportunity over aid reserving aid (one-way giving) for dire situations rather than chronic problems.
Family is the first line of defense for protection against poverty and economic ruin, and parental responsibility is emphasized in scripture.
God’s view is that every child has value, every child can learn, every child is gifted, and every child has a right to reach their full potential.
School administration should seek influence and policy that brings back parental involvement and authority.
Government should be representative, impartial, and elected from among the people so stakeholders must be involved in decision making.
Overview of Old Testament Template:
The Template categorizes biblical principles for the issues of society: government, economics, family, science, communication, education, arts, and the church. From that wisdom, these are some of the principles we pulled out to guide our work:
Economically, Israel was instructed to have a national commitment to the elimination of poverty, to avoid debt, and to emphasize opportunity over aid reserving aid (one-way giving) for dire situations rather than chronic problems.
Family is the first line of defense for protection against poverty and economic ruin, and parental responsibility is emphasized in scripture.
God’s view is that every child has value, every child can learn, every child is gifted, and every child has a right to reach their full potential.
School administration should seek influence and policy that brings back parental involvement and authority.
Government should be representative, impartial, and elected from among the people so stakeholders must be involved in decision making.
