New school grows to 400, needs help with funding, equipping and outreach.

Colombia (MNN) — Torn by civil war and internal problems for years, Colombia, South America, is a country with many needs. Violence among drug lords, guerilla fighters and government opposition has been ongoing, and that violence has led to a great number of displaced people seeking safety.

Rody Rodeheaver with the IN Network says they are working with Christians there to address needs. “What has happened is that many people have had to leave their homes and move away from the more rural settings and come into the city. A city like Barranquilla, along the coast, where they just basically have to do the best they can. And slums then spring up overnight as people move in with their whole families and just what they have on their backs.”

One woman, who we’ll call Marta, was an attorney, with a comfortable job. Her husband was a pastor. But Marta’s heart broke for the-slum dwelling refugees in Barranquilla, and that burden led Marta to open a school to help meet some of the needs there. The school is called, La Rosa de Sharon, or The Rose of Sharon, which is one of the names of Jesus.

It’s a Christian school, reaching out with education and Biblical teaching as well. Rodeheaver says it was a significant decision on the part of this woman. “In a small building next to their church, (she started) a school and now there’s over 400 children who are getting an education because of the vision of this woman, but we’re really excited because many of these children have come to know Christ, some of their families are attending the church there, and what we see is that a lady who had the security of a wonderful job but her heart was broken and she gave that job up to reach out and to change lives in this slum, and she now has a school of over 400 children.”

The impact is spreading, and Rodeheaver says the IN Network is helping out, “coming alongside to help further this school and finish the building and provide desks and electricity and all that you need to run a school of this nature.”

If you would llike to help IN Network supply La Rosa de Sharon with essential school materials, contact them through their information listed below. And pray for the ongoing work of Marta, her husband and the IN Network as they make a difference for the kingdom in the slums of Colombia.