Nealey August 2026

My last newsletter was all about our new student cohort and the joy they brought to our campus. Even though I did not mention our first cohort, I just want to say we are very pleased with them as well. We have six students and they are all in good standing here at the Rafiki Teachers College concerning academics and our standards of behavior. All our students are on a semester break and will not return until August 31. We miss them immensely, but this is the time when we prepare well for the next semester. We have lots of preparation to complete before they return.

First and foremost is our accreditation. As I have previously written we are in a partnership with the University of Livingstonia (UNILIA). Because of that partnership, we are able to recruit students under their umbrella offering them a diploma or bachelor’s degree under UNILIA which is fully accredited by the National Council for Higher Education in Malawi (NCHE). Last time we rode on their coattails, but this time we are going to have to prove ourselves worthy to keep that accreditation current. As a result of that, we (the lecturers and I) have been working very hard to make sure that we succeed. It is important that we pass their inspection which will happen in the next few weeks.

At the same time, we are fully immersed in preparing for our upcoming fourth semester students. Our diploma program is over five semesters long and this semester will be the fourth. These courses are new to us, as well as to the students, so we have our work cut out for us. We are also preparing for a new student intake. In addition, we also have our semester two students to prepare for, so we are very busy.

In the mist of this business, four of our Village residents also graduated from our Rafiki Classical School. They had a beautiful ceremony here at the college campus. I will include some pictures. I hope one or more of them will choose to become primary teachers and attend our Teachers College. We already have three of them here, two of whom will be among our first five diploma graduates in May of 2027.

2026 graduates

Madams Martha and Velepi, graduates Innocent, Brighton, Sarah, and Moses

Thanks to you, our families, and friends, we are able to train disciples as well as equip our students to raise the standard of living of many Malawians in the future as teachers. I also want to thank my sponsors who have been with me for the past three years. Please continue your support—whether it be prayers or donations—they all work! Remember it only takes $300 U.S. dollars per semester for a student to graduate with a diploma. That is a grand total of $1500 U.S. dollars and funds all five semesters to prepare one student to teach in an elementary school. To receive a bachelor’s degree in the same field takes $400 U.S. dollars per semester or $3200 U.S. dollars total for the four-year program. Those of you who are looking to donate for the upcoming holidays, please remember that everything here in this Village is through your generous donations, whether it be a missionary, student, teacher, or support staff.

A big thank you to all our sponsors and prayer partners. Will you share this newsletter with other family members and friends? Here is how to do it. Online—just go to www.RafikiFoundation.org and click on the three lines in the upper right corner, select Meet our Missionaries, put my name in the search engine, and you can donate through your bank or credit card. There will be a box asking how you prefer your donations to be used. You can also send checks by post to Rafiki Foundation, PO Box 1988, Eustis, FL 32727. Please put May Nealey, or my missionary number 259 on the memo line. Or you can call Rafiki Foundation at 352-483-9131 to donate by phone. Please continue to pray for us, your prayers work.

Learn more about Rafiki’s expanding opportunities.

Visit our newly designed website RafikiFoundation.org to learn how to:

Purchase the Rafiki Bible Study for small groups for your church or neighborhood
Serve as a missionary with Rafiki
Sponsor a child with the Rafiki Foundation to bring God’s Word and the best education in the world to some of the neediest children in the world in Africa.

Explore the Rafiki Foundation YouTube channel.

Visit (youtube.com/@RafikiFoundation) for videos from Rafiki children, teaching at our annual Enrichment conferences, and the teaching at our African classical Christian conferences.