They are not babies anymore!

We have our first class of high school students at the VOE this year!

I remember when they first came to the VoE - they seemed so young!  They were young!

This photo is from 2014!  John is in the black circle.  Arafat, Isaac and Hassan in the white circle.

Now, they are starting what they call Senior 1 or S1 in Uganda.  In the USA it would be equivalent to 8th grade.

Now, they are so grown looking!  L-R:  Isa, John, Hassan, Rose, Christine, Doreen

The VOE, however, is not prepared to accommodate high schoolers (S1 is high school here).  We do not have a building for them.  We do not have a classroom. We do not have teachers, laboratories, library, etc.  All these things must be separate from the Primary section of the school, according to Uganda laws.

Leaving the VoE

So, we have partnered with a school in Jinja called Faithful Servants for this year of school.  Faithful Servants is a Christian school which has the same values and standards as our school at the VOE.  The founders are actually from Carrollton, Georgia!  Tommy and Teresa Harris started the secondary school 11 years ago.  Teresa is the daughter of one of the ladies in my grandmother Sara's Sunday school class at First Baptist Tallapoosa!  (The world gets smaller and smaller every day!)


So, we have decided to rent two places near the school this year and let the students attend Faithful Servants while we use this year to prepare the VOE Secondary School.  We hope to open both Senior 1 & 2 in 2019.

All that said, 6 of our 8 S1 Students moved to Jinja yesterday;  Hassan, John, Isa, Doreen, Christine and Rose.  Arafat and Isaac will be joining them after they return from touring in the USA with the choir.

They students were excited, nervous, and unsure but by the end of the day they seemed to be ready to tackle this new chapter in their lives.

John

Hassan - He is really okay, this is his happy face.

Christine

Doreen

Isa

Rose

We went that morning with their housing supplies and moved them into the rental places.  Rodgers will be living with the male students and Margaret will be living with the female students as Houseparents.

L-R:  Doreen, Christine, Margaret, Rose, Rodgers, Hassan, Cox, Isa, John

We unloaded the items and just put them inside the house before the rain came.  Then we ran to Jinja for lunch.

We returned to the school for an orientation meeting.  They discussed the different classes, the rules and general things the students and parents should know.  I had to sign the parent releases for all 6 kids!

At Faithful Servants Secondary School

Finally, Heather and I said goodbye for now.  I am returning next week to see how they are doing.