ABC - It's Not Free

I am now taking pictures of the Ray of Light school children for child sponsorships.  Nothing can bring a smile to my face faster than the happy school children at the ROL.  What I have noticed in the three years that I have been doing this is the change in the children.  It is dramatic and heart warming.  The care and love they receive in their education is heads above the average school in Mozambique.

Since the war destroyed half of the school buildings, many students share the same government school.  Students squeeze into several shifts that begin as early as 6:45 a.m. and end as late as 10:40 p.m. Education is compulsory for only seven years. The primary session is considered "free" but only in the sense that students don't pay tuition. They pay for their uniforms, exercise books, pencils and paper. Many families can't afford these necessities since their predominant struggle is to put food on their tables. Since food is an issue, many children attend school on an empty stomach. The ratio in the primary system is 67 students to one teacher. If they can make it past the seventh year, their challenges only increase.

In the secondary school (8-12), the students have to pay fees for their tuition, uniforms, books, paper, pens, photocopying, tests, (yes, tests!) and internet use. Recently I heard on the news that the government only printed 13,000 books for 19,000 students in grade 8. Only those with money will be able to buy them. The rest of the students will have to photocopy their friend's book on their own time and at their own expense. There is no formal computer training and very few computers are available but when they can find a store with internet access, its usage is 50mt an hour (or 2.00 USD). Many of the students come and ask to use my computer because it is their only hope of completing an assignment. There is also the problem of bribing to pass a grade - both from students and teachers. It is no wonder that the majority of students drop out between their primary and secondary levels.  

I watch the activistas who serve all day in Project Life persevere with their education at night. One is in ninth grade for the third year in a row.  Another one is a mother of four children and she is now in the fourth grade. It is only in recent years that women have been encouraged to attend school.  All of this emphasizes the value of the Ray of Light's vision for a Christian education through their preschools and El Shaddai (1-12). See the pics - the children's bright smiling faces say it all.