When Visionledd and the mission team from The Peoples Church arrived at Jasmine Street Primary School on October 29, 2012, the scene before them was a far cry from Visionledd’s first visit to the Shamabanse community in 2004. From parents conducting classes in a roofless, abandoned church to eleven qualified teachers now educating over 613 students in a five-room school complex, Shamabanse is a prime example of what can happen when the Church is mobilized in a community.

(Left) A student receives a math lesson with a teacher (Top) Students crowd around the Visionledd team upon our arrival (Bottom) A view of a classroom and teacher office complex at Jasmine Street Primary School

BLESSINGS THAT MULTIPLY

Student taking in the view of his school

Initially Visionledd’s work in Shamabanse began with home-based care and widow support groups, it wasn’t until 2008 that plans were put in motion with local leadership to build a suitable school structure for the community’s children.

Beginning with a two-room building and a latrine facility, the Jasmine Street Primary School rapidly evolved through our WOW Community Sponsorship program and boosts of funding through major Visionledd donors and church teams. With five classrooms, two offices, two stores rooms, and a borehole for clean water, trained and government-paid teachers now teach the children at Jasmine School.

VISIONLEDD IS THERE

The Spirit of the Lord continues to move and motivate the community of Shamabanse to greater depths of transformation and sustainability. After a welcoming reception at the school, our team was led to the latest community project: the piggery. Through WOW Community Sponsorship, a caretaker has been hired and formally trained to raise six piglets as part of a fundraising project. The profits from selling the pigs will be shared amongst programs run through the school, the home-based care volunteers, and the local widows group.

(Left) The recently built home of the school’s caretaker, who keeps the property and piggery (right) secure

Without a doubt, exciting change is happening in the community of Shamabanse. As one of the students from the school told our team;

Student reciting a welcome speech to our mission team

“Now there is hope in our lives where there was none. Some of our brothers and sisters are in grade 8 and 9. Very soon, they will complete their senior grades and be able to enter different colleges and later be self-sustaining. Surely, such brothers and sisters will have great stories to tell.”

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