Time marches on and while these blog posts are now few and far between, it’s time for an update. We just passed the four year mark of being back in Canada, which is a bit mind boggling. Looking back on the photo of the day we moved back (a few posts ago), I now have one child taller than me. Those little four year-olds who moved across the world are now teenagers!

I had a wonderful time on my trip back to Macha in March. I stayed on the MICS campus and spent a lot of time meeting with various staff wearing my “board member” hat but also reconnecting as friends. One of the highlights was definitely visiting Bulebo Community School where our former deputy head teacher of MICS, Mr. Miyanda, now works. Many of you generously donated books and educational resources and they were received with enthusiast gratitude. Just a week after visiting the school for the first time, I was able to return see some of the resources already being put to good use. Mr. Miyanda later did some training with his staff team, to teach them how to implement the resources. He wanted to share his thanks with you…

^{Thank you all for the teaching and learning materials that we did receive from you donors through our friend Julianne. Being a community school, It has been something hard to teach and to motivate students without concrete objects.  Looking at the standard of our school some of our learners almost lost hope but the books that we did received we believe that they will  give us  hope and strive hard to achieve our dreams and have growth mindset no matter  what we go through. It is obvious that our learners will grow positively in different aspects of their lives more especially where reading, writing and calculation is concerned.  Thank you for phonics, read aloud, growth mindset books, puzzles, cards, games, P.E materials just to mention the few. All these materials as a school we promise you that they will put our school on the map in terms of performance. We are happy and expecting more of you to visit us some day. Never get tired to help us in whichever way you think. May God continue blessing you financially, spiritually and physically. We love you!}

Changing gears back to MICS, my work as a board member has been both challenging and rewarding as I figure out how I can support the work of the school, mostly from afar. In everyday operations the school is running really well with a student population of 220 and maintaining the impressive one hundred percent pass rate for grade seven exams. In recent years, however, the school has struggled financially mostly due to the challenges of Covid. Through board meetings and conversations with the director, it is clear that everyone has worked very hard to cut costs where they can and produce a healthy and workable budget for 2024. Despite these efforts, they are finishing 2023 with a deficit of about $7,000 and the leadership is asking for support. 

I have hesitated to ask for money in the past few years, mostly because we are no longer connected to a Canadian organization that can issue tax receipts. To be honest, it’s a lot more fun to ask for books and resources that we can see being put into action. But, in order for MICS to continue to run well, it is currently money that is needed to close the gap. Project 1151, a wonderful organization that works in the Macha community, has offered to take donations as MICS is one of their community partners. Please click here if you would like to help MICS start the 2024 well by making a one-time donation. The donation section is near the bottom. Any amount is helpful! (**Please note this is an American-based organization so tax receipts cannot be issued to Canadians. I want to be upfront in case that’s important to you). Thank you for considering being part of this initiative and please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions. And before you go, please enjoy the slideshow below of your generosity in action at Bulebo Community School. Thanks to my talented friend and MICS teacher, Devine Haadinke for taking these beautiful photos. He runs a company in Macha called Haadz Media and I appreciate his help in showing you the impact you’ve made.