Ketcham/Kumera Dec 2017

Dear friends and family,

At a meeting I recently attended for NGOs at the Federal Ministry of Education, I was saddened by much of what I heard. The presenters were speaking about access to education (particularly in emergency situations like drought and flooding, which is affecting more than three million school-aged children); they also spoke about the quality of education in Ethiopia. They lamented that pre-primary education across the country is weak; that among primary and secondary students, cheating, poor attitudes, and misbehavior were rampant; that there is a shortage of more than 100,000 teachers. The average ratio of teacher to students is 1:66. They then went on to say that due to decreases in foreign aid, the education ministry was facing a budget shortfall of more than $19 million U.S. Dollars. As I listened, I kept thinking how incredibly blessed the students are at Rafiki. Though Rafiki cannot solve the educational problems in Ethiopia, God is using Rafiki to make lasting impacts on the teachers and students in our schools.

Currently, our preschool and lower primary schools added more than forty-four students in the last year; bringing our total number of students to 146! Nearly every week we hear from people who plead with us for the chance to send their child to Rafiki. We now have more than ninety day students from the surrounding communities attending our school. Some of them pay cost-sharing school fees that cover about twenty five percent of the total cost of their education; some are the children of our employees; and some are on full scholarship. Rafiki provides them with two uniforms, two meals a day, all the school materials they need, and arguably the highest quality education available in this area. Not only that, but every day they hear and learn the Bible. We are in great need for more sponsors for our day students; please consider how you might be able to help!

One very exciting thing to report is the construction of our Junior Secondary School. We broke ground in September and the students, teachers, and missionaries have eagerly watched the building start to take shape. Tekle is now the Construction Manager, which means that daily he is on the construction site, speaking with the foreman and liaising with the contractor, Mesay Oli, whose company built all the other structures on the Rafiki compound. We are thankful for the good quality of workmanship and for the continued safety of all the workers on site. 

The coming new year will bring some changes to Rafiki Ethiopia. Our wonderful colleagues Macia and Paul Fuller and Esther Honegger will all be leaving the field in December. At the moment there are not any missionaries who can come to Ethiopia and replace them, so we will be filling all the administrative roles here (Village Administrator, ChildCare Administrator, Headmaster, Finance Manager, and Plant Manager). This will be a great challenge and we need your fervent prayers that we would have the stamina, wisdom, peace, and joy to be able to handle these responsibilities and leadership roles in a way that glorifies God. Are you considering a missions trip? We strongly encourage you to come see us in Ethiopia—we need your help!

On a personal note, we are very grateful that we recently had the opportunity to take a short and much-delayed honeymoon trip to Tanzania, where we visited the Rafiki Village in Moshi, ventured into a couple national parks, and stayed several days on the tropical island of Zanzibar. It was a refreshing and beautiful trip that highlighted for us the amazing wonder of God’s creation.

With love and hope that we will see some of you this year in Ethiopia,

Amy Ketcham and Tekle Kumera
Amy Ketcham PO Box 2871 Nazareth,
Ethiopia AFRICA Missionary #182

E-mail: ketchaminghana@gmail.com