A New Oasis: Opening A Community Center in the Middle East
“Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert” – Isaiah 43:19
The Middle East
This article is by “Zira,” a Cross-Cultural Worker in the Middle East with Anglican Frontier Missions. It was initially shared in their newsletter on August 9, 2021. ARDF is excited to be partnering with Zira on this exciting project.
Students in our literacy care program.
When my Arabic language partner and I started a small literacy program for refugee women, we had no plans to teach children. But with the arrival COVID, all of the local schools closed completely, with no option for virtual learning or education of any kind. What could we do when the women we had been teaching came to us and asked us to teach their children? Seeing the faces of these mothers, desperate with concern for their children, we found ourselves saying, “Here I am Lord, send me.”
Pandemic or not, unless you are from a wealthy family, schooling here is dismal—half-day instruction in overcrowded classrooms (30-40 students) which devolves into rote memorization, accompanied by required Islamic indoctrination. Consequently, graduates come away lacking critical thinking skills and scant opportunity for employment. Thus, I became determined to find a way to create enriching lessons that would encourage exploration and teamwork and help students discover a new paradigm as they become aware of the broader world around them.
Thanks to support from the AFM staff, a partnership with a local NGO, a generous grant from the Anglican Relief Development Fund, and the dedication of supporters and friends, we were able to secure a location for a community center and acquire enough funds and supplies to get started.
Our vision is simple: the center will serve as a community hub—an oasis, if you will – a place where friendships naturally develop through shared experiences. We will achieve this by inviting children ages 10-13 years to join Discovery Club. We will offer after-school clubs such as English, Arts and Crafts, Cooking, Lego Design, Dance, Science Lab, Board Games, etc. where the children can explore, discover, and begin to think more critically about the world around them.
Through Discovery Club, we will encourage and stimulate young minds to think strategically and discover innovative solutions to solve problems, big and small. Through continuous interaction across ethnic groups in this diverse community, we aim to bring about much-needed reconciliation, but more importantly, the students and their families will form deep and trusting relationships with local believers.
Financial support is still needed to carry out this vision beyond the first semester, so I invite you to prayerfully consider partnering with us in this endeavor. We have big plans and high hopes as we launch Discovery Club this month, and we know God can and will use it to do great things.
Finally, if you are interested in receiving our regular e-newsletters, please email AFM with a few sentences about your interest in the Middle East as well as the home church you attend. (We need this information to maintain security protocols before we send our e-newsletter.)
Thousands of years ago the Lord brought forth springs in the desert for the children of Israel: “Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19).
Our prayer is that from this community center, rivers of living water would likewise spring forth, bringing new life and new hope to the unreached peoples in our midst.
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