The Academy at Missionvale

My last update on our service sites concerns Missionvale Care Center. 

New Classroom Wing

Missionvale, like our other sites, has had its share of good news.  In April, we attended the opening of a new Grade 4 classroom.  Each year, Missionvale Academy has been adding a new primary grade.  Grade 4 has the oldest kids in the school, and there are plans to build all the way to Grade 7.

As the blue ribbon across the new classroom was cut, Sister Ethel gave an impassioned speech to the learners.  She told them that they were going to be the very first graduating class from Grade 7 in three years time.  "Don't let anything stop you from coming to school each day," she admonished them.  (Jim and I started dreaming immediately about being back in three years time to see this class graduate.)

Molly and Meggan
in the nutrition center

Chris and Andrew
with Principal Russell

Everyone eats porridge each morning

Our students volunteer at the school.  They recently decided to use some of the monies they raised to cover new readers for the learners.  And, they helped repurpose an old classroom into a bright library.  Literacy is the name of the game!

Isaak and new friend

They also invested in student nutrition.  The learners who attend Missionvale are served porridge (pap) each morning.  The meal at school that the kids get may be their only one.  Because Missionvale thinks pretty holistically, they are keeping statistics to show that their kids are becoming more healthy.  As they say, "You can't educate a hungry child."

Missionvale is also stretched for money.  A number of longer-term donations have all come to an end, so they are praying for some new benefactors.  Trying to do my small part, I wrote a letter to the editor of the local newspaper, The Herald.  I was thrilled when they not only decided to publish it, they asked for some accompanying pictures of our students volunteering there.  I sent in several; the one they chose is this one of Isaak Jones with a young boy.   It ran in the paper today.