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The first class of children, holding school
in a large dirt-floor chicken coop! |
Bishop Eliudi Issangya is the founder and president of the International Evangelism Center (IEC) located in Tanzania, East Africa. He is a highly respected citizen of Tanzania who has been honored by the Tanzanian Government with the title of Bishop for his work to improve the lives of people, not just the people in the village of Sakila but also in the surrounding countries of Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Mozambique, the Congo, and even South Africa. Bishop Eliudi and his wife Hellen, have six grown children, and currently four grandchildren. To see a video of Bishop Eliudi's testimony, click here.
Gene and Lorraine Anderson's involvement in the Sakila Sponsorship Program began with a church missions trip to Sakila in 2002. Upon returning to their home in Port Orchard, WA., Bishop Eliudi asked them to coordinate a sponsorship program to enable the people of Sakila to provide an education for their children. The task was undertaken in the fall of 2002 and a class of 102 kindergarteners began attending school in January of 2003. The first classes were held in a building on the IEC Bible School campus built with help from Providence Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Scio, Oregon. This was a great improvement over the chicken coop that had previously served as a classroom for the preschool since 1998.
Marion and Loretta Sluys first visited Sakila in 1990. They had been helping to support the Bible School of the International Evangelism Center with their finances and wanted to see how effectively their investment was working. Marion is the creator of the internationally famous Poulsbo Bread, named after the small Washington town of Poulsbo, where he has owned and operated a bakery for 42 years. When Bishop Eliudi asked Gene and Lorraine to coordinate a sponsorship program, they in turn asked Marion and Loretta to join them in their efforts. Marion and Loretta have funded the construction of many of the classrooms and worked tirelessly along side Gene and Lorraine since that time to support the efforts of our brothers and sisters in Sakila to give their children an opportunity for a better life. The generous people of Sakila, wanting to honor the Sluys and Andersons for their commitment to the education of their children, named their new Christian school Sluys/Anderson Primary School.
Godwin Selembo is Bishop Eliudi and Hellen's oldest son. He was born in Sakila with a hunger for education. As a child, he pestered the adults in his life to teach him, and particularly an educated family friend, John Matthew, who obliged. Godwin's father then brought him to the United States at the age of seventeen and literally gave him to Roger and Jan George of Stayton, Oregon. Roger and Jan took him in as their own son and provided for him to attended High School and College. But, his passion for learning would not be satisfied with only his own education. He dreamt of offering a free education for the people of his homeland. Godwin and his lovely wife, Kim, have three adorable daughters. Godwin spends all his time and resources from his business, Serengeti Expeditions, to provide support for the school in Sakila. He is an invaluable member of our team. He brings an understanding of both cultures to our organization, which helps us use your generous donations in the most effective manner.
God, using these people and many others, has grown Sluys/Anderson Primary School in Sakila Village, Tanzania, East Africa to what it is today. It has blossomed from a pre-school in a chicken coop to a ten-acre campus with twelve classrooms, water, electricity, a cookhouse, an administration building, teacher's dorms, and hundreds of students, with much more to come.
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