Teacher life looks different at Camp Brethren Ministries this year. School was barely two months in when the pandemic hit and schools around the world were shut down for the foreseeable future. Schools in Kenya will not be opening until January 2021 at the earliest, so what do the teachers and staff do with no fees coming in from students to pay bills? At many schools, the teachers went home, and the schools had to shutter their windows…for good. But at Camp Brethren Ministries, where the school motto is To Lead and to Serve, many of the teachers and staff are still at work – just a different kind of work.
After assessing the needs of the community, the teachers and staff of Camp Brethren Ministries set up plans to work in three main areas:
- Students Education
- Community Outreach
- Campus maintenance
Now a day in the life of the teacher looks like this:
8-9AM – Meeting at teacher’s lounge for devotions and debrief
9-11AM – Disbursement of homework to students at the school entrance, checking and marking previous days assignments, helping as needed with questions. At the High School students have been receiving three lessons a week. Education will continue through the end of the year as students are prepared for testing and for passing to the next level or grade.
Those not involved in the education portion are busy on campus projects. To open school in January the school will have to pass a Covid-19 Preparedness Inspection. Some of the projects include painting all dorms, classes, dining, and other facilities, maintaining walkways and clearing paths to meet social distancing standards, property clean-up, freshening up entrance ways, maintenance on desks, chairs, tables and dining hall furniture and thorough cleaning of everything.
Afternoon – Community Ministry – The faculty and staff are divided into 6 teams and each team works with different needs. Ministry to the elderly, ministry to the youth, ministry to the poor and needy, ministry to those with special needs, ministry to students and evangelism and discipleship.
Visitation includes prayer and sharing of God’s Word, delivering food, working in the fields helping farmers, cleaning homes of the elderly and delivering needed supplies.
They have also been involved in continuing education with a seminar on mental health and currently training in holistic ministry given by an in-country mission team.
Mary Njenga reports that “the teachers are excited and have learned so much in this worthwhile endeavor.”
By the grace of God, and the faithfulness of David’s Hope supporters, the needs are being met to keep the teachers/staff employed and in the purchase of extra supplies needed for these projects. The community is seeing the hands and feet of God in action and are witnessing what the love of Jesus can and will do in people who trust him. The community is looking to CBM with great confidence and inquiries from new students for both campuses have been made. The CBM Staff are working out of a passion for ministry to the community and new relationships are being forged. They are modeling the school motto, To Lead and To Serve, well.
Previously we wrote about the education of CBM students during Covid-19. Upcoming blog posts will cover updates on the ministry to youth and ministry to the elderly. Read our current newsletter for more information or check out our Facebook and Instagram posts with pictures of our teams in action.
