Bodji Girls Receive Visit
Karen Walhof Describes Meeting with Bodji Girls
We then walked over to the school which was started over 100 years ago in Bodji by the Swedish missionaries. The church has been supporting it through gifts from the German Mission Society. Now they need to have water brought into the school compound, and they need some new classroom buildings. We received a tour of the buildings in the school compound. Some of them are remarkably well appointed; some do need work. The school is so important to the community. And the thought of over 2000 children at school each day with no water available is staggering. Actually, about 1000 children attend each morning, and 1000 each afternoon. There’s no room to have them all at the school at the same time. We heard their cries for assistance.
After lunch we met the 15 girls from the Bodji area sponsored by the REAL scholarships. Although we do not support any individuals here, it was hearing about this program that inspired Good Shepherd to contact REAL and for so many people at Good Shepherd to decide to support the girls at Baryu Kata. The girls were charming; they introduced themselves with shy smiles. We asked what they hoped to do after finishing school; several said they planned to be doctors or teachers, a few said nurses, the others named a number of careers. Kes Theresa talked about the importance of education for girls, because once their educations stops, “for them it is over.” We were pleased to shake their hands and congratulate them on their work.
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