As you have seen on the news, there is  

much unrest in Kenya.  We are asking

you to join us in praying for the grace

of God to intervene and allow peace

and safety to be restored to our brothers

and sisters in Kenya.

A Well for Victory Academy,.. Isn’t this Glorious?

As we’ve presented to many of you, a well is being installed at Glorious Victory Academy.  This well will provide much needed access to fresh, clean ground water.  Currently, water is purchased for the school and obtained from a well several kilometers from the school. As you know, in Kenya and much of sub-Saharan Africa, clean water is a luxury. Because of lack of water development facilities across much of Africa, non-sanitary water is responsible for more deaths than AIDS per year. Thank you for your generous prayer and financial support for the initiation of this project on the grounds of Victory Academy. The well is nearing completion, having been excavated by local workers. It is planned that installation of the pump and pipes, which were obtained locally, will occur over the next few weeks. The well should be operating by the end of February.  In addition to being a readily available source of clean water for the school, the ultimate goal is that this well can also generate income for the school and possibly defray the cost of education for some of the children. This is surely a much needed addition to the infrastructure of Victory Academy.   Just a sample of how its taking shape:

Local Mission

Once again, on Christmas Day, Bibles Books and Shovels served dinner to more that 300 homeless persons.  More that 40 volunteers

made this possible.  We are thankful for the dedication of those who were willing to show God’s love through their spirit of service.

.Excerpts from The Headmaster’s Report

The children have generally performed well in the exams.  Two of them, Sharon and Morris have got the number one position in class. However, Amos and Adrian have really caught our concerns.  I continuously consult with the teacher to know the progress but even to me it’s not satisfactory.  The teacher still gives me hope that all can be rectified but a lot more participation from the part of the parents is required.  It needs to be a combined effort but not one sided. Morris is now entering his STD 8 next year.  He is performing well and we have high hopes for him.  He clenched the top position in the class and we hope it stays that way even for the whole of next year.

Grace and Lillian are experts at all sorts of games but they perform well in the exams.  They contribute largely to their class holding the title of being the noisiest in the school.  When the photos were being taken, keeping them still was a problem.  They are very playful and joyful.

Sharon managed to get the first position in class.  The day the grades were ready, her teacher came to show me all excited.  Sharon had finally managed to beat the two girls who always beat her in exams.  To motivate her, Sharon received a gift on the closing day along with the others.  Sharon, Susan and Sharlet are now entering STD 4 which is upper primary.  They have done us proud by performing so well.  Nuru, Damaris and Hezron have also done well by being amongst the top ten.                           (From Ezra)         

Glorious Victory Academy

Because of the unrest which has occurred after the recent presidential election in Kenya, the opening of school for this term was delayed.  The term started on January 14 instead of the 7^tth

Below is a list of the students and a representation of their progress.  The attendance has improved greatly.  We attribute this to the fact that Dr. Chula has been available to all the children at Victory because of your generosity.

We are sorry to report that two of our original students have moved away and will not be returning to Victory.  Because of increased costs, and the exchange rate of the dollar fluctuating to our disadvantage, we have decided not to add two more students in their places.   We will use our resources to provide the extra help needed by the two children who seem to need more individualized attention.  We are solidly committed to support our students through high school by providing opportunities for them to succeed.

November Academic Report

Name          Absent  Present Best Subject  Worst   Position    

ANDRIAN

SHUNGU              7            11         Math 64         Kiswahili 14    44/48

AMOS

SULUBU               6            12         Math 70         Kiswahili 18   45/48

HEZRON

CHULA                 0            18         Math 98         English 90        5/48

DAMARIS

CHULA                 0            18       Science 96        English  84       7/42    

NURU

MUSYOKA           0            18       Science 92       S/Studies 82      4/42

SHARON

MZUNGU              2            16         Math 96        S/Studies 88      1/40

SUSAN

SULUBU                1             17       Science 80          Math 74       17/40

SHARLET

MRABU                  0            18      S/Studies 96        Math72         9/40

GRACE

MUTHEU               0            18       Kiswahili 80       English 68   2/17

LILIAN

TUMAINI               0            18       Kiswahili 77       Math 52      5/17

MORRIS

NZANGI                 0            18       Kiswahili 83        Math 54      1/12

Expanding our Network

We are always looking for opportunities to share the vision of Bibles Books and Shovels.  During January, we will be giving a presentation at Good Shepherd Church in Bear, Delaware and participating in the Missions Strategy Seminar at

Columbia International University in Columbia, South Carolina.