Indonesia (MNN) ― Two years after a massive earthquake rocked Indonesia's Nias Island, the community is still rebuilding. But there are few high schools on the island with a population of 60,000.
World Hope International's Keith Norris says they're building a high school dedicated to agriculture and related vocations. "We finished one school year in a borrowed middle school, but we're building our own campus now for this vocational school. We're hoping to finish the construction by the end of May."
As a Christian school, Christian teaching including business ethics is central to the young people's development. Key teachers have been recruited from Java--the most advanced island of Indonesia. The vocational school focuses on the food processing industry and seeks to train the Nias people to process the raw food they grow, rather than buy more expensive goods imported from other parts of Indonesia.
This effort is mirrored by other groups. A recent report released by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) indicates that US$20 million in funds have been earmarked for school building reconstruction and training courses for 1,400 teachers in Nias.
However, for them Norris says it's all about building for a future hope: "The purpose of this school is to teach the young people how to process food, how to make more things, and then they start their own business. Our school is located in an area where there are a lot of Muslims, and in many cases Muslims who come to Christ have had some kind of exposure to the Gospel by attending a Christian school."
