Dear Friends,
Meet Nakayo. She was born deaf 85 years ago and grew up in a remote Congolese village with no access to education.
People often don’t realize that while hearing children naturally acquire language at home before they reach kindergarten, deaf children, especially in developing countries, rarely learn sign language from their parents. Instead, they must be taught language skills in a specialized school. Because there were no such schools near Nakayo’s village, she never had the opportunity to learn sign language, let alone learn to read or write. Even today, her communication is limited to basic hand gestures. The only work available to her has been menial labor and subsistence farming. Despite these challenges, God has blessed her with a husband, 11 children, and 22 grandchildren—yet she cannot hold meaningful conversations with any of them.
Shukuru, the director of our school for the deaf in Baraka, DR Congo, met Nakayo during one of his trips through the remote Fizi province, searching for deaf kids to enroll in our school. At her age, Nakayo is too old, too tired, and too busy to begin school. But by God’s grace, we are working to ensure that future generations of deaf children do not grow up without language, literacy, or access to the Gospel. Your prayerful support makes it possible for us to reach deaf children with a quality education—and, most importantly, reach them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We’re very thankful for the recent peace treaty between Rwanda and the DR Congo brokered by the Trump administration. It remains to be seen what this will bring about long term, but for now, it’s a step in the right direction, and for that we’re thankful. Please continue to pray with us for our schools and churches in the Kivu province, where civil unrest is intense.
In Chad, director Yves Beosso reports that their generator is on its last leg. The campus has had electrity from the city of N’Djamena for several years, but it is very unreliable, and outages that can last days and weeks at a time. Since the generator can be expensive to operate, a more reliable approach would be to get a small-scale solar rig that can power several administrative offices with about 1,000 watts of power. The expected cost is about $2,500. Also, the campus water pump is beginning to wear out. We had it installed about 20 years ago, and the casing is at the point that it needs to be replaced. Pray with us that God will provide the funds for thse projects.
Truly, your prayers are coveted.
Tim Foster
Director
