Setting up Simple Christian
Literacy Schools

Goal

To set up simple Christian schools in areas where there are none, and train a teacher or two to continue running it after volunteers leave. It would be great to have one or two day schools for children, and a school for adults as well, to run in the evenings.

Volunteers' Work:

Find authority figures and get permission to set up schools, either in a building or under a tree, and interview the prospective teacher(s). Then offer them a week's basic training. This may not be in much greater detail than what a Sunday School teacher gets, but the steps to planning a lesson, planning visual aides, and assignments. Also how to plan lesson periods with rest or play periods between. Picture most of these schools as one-class, one-teacher schools, but be open to a situation that lends itself to a larger school with several teachers working together.

Since these are to be Christian schools, it is wise to determine the extent of the teacher's Bible knowledge. It may be necessary to give a crash course in general Bible knowledge and how to study it for more Bible stories and applications.

It would greatly help the teacher(s) if the volunteers would demonstrate a week or two of lessons - using aspects of a Daily Vacation Bible School (as is well known it in North America) to make the literacy school interesting, educational, and also spiritually profitable.

Type of Volunteers:

Preferably those with teaching experience and a teacher's heart. An ability to simplify the profound, and to see the value in small steps towards the Big Picture.

Number of Volunteers:

A tag team of two or three for each school to be set up seems most sensible. If the group of volunteers is larger, say, six to nine or a dozen volunteers, then they might be able to branch out from one base, and set up several schools, depending on the local teachers available. Some schools could be for a class of children, and some for an adult evening class in literacy, using the Bible as the main language tool.

Time Factor:

At least one week for logistical school setup and preparing the teacher, perhaps two, then a week of demonstrated teaching, allowing the one who is to be the permanent teacher opportunities to do the various roles required so there is time for evaluation and extra teaching on the side. Some of those new teachers might be very “quick studies,“ but they would all benefit from as much time of mentored training as possible.

Preparation Work for PMC to do:

Find the potential teachers and some simple funding plan to pay them. Unless the volunteers would raise funds at home for a basic cost of living salary for the teacher(s). Find areas where such schools would be welcome, and places which can be set aside for each school to be founded this way. See also to accommodation, meals and basic hospitality for the team. Perhaps plan a day or two for taking the team sight-seeing in the area.