Child Sponsorship

We are so grateful to everyone who sponsors a child through Beyond Ourselves. The partnership we have with you enables us to do what we do in Zambia. The sponsorship programme is foundational to what we do and is instrumental in changing lives here in Zambia.

A couple of weeks ago I was reminded, yet again, of how education is a gift, something that many of us take for granted. I was dropping off a food parcel to a vulnerable family whose children attend Janna School. Their neighbours were outside and I saw a girl I’ve been told about; she’s 12 years old and doesn’t attend school, I’m not sure she ever has. My understanding is that her family doesn’t see the need for her to get an education so despite the community encouraging her to go to school, her family (and therefore she) doesn’t see the value of going to school.

It’s heartbreaking to see situations like this but they are all too common. The work of Beyond Ourselves makes it possible for children who want to get an education to receive one. Many of the children that attend the schools we work with are dependents; they are extended family that aunties, uncles and grandparents have taken in. Many families struggle to afford to care for these children and education is one cost too many. The community schools we work with enable children to attend school if they have a desire to. This is a tremendous gift and opportunity for many children.

At the beginning of each year we send out updates to everyone who sponsors a child through Beyond Ourselves. Some of you may have received your packs this week, others of you will receive your packs in the next couple of weeks. If you sponsor a child, please check your inboxes over the next few weeks to ensure you receive yours. And, again, thank you for making such a difference in these children’s lives.

If you’d like most information about changing a child’s life in Zambia through child sponsorship, please visit http://www.beyondourselves.co.uk/sponsor-a-child/

Directors Retreat

The Directors of the schools we work with don’t get paid a salary by for the work they do at the school. They are all full-time pastors who had a vision for seeing the need for education met in the communities within which they served. They organised and motivated others and managed to establish ‘schools', starting classes in their church halls and have been instrumental in seeing them develop into the Primary School they are today.

Some of them have been over-seeing progress at their school for 16 years now and they continue to be the primary vision carriers for the schools. We felt it was important to acknowledge this dedication and also to sew into them before this new school year begins. So last week we took them away for a couple of days retreat. We had Don and Cecilia Price visiting, pastors from the UK, so they came to minister to and encourage the directors.

It was a really appreciated time of fellowship for us all and a chance to recharge before the onset of the new school year. Next week the directors will, in turn, pass on this encouragement as they lead vision days with the staff at each of the schools. They will spend time reflecting on the successes of 2016 and praying about the plans for 2017.

New Year, Same Heart, Expectant for More…

The start of a new year is often treated like a blank page, a ‘do-over’ as the Americans say! But the truth is New Year’s Eve isn’t a magic night; in reality we wake up on New Year’s Day much the same as we woke up 24 hours before, carrying all of our previous experiences in to that day and the 365 days ahead.

What the new year does offer is a chance to reflect on the year gone by, the good, encouraging and inspiring times and take them with us in to the year ahead, expectant for more.

For us at Beyond Ourselves, like I said in the post before Christmas, as we reflect on the year gone by there were some real highlights, things we celebrated and were excited for. And as we look to this new year, we don’t want to start afresh with a blank page. We want to take all that’s gone before, that same heart, passion and vision we have had for the past eight years and be expectant for more in 2017! Yes, there are things we will change this year, new ventures we will embark on, but it’s all from the same heart we’ve always had for the communities we partner with in Zambia, to see people empowered and communities transformed.

So I say here’s to new adventures this year, here’s to more!