Ephphatha Deaf School
Burundi, Africa
a ministry partner of Allow The Children
Ephphatha Deaf School (EDS) was founded by the Emmanual Association of Churches in the mid-1970's and is the only school for the deaf in Burundi. The residential school is in a mission compound located in the Kigobe area of urban Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi. The mission compound is surrounded by a security wall and the school occupies about 25% of the eighteen acres. Part of this acreage is used to grow vegetables for the school and to sell at market.
There are two classroom buildings for grades 1-6, two dorms, a meeting room and a dining room. There is an outdoor sports court and a pavilion-type chapel area that also serves as a classroom for the older boys who are learning woodworking skills. The school offers academic grades 1-6 followed by two years of skills training in sewing or woodwork. There are daily Bible classes, chapel services weekly & Sunday attendance at the mission church services
The mission compound housed over 8,000 additional people during the war, refugees from Rwanda & displaced Burundians. The Burundi civil war can almost be declared officially ended, so the area is mostly quiet & safe now.
The 99 member student body is comprised of orphans, refugees and the very poor. Many children have been turned away in recent years due to lack of funding and a shortage of mattresses & beds. Most families cannot afford to pay even part of the small tuition fees of the school, but child sponsors will help bridge this gap. Designated donations to our Burundi General Fund will help repair the facilities and provide such needs as mattresses, sheets, furniture and training for the teachers, so they may better instruct the children in their various subjects.
Child Sponsors strengthen every activity of the school and help give the children a stable environment in which to grow mentally, physically & spiritually, and to become a productive member of Burundian society. The financial gifts and prayers of sponsors are tangible fruits of the love & grace of God, and demonstrate His approval as we join together in His Name to rescue the needy.
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