Tag: Haven of Peace Academy Page 3 of 23

Haven of Peace Academy, Term 1

By Amy Medina

On January 6, 2019

In Other

The kids were working hard over in Primary (elementary) school….

But meanwhile, their admin team was having way too much fun…..

This was Hollywood/Bollywood Day during Pamoja Week….our director was the red carpet!

Color Explosion Day…the staff get into it as much as the kids!

International Day: Celebrating our 40 Nationalities

HOPAC’s beloved French teachers. Grace started French this year (grade 7) and says that French is her favorite subject.

Grade 1 Visited the Tide Pools

Grade 5 Celebrated Ancient Rome

Christmas at HOPAC

Christmas Family Fun Day

our beloved music teacher…and Santa!

3rd grade and 5th grade

Presenting all the gifts we collected to Kituo Cha Baba Oreste

Primary Christmas Production of “Jingle Bell Beach!”

By the way….HOPAC is recruiting….Want to work at the best school in the world?

We are looking for teachers in PE, English, Biology, Math, Economics, and Elementary School. We also need a Special Needs Coordinator, School Counselor, and a new Director.

*Thanks to Rebecca Laarman and her student photographers for most of these pictures!

How to Help Your Kids Become Poverty Fighters

By Amy Medina

On November 17, 2018

In Operation Christmas Child, Poverty

“Do you want to play with me?” “Yes!” (Drawn in a Service Learning journal by a second grade HOPAC student.)

Just last week, my friend Trudie sat in my office at Haven of Peace Academy. Every year at Christmas, our elementary school kids participate in a gift collection for a local charity. Trudie coordinates our Service Learning program at HOPAC, and as she and I discussed the various options for this Christmas, I heard these words come out of my mouth:

I’d really like the students to be able to donate stuff, instead of just raising money. For young kids, donating stuff is so much more tangible than money.

I know what I’ve written before. Don’t write me off as a hypocrite just yet.

But I’m telling you this story because I want you to know that I get it. I’m the mom of four kids. I’m the principal of 150 kids. Every single one of them falls into the category of “economically privileged.” And just like you, I’m always looking for opportunities to teach them to be grateful, compassionate, and generous.

So I get it. I get why it’s so cool to take your kids to Target, help them pick out gifts for an under-privileged kid a world away, write a note, pack the box together, and pray over it.

But this is the key question we must ask ourselves:

Are we only interested in teaching our kids generosity and compassion, or do we want to raise them to really, truly make a difference in fighting poverty?

Think about it. Filling a shoebox (or other charity gift programs) is sending the message to our kids is that donating “stuff” fixes poverty. That what poor people are lacking and what we need to give them is stuff.

But what if all that stuff we’re donating in order to teach our kids compassion is actually making poverty worse by creating shame, helplessness, and dependency for the recipients? And what if there really were better, more helpful ways we could teach our children how to fight poverty?

I think there are. And I’ve learned them from Haven of Peace Academy.

We’re a privileged school. We are an inexpensive school compared to other international schools in Tanzania, but we still are only accessible to the middle and upper classes. Yet on one side of our school is a hollowed-out rock quarry that is now a slum inhabited by some of the poorest people in our city. And right outside our gate sit people who are pounding rocks into gravel or selling bananas or sweeping the streets and living on a dollar a day.

For many years now, HOPAC has had the vision to teach our privileged students how to fight poverty. We know that one day, our students are going to be government officials and business owners and educational leaders in their countries, and we want them to have the tools to be world-changers.

So what I’m sharing today are the parts of our Service Learning program that can be implemented by any parent anywhere.

#1 Kids need to be educated about poverty alleviation, just like any other school subject. And they can learn it a lot younger than we might think. For example, last year in sixth grade at HOPAC, Grace learned (and even memorized!) the Sustainable Development Goals put out by the United Nations. And all ninth grade students spend a good portion of the year going through When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. (They also watch a video series based on the book.) For the past ten years, I’ve recommended When Helping Hurts over and over and over again. Every American Christian needs to read it. And HOPAC has shown me that kids as young as fourteen (with adult help) can digest it as well. Why not?

If your kids are too young to be reading books on poverty, then you read it and bring it down to their level. There’s still lots they can learn.

#2 Kids learn best from local, relationship-based service projects. HOPAC students have these kind of service projects built into their curriculum–but they could easily be built into family life as well.

Local: The occasional overseas missions trip can be great, of course. But kids need to learn that poverty is not just “out there,” across an ocean, far away. Every single community includes under-privileged people, and the best people to help them are in their own community.
Relationship-based: This is different from anonymous gift-giving or even volunteering occasionally at a homeless shelter. Kids learn best from an on-going project or activity where they are given the opportunity to build relationships with those who are under-privileged, preferably with other kids.

And if that sounds scary or impossible or too time-consuming, let me reassure you: This could be as simple as regularly visiting a park in an under-privileged neighborhood in your city. Seriously. That simple.

Let me also emphasize the importance of doing both of these things together. Simply jumping into #2 without doing #1 is not going to work. Learning how to help people in poverty requires an entire shift in worldview, and that requires education, not just a heart of service.

However, starting with #1 is an excellent place to start, even if you never get to #2. In fact, if you’re a family of readers, let me suggest you read Behind the Beautiful Forevers before getting into When Helping Hurts. I have never read a better book that presents the harsh reality and incredible complexity of poverty in an engaging (albeit disturbing) way. This is not a fun bedtime read, but most kids as young as twelve are ready to start thinking deeply about our fallen world.

I get that reading books and playing at a run-down park isn’t actually doing much to fight poverty. But that’s okay. Growing up is a season of learning, right? And I guarantee that if you work hard at exposing your kids to the reality of poverty in your community, as well educating them on how to best meet those needs, that your family will organically come up with some pretty great, tangible ideas on how to help…without hurting.

Which brings me back to my conversation in my office with Trudie. Yes, I’m not always a fan of donating stuff. But I understand the value of kids learning generosity through it. So why do I feel confident in this particular charity drive? Because in my years of learning about poverty, and Trudie’s wisdom as our Service Learning coordinator, I’ve found that there are good places and times to donate stuff.

So this Christmas, we decided that HOPAC’s elementary school kids will be asked to donate school supplies to a nearby school which is serving the poorest disabled kids in their community. This school, which is run by passionate Christians, is running on bare bones and has very few resources. I feel confident donating stuff to them because they are local, we will be buying local products, and we have a relationship with the school, so they can tell us exactly what they need. Plus, it’s only one part of the bigger picture of how we are educating our students about poverty and giving them opportunities to be involved in local, relationship-based ministries.

Thanks for caring, friends! And if you have other ideas, I would be happy to hear them.

HOPAC kids (green shirts) teaching under-privileged kids about caring for the environment.

Day One

By Amy Medina

On August 30, 2018

In Other

I stood in front of the class of kindergarten students on the first day of school, really confused. I had been the one who had invited these children to join the school, but something was wrong. They were much older than I remembered; some of them even had facial hair. Way too old to be in kindergarten.

Plus, their parents kept hanging around in the classroom, and flat out refused to leave. I kept trying to tell them that I needed them to go, but I had this enormous wad of gum in my mouth that prevented me from talking properly. Every time I would try to take some of the gum out, more would take its place.

Then I woke up. And it really was the first day of school.

Thankfully, despite those infamous “teacher nightmares” that have plagued me most of my life (even during the years I wasn’t teaching), our first day of school was wonderful. (And, just for the record, the kindergartners were actually the appropriate age and their parents graciously left the room–with only a few tears–when I asked them to.)

Fulfilled

By Amy Medina

On July 3, 2018

In Other

Sometimes this year, it really was all rainbows and butterflies.

In April, the sky would grow dark and the heavens would open, always, it seemed, right at recess time. The children would shriek and scramble and pretend like they were finding shelter, but really, they took their sweet time getting out of the rain. Then the sun would push its way through the clouds, and a rainbow would embrace the campus.

In May, the butterflies hatched. And I would watch two kindergartners march to the office with the attendance folder (each holding one corner, of course, because it was a very serious job, of course). They would be enveloped by the early morning sun, with hundreds of white butterflies flitting around them.

Many, many times I thought, How is it that I am so privileged to get to do this job?

Haven of Peace Academy’s graduation was held on the last day of school. I don’t know most of these students, but I was there when some of them started kindergarten in 2005.

This was the first day of school in 2005; we had just returned to Tanzania after seminary and it was Gil’s first official day as chaplain. Thirteen years ago…..and I got to see them graduate.

I don’t mean to minimize the hard stuff, because it is there and real and dark. Many times this year, I broke up fist fights and bent down to eye-level for heart-to-hearts about stealing and lying and cussing. Sin is sinister in how it muddles perspectives and puts up defenses and shadows the truth. This broken world is evident in kids who are hurting, brains that don’t learn like they were meant to, and the crushed spirits that come as a result.

But that’s just what’s so amazing about all these years sharing space and life with these children, and why serving as principal this year was such a privilege. True Christian education, when it’s done right, is an act of redemption–it’s bringing the world back to the way God intended it to be. Calling out the beauty, lifting up spirits, strengthening minds and bodies, teaching the consequences of sin and pointing to the Cross.

My cup overflows. I get to walk alongside these children as they learn and struggle and grow, lose their teeth, sit on time-out, and read and dream. And prance through the butterflies and dance in the rain.

These are the wonderful people I share a building with. Director, principals, finance, IT, counselor, operations, HR, procurement., nurse..all the people who keep HOPAC running.

The day the Maasai visited first grade

Proud

By Amy Medina

On June 30, 2018

In Other

I’ve been a part of Haven of Peace Academy since 2001–as a teacher, chaplain, PTA volunteer, board member, and parent. Cut me open and HOPAC blood will run out. I didn’t think I could become more proud of my school–and then I went through the kindergarten admissions process.

We try to keep our class size at about 24 students. By December of 2017, we had well over 60 applications for next year’s kindergarten class. It was my responsibility as principal (along with the lower primary teachers) to decide which of those children would be a part of next year’s class.

I had no idea that this process would be so heart-wrenching. I sat with so many children–beautiful, bright, eager learners–while their anxious parents waited nearby, watching them be assessed. After almost every assessment, I would think to myself, Surely we will accept this amazing child! And then I got to the end and stared in dismay at the list. We could only take 24. There were just too many amazing children.

I had to turn down dozens, and the emails (and visits!) from parents were devastating. Please, won’t you reconsider? HOPAC is our first and only choice for our child.

I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. But we just don’t have space.

I regularly received emails from parents whose child had been on the waiting list for years, asking if maybe, just maybe, there would be space this year? And I would write back sadly, I’m sorry, but your child is number 42 on the waiting list for that class, so there’s really no chance.

It tore my heart out, but it also made me proud. Proud, but humbled, for the incredible honor of working at a school that is so sought-after in Tanzania.

One hopeful prospective parent told me, “My child goes to another international school down the road. We come here for soccer matches, and I can tell this school is different, just by being on campus.”

Our school is a Haven of Peace.

Maybe that’s because our teachers have a God-ordained desire to be at HOPAC. They certainly aren’t getting rich. And their jobs are certainly not easy. I watched my teachers work 50 hour weeks–for no or little pay–with steadfast determination and whole-hearted dedication. I saw them agonize over struggling students. I saw them beaten down, on the verge of giving up. But, of course, they never did.

HOPAC’s motto is Leadership-Service-Stewardship. We teach our students that they have been given a sacred privilege to attend HOPAC–a privilege that they must steward. We teach them that because of the opportunities they have been given, that they will become community leaders. And that by being leaders, they must serve.

We practice what we preach. We steward HOPAC’s beautiful campus: Every week, you’ll see groups of children from other local schools bused onto HOPAC’s campus. They might be using our pool or playground. They might be in our computer lab, being taught IT skills by our high school students.

Every HOPAC student in middle and high school takes Service Learning as one of their classes, every year. They read When Helping Hurts and The Irresistible Revolution, and they weekly go out into the community to serve. As part of their graduation requirements, HOPAC seniors must develop and implement their own service project.

And every year in March, HOPAC sets aside an entire week for service. From kindergarten through grade 12, every student and staff member joins a service project in the community.

One of the blessings of being in Tanzania for so long is seeing the fruit of ministry. Our alumni are now graduating from college and coming back to Tanzania, and I keep running into them around town–owning a business, working for a law firm, managing a hospital. Truly incredible.

Despite the heartache of turning down so many applicants for kindergarten, I also had the joy of inviting some. One of those new kindergarten students will be the very first child of a HOPAC alumnus to join the school. And what makes it even more special is that I remember her father when he attended HOPAC so many years ago. He wrote me a wonderful email in response to my kindergarten invitation, and he has given me permission to share a segment of it with you.

Words cannot express how I feel; I am amazed with how God works. 24 years ago by His grace I came to HOPAC and spent 8 years in what I can say was the Potter’s House for me, and now my daughter has the same opportunity.

Receiving this email from you is equally amazing. I feel like it was just a few days ago, we were in assembly listening to the announcement–“Gil and Amy Medina are coming to HOPAC so let’s pray for them to come safely…and that God will bless them here.” And today, you are the Primary Principal! That makes it more special; to God be the Glory.

Indeed. To God be the Glory.