Faithbook Pathfinder Camporee 2010, Finland - 10th International TED Pathfinder Camporee 2010, Iso Kirja, Finland

Market Day Project

Project Title: EAVA Sabbath School/Child Evangelism & Youth Training Center.

Project Budget: 14,003 Euros

The school’s purpose:

In 1996 Eyira Adventist Vocational Academy (EAVA) was established to provide academic and vocational education to the secondary youth of primarily Southern Sudan. EAVA is located in Bahr Naam, Mambe Payam, Maridi Country and draws students from Yambio, Yei, Rumbek, Mundri, Juba, Khartoum and many points in-between. The school received support from ADRA from its establishment until 2001. In 2001 the school was officially handed over to the South Sudan Field for support.

The 2009 school year brought EAVA approximately 135 students from many walks of life, religions and regions of Sudan. Approximately two thirds of our students come to us as non-Seventh-day Adventists. But, through hearing God’s word in Bible class, daily worships, Sabbath School and church approximately 25-30% of these young people choose to join the Adventist church through baptism, after studying our message with the youth pastor.

Many of the Adventist churches across Sudan, including the EAVA church, do not really have separate children’s divisions, cradle roll, kindergarten, primary, early teen, etc., but tend to meet as one group of children, often making it difficult for the person presenting their program to hold the attention of youth and children of such widely varying ages.

Presently on the school campus there is a reasonably large masonry building not in current use. This building consists of four rooms, each 6m2, one room 3m x 6m, a small but separate storage room 2.5m x 3.5m, and a latrine (outhouse). It has been voted by the church in business session that this building be renovated and utilized as classrooms for the children’s divisions and for child evangelism by the EAVA church. The above building complex is about a hundred paces from the main church building.

Rationale:

Renovation of this building and turning it into a Children’s Evangelism Center will allow the school to do the following:

Provide adequate space to conduct four levels of children’s Sabbath school:

a. Cradle Roll
b. Kindergarten
c. Primary
d. Early Teens

Allow the S.S. dept. to set- up or leave set- up materials and structures during the week for the Sabbath.

Provide a close-by place for the children’s divisions.

Provide a place to train our academy age youth in conducting Sabbath Schools, story hours and VBS programs, returning to their home churches to continue the same.

Provide considerably more space to begin inviting community children to Sabbath School.

Provide space to conduct Sabbath afternoon story hours and or VBS programs for the community children.

Provide funding to rescue a building that is slowly becoming run down from disuse and some abuse, upgrading and renovating it to make it a representative structure.

Provide funding for the purchase of Sabbath school materials. (Felts and boards, age specific furniture, picture rolls, song books, Bibles, other Sabbath children’s educational materials.)