Education

Developing a series of church-based Christian schools.

NCF has been supporting orphans to attend the public school system in Kinshasa which is very expensive (by African standards). The government provides no assistance to the schools and public education is about US $25/month per student. Many families live on $80-100/month income, and as a result the U.N. estimates 65% of children in Kinshasa are not in school. An entire generation of children is being lost in terms of the development of their God-given skills and abilities. Right now New City sends about $30,000/year to Congo for education fees. We believe the time has come to redirect that money to a more productive format: starting church-based schools.

One of our Congolese network pastors, David Tshiyoyo, has started 3 Christian schools over the past 4-5 years with an enrollment of 560 students (2 elementary, 1 high school). Their costs are closer to $5- 10/month per student. For a monthly cost of $1,200, we can staff and operate a school for 120-200+ children. The initial, one-time cost of constructing a school is estimated at $8,000 to $10,000. A handful of churches working together could easily help build and support these schools. We have identified 8 churches in Kinshasa which we believe are viable locations to begin the expansion of this ministry.

The opportunities for educators (teachers, principals, special education and child development workers) to travel to Congo and connect with specific churches/schools — as well as engage classrooms and students from the U.S. in cross-cultural, global experience — are wide open.