Tanzania Winter/Spring Update
Tanzania, Amani School
Many of the Amani School supporters, and our Hope & Gratitude prayer email list recipients, will be looking out for an update here on the community situation at Amani, following an urgent email prayer request at the end of 2022.
Published February 16, 2023, 2 min read.
A religious leader in the community took an antagonistic stand against Amani School’s Christian presence in late 2022 – falsely claiming that children were being forced to convert to Christianity while attending school. Many children and young people do respond positively to the Gospel message which is openly shared, but our Tanzania partner wisely allows the Holy Spirit to move in hearts and minds and this man’s accusation is without merit. Thankfully, the parents of the Amani School students know the truth.
Although this man organized (or attempted to organize) a campaign to shun families who continued to send their children to Amani School he has, in short, failed so far. By and large, the parents are standing behind Amani. After all, their children are attending one of Tanzania’s top 10% schools, and in the recent country-standardized grade 4 and 7 tests, the children excelled and even exceeded past year’s results! This success helped influence the community. And other local community leaders even stepped in to say that this kind of religious intimidation campaign was not acceptable by Tanzanian values.
We remain grateful for your prayers – tensions still exist, and we pray that community rifts will be healed, and the usual harmony restored. We are thankful to hear a reduction of stress in Pastor Majama’s voice in recent days. God is good!
2022 was filled with times of joy too.
The High School was completed – a miracle in itself as those of you who followed the adventure of trying to get a building permit will remember. The students are enjoying the new school facility, and the second cohort is starting now. There is still a little more construction ahead in the future, as the High School needs a Science Block and the most recently added classroom still needs final finishes.
In the primary school, instruction continues in computer skills (still using the computer lab built by London Christian Academy students!), in agriculture & poultry raising, and the children continue to benefit from the solar lights, aiding studies at home.
The new well, which had some initial issues with saltwater seeping in & too much iron detected in the fresh water, is being remediated for continued benefit to the school and community.
Pastor Majama, Amani School Administrator Sarah Isack, and the rest of the dedicated staff and teachers, continue to reach out to the community to build trust and to extend the love of Jesus in practical ways.
Please pray for...
the staff as they are sending the Light to the community – “that people may see JESUS,” asks Pastor Majama.
the parents of students, and the larger community, as the recent tensions have strained some relationships.
continued growth in both primary and high schools.
the well, that it continues to draw only fresh water in future.
staffing needs, as the school is looking for some new teachers.
About the Amani School
The Amani School began in 2008 as outreach on the East African coast and is one of only a few primary schools where the language of instruction is English – essential to success in high school, and beyond where instruction is in English. The school is now ranked among the top 10% in the country. Currently, over 300 children receive a quality education, lunch, agriculture & vocational training, and Christian mentorship. And as of January 2022, Amani has a new High School, meeting a critical need.