Dear Friends,
The city of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, has been under attack by the Rwandan-backed M23 militia group. As of late January, they have seized the city of Goma, one of the largest Congolese cities on the eastern border of the country. There is a large school for the deaf there, started in the ‘80s by my father. Although it is now an independent school, many of the deaf people in the city of Goma are active in our annual Bible camp work. I’ve heard a number of reports from our friends there that violence has been overwhelming. Food, water, and electricity are in short supply, and the UN estimates that 500,000 people have been displaced from their homes. One of the pastors in our network has reported that two of his church members were killed by explosives. According to some reports, the M23 group is continuing their expansion toward the next large city, Bukavu. We have a school for the deaf there in Bukavu, so this is dire news. Please keep them in your prayers!
New boarding students in N’Djamena, Chad
Although most of our students in Chad are day-students, director Yes has taken on two special boarding students. Divine Dalar’s parents earn very little income, and could not afford to send their daughter to school. In order to provide her an education and community, Yves’ family has adopted Divine so she can stay at the school. Another boarding student is Florent. Her mother lives about 400km away from our school, so boarding was an excellent option for her. Both are flourishing in their new home. Pray for Yves’ family as they raise these two girls in their family and school.
In Baraka, director Shukuru reports tha thieves have broken into the school by knocking out a section of the exterior wall and crawling into the office. They stole some cash, a printer, solar panels, and electrical equipment to operate the printer. This is quite a setback, since some of the faculty had not yet received their December salaries, and now the school is no longer able to print out papers for business and class assignments.
Indeed, your prayers are coveted.
Tim Foster
Director
