A Beacon of Light
Manipur School Project Update
“Please accept my son as a student in your school,” the Catholic father pleaded. “It doesn’t matter if there are no beds left; you can just give him a corner to sleep in, but please accept him into your school.”
The Manipur School was started 50 years ago by elders from three area churches. As we have shared previously, we are assisting the school in constructing a new classroom building that will help the school accommodate new students and will improve the facilities for the current students.
We recently had the opportunity to travel to Manipur to see the school and the building progress, and we were impressed by what we saw. Despite the school’s challenges, God is using it as a beacon of light across the valley where it is located.
After construction delays and increased material costs, work has started once again on the new classroom building.
Currently, the school has over 140 students. Their current classrooms are very simple; like many buildings in Manipur, they are made out of corrugated metal sheets and wood, with a few small benches for the children to squeeze onto. Every bed in the dormitories is filled, and because there is no extra space to put more beds, the school administrators have had to turn away many prospective students. But what the school lacks in space and amenities, it makes up for in heart.
Students in the classroom
When we visited, we were glad to see that the students are happy to be at the school. They are excited to learn and to sing (as well as to play). They are polite, welcoming, and so eager to help. They do whatever they can to help make their school a better place. They are even assisting with the building project in whatever way they can.
From Pasang Tamang, director of the Manipur School: "Our school students are happy to help the school to carry the bricks, and they are excited to see the new classrooms coming soon...
...All the children are involved to do their best for our new school building."
The kids at the Manipur School had loads of fun with their makeshift see-saw!
Our team with Pasang, the elders, and local church leaders.
The continuation of the school all these years, and the positive attitudes of the students, has greatly been influenced by the love and dedication that has been poured out on the school by the elders, teachers, and administrators.
For them, this school is not just a school, not just a job, it’s their mission field. They desperately desire for these children to have an education, but more than that, to know Jesus and to become His disciples.
From the beginning, the elders have worked and prayed, pouring out their hearts for this school. For the last few years, Pasang Tamang, who himself was brought to Christ through Adventist education, has taken on the leadership role wholeheartedly.
Although the teachers' food and housing is provided by the school, they only receive a small stipend to cover their other needs. Most students’ families are poor, and if they can't afford to pay their children's monthly school fees, the teachers may get paid even less or not at all. Some of the teachers have been offered positions at other schools for a much higher paycheck, but they have turned it down because they know God has called them to serve their people through this school.
Others outside the school, such as the Catholic father who wanted his son to attend so desperately, have noticed the dedication and Godly attitudes of the teachers. They have seen a difference between these teachers and teachers at other schools who are not teaching or living out Godly principles. God's presence fills this school, and the parents and villagers can see it clearly.
Once completed, the new school building will accommodate up to 1,000 students of all grade levels, and Pasang believes this number will not be hard to reach.
Please join us in praying for God to continue working in the hearts of the students, and guiding the teachers, elders and administrators to share Jesus’ love effectively with the students and villagers.
Please also join us in praying for the classroom building to be completed soon so many more students can come and learn how to be a true follower of Jesus.
Around $32,000 is still needed to finish the first six classrooms.
If God is leading you to help support the completion of this classroom building, even in a small way, please click the button below.