What an improvement in 5 years!

After 5 years of campus development, God has made a dramatic change in the face of WISDOM.

God gave LIVING WELL the ministry of developing and support WISDOM Christian School in 2012.

The school had one classroom building with 2 classrooms in it. It served 140 students in 4 grades, with three teachers and one caretaker.

WCS in 2012 - one building with 2 classrooms, mud bricks

We recently completed Classroom Building #3. The campus now has 4 buildings (three classroom buildings and a kitchen). The school now has 7 classrooms (grades 1-7), a kindergarten classroom, and a computer lab. Classroom Building #1 also has a staff room, an office, and a walk-in safe. The Kitchen Building also has a large storage room and an office.

The school now serves 400 students in 7 grades (with kindergarten to be added in 2018) with a staff of 14 (with two more to be added in 2018).

WCS in 2017. The original building is in the center, at the back.
Buildings (l-r) - kitchen, classroom #3, classroom #1, classroom #2

Besides the buildings, we have added a mechanically drilled well with a clean and plentiful supply of water for the school and the community. We enclosed the campus with a security wall for safety. We have added landscaping, making a more pleasant environment.

Classroom Building #3 completed 2017

Kitchen completed 2016, water well completed 2013

Classroom Building #2 built 2014  (interior finished 2015)

Security Wall completed 2015

Outstanding! See the photos of WISDOM!

CLASSROOM BUILDING #3 is complete!

Thanks to everyone who donated and prayed for this building!

WISDOM Christian School will now have a classroom for each grade and ......

A Classroom for kindergarten and .....

A Computer room!

The computers are in shipment now. The LIVING WELL team will be at WCS in January 2018 (the start of the new school year in Zambia) to set up the computer lab.

We are thankful for the new contractor that God supplied for this building.

He did an outstanding job at a reasonable price.

He stayed on the job daily until it was finished.

How HOME LIFE is Different for the CHILDREN of WISDOM

HOME LIFE
Compare	Students Here	Students at WISDOM
Family	Many two-parent homes, 1-4 children, no other relatives living in home.	In this community, few two-parent homes; one or both parents have died (orphan or double orphan); orphaned children live with relatives or with neighbor. Children have many siblings,  families have 6-8 children
Entertainment	Toys, video games, movies, concerts, water recreation, athletic events	Toys that they make from materials they find (empty plastic bottles, wire, bottle caps, waste paper)
House	Secure home with brick walls, windows, doors, garage, roof	Home built with mud blocks, thatched or tin roof secured with rocks on top to hold it down, window openings (not glass windows)
Living spaces	Many rooms	One or two rooms in house
Bedroom	Own room or share with one sibling	Everyone sleeps in one room - parents and several siblings
Bed	Own bed, sheets, blanket, bedspread	mat or foam on floor - no sheets, etc.
Electricity, electronics	Electric lights, TV, computer, cell phone, video games, electronic tablet/ereader	No electricity, no TV, no cell phone, computer, no tablets, no video games; dependent on natural light
Kitchen	Fridge, oven, microwave, cooktop, sink with faucet	No fridge, no microwave, no cooktop, no sink or running water, water is carried from a community water well, cook on charcoal fire in house or outside, food is acquired daily from own garden or local market
Food	many choices, eat out often	very limited options, all cooked at home, Shema main dish (flour and water cooked into a mushy consistency, like mashed potatoes consistency), rice, greens, very little protein, some local fruits and vegetables, no sodas, very little candy

Bathroom	Own bathroom or share with sibling	No plumbing, no shower, no tub, no toilet (outdoor latrine), bath in bucket or river
Clothes	Many clothing items, more than one pair of shoes	Most people have two sets of clothes, one to wear and one to wash, clothes are used (heavily used), bought from vendors (our Goodwill clothes that don’t sell are shipped over there and re-sold); one pair of shoes, may not fit, heels or toes may be cut out to make shoes fit
Transportation	Cars, boats, trains, public transportation	Most walk everywhere, no cars, families use public buses in nearby community, or walk, a few bicycles for transportation (not for recreation),

How to Teach 400 Children about Walking on Water

Watch the MISSION ZAMBIA 2017 video summary. 

See how the team taught the CHILDREN of WISDOM about faith, Jesus, Peter, and walking on water.

Awesome sight - is it close to the finish?

Great progress! We expect the building to be complete soon!

 

   

Roof Caps Building at Wisdom

Impressive Pace - Walls Rising at Wisdom

You have to see this!

The contractor at WISDOM Christian School is making remarkable progress on the new classroom building.

The walls are all up and ready for the roof to go on! We are excited at the great progress the contractor is making. Should have it dried in before the rainy season. 

The construction is on schedule to be finished by the end of the year. The LIVING WELL team will be back in January to set up the computer lab!

If you would like to help furnish the computer lab, DONATE NOW!

School Supplies for WISDOM

As you are shopping ..... 

would you pick up school supplies

for WISDOM Christian School?

Here's what we need most:

• Markers
• Crayons
• Tacky Putty (or art gum, used to attach pictures to the wall)
• Colored pencils
• Rulers (with metric measures)
• Children's scissors
• Individual erasers
• Individual pencil sharpeners
• Pencils
• Drawing paper

We need them by the first week of September. We are shipping a barrel to Zambia shortly after that time.

You can bring them to the LIVING WELL office

or hand them off to Ed or Donna at PCBC

or have them shipped to:

LIVING WELL

6636 NW 39 Expy Suite 108

Bethany OK 73008

OR you can donate towards shipping the school supplies and purchasing computer components  - $1200 needed. 
Click here to DONATE NOW

How do you build WISDOM school 10,000 miles away?

When LIVING WELL initially started raising funds to build at WISDOM Christian School, one of the concerns was knowing that the work was done according to the design and expectations of their plans and specifications.

It takes a team!!

Ed has a background in construction management and knows  how to write specs and draw plans. But he couldn't be there in person. Brother Charles is the on-site eyes and ears of the project management.  He sends regular updates and pictures to communicate what is happening.

Watch this foundation as it takes form. 
[previous post has the contractor laying out the building]

David, the contractor, on the concrete slab foundation 

Exciting Development for Educating Children of WISDOM

Construction begins on Classroom Building #3!!

Many thanks to our donors who funded

100% of our third classroom building!

While in Zambia, Ed Edwards met with Brother Charles and a contractor about a new classroom building. Shortly after the return of the LIVING WELL Mission Zambia team to the U.S., donations were received to fund the project. The contractor was then issued a contract for the new building. We pray that the contractor can finish the building before the rainy season begins.

The building will have two more classrooms, which will give WCS a classroom for each grade 1-7. The building will also have a room for a computer lab, giving room for as many as 15 computers. There will also be a room for a new kindergarten class. Zambia public schools offer kindergarten in all of their public schools. WCS will also follow that pattern.

The completion of this building will complete the current master plan for WISDOM Christian School!

MISSION ZAMBIA Begins!

MISSION ZAMBIA team leaves today for Ndola and WISDOM Christian School.

The team will travel 40+ hours to arrive in Ndola on Friday afternoon.

CAMP WISDOM starts Monday!

Looking forward to a great week with the CHILDREN of WISDOM!

Ndola Mayor Visits WISDOM

His Worship the Mayor, Mr. Amon Chisenga, visited WISDOM Christian School recently. The Mayor was very thankful for WCS allowing some of the community to take shelter in the school during one very stormy night. He wanted to make a personal visit to the school. He was also encouraged the school to apply again for the vacant plot next to it.

Visit with the Mayor in January 2017
John and Darla Holinsworth, Mayor Amon Chisenga, Donna and Ed Edwards, Charles Mutambala

MISSION ZAMBIA 2017 Team

We are excited about the MISSION ZAMBIA 2017 team!

On the team are: Ed and Donna Edwards, John and Darla Holinsworth, Sherry and Charlie Beair, Anita Powers, Hannah Hulse, Macie Stevens, Paula Cobb, Patrick Courtney, Sherri and Emily Padgham, and Brian, Chris, and Tara Matlock.

DONATE NOW to send this team!

Barrels Open for WISDOM

The Barrels of Books and School Supplies arrived at Wisdom Christian School before the end of the year. We waited to open them until school started and the LIVING WELL team arrived. All barrels were still sealed and intact. And everything made it without damage!

They now have some much needed school supplies.

The teachers are excited about all of the books that await the children!