Investing For A Lifetime

by Warren Oberst – TOA Business Manager and Staff Pastor

After their graduation, the first words out of their mouths were, “We just want to thank God, this was such a blessing”.

Opportunity for education does not come easy in Tanzania. It is a common expression heard in Africa that the people are literally “starving for education”. It is understood in this nation that if you want to break the cycle of poverty, education is a key. It is a coveted luxury for those who can afford it and something that all ages seek. About 90% of the population of Tanzania never attain education beyond the equivalent of sixth grade. To continue past this level is expensive and a mere 10% of all students proceed to a junior high or high school level. For those who have already reached adulthood, further education usually remains an unattainable dream. But by the grace of God, this dream came to pass for ten employees of the Treasures of Africa Children’s Home.

Thanks to the blessing of a few generous HWC donors, ten selected staff members from Treasures of Africa Children’s Home were able to attend a specially designed six month “Early Childhood Development” education course at the Intel Training Center in Moshi. This required a tremendous commitment on their part. They were asked to continue working at TOA for a minimum of two years after the class was completed and to faithfully attend all five evening classes each week for the duration of the course while maintaining their full-time work schedule. The hunger for education was evident as they all gladly accepted the preconditions and welcomed the golden opportunity.

Anna was one of four single mothers that attended the class. She said that being taught in English was very helpful. The course helped her tremendously in understanding the differences in the children. When asked what the most important thing she took away from the class was she stated, “I now understand that as the children grow up their habits change from age to age and that I need to deal with the stages in each child’s life differently and with understanding.” African culture tends to be very punitive in its child rearing practices. This new understanding broke a mindset that has been deeply ingrained for generations. Children need correction but discipline administered with understanding and love is best.

Baba Pendo took away a similar understanding from the classes. He told me after graduation that the classes were very important to him and that his mind was opened to ways of raising children that were previously foreign to him. Now he doesn’t punish or rebuke for every mistake but he searches for the source of the problem before correcting the child. Knowing the struggles of some of our children, his last statement was very profound: “We need to deal with these children carefully because they have wounds in their hearts. We need to be close to them and understand them in order to raise them. We need to react to them wisely so they will respond positively to what we are trying to teach them.”

We are so thankful to God for his provision of the finances to fund this staff training and so proud of our students for pressing in and making the most of an opportunity to benefit themselves and the children we all love so much.

In supporting the Treasures of Africa Children’s Home you are helping to provide a loving home and education for children who had no one to care for them. But that is not all. You are also investing in people’s lives and into the nation of Tanzania in ways that will last a lifetime and impact future generations.