Going Where There is a Need

Why did Jesus have to walk so much? Someone calculated that Jesus walked 3,125 miles during his ministry, and he was insistent that he do so. After a night of prayer he told his disciples, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came to do” (Mk. 1:37). This statement is curious because the disciples had just told him that people were looking for him (Mk. 1:36). In other words, they were telling him that he could have stayed put, and people would have come to him.

Jesus knew, however, that not everyone had the ability to come to him. Like our own world, Jesus lived in a world of unequal access to educational opportunities. If you were near Jerusalem or another major city, you had access to good schools; even then, you needed the money for admittance. In order to overcome this inequality, Jesus went where the people needed him.

*Institute students in East Africa study in rural Uganda where internet and electricity is spotty at best. Still, they often rank in the top of their class.*

In our world, we call this unequal distribution of educational resources and the resultant effect on a student’s performance the achievement or education gap. Certain populations have less access to opportunities because of their socio-economic status, or even location, and this creates a “gap” between these groups and others in terms of performance. For our organization, this problem has motivated us to find creative ways to get out and bring education to people. This has engendered a number of different programs, delivery systems, and projects all aimed at narrowing this gap.

Take the CASE after-school program for example. Every Monday through Thursday, staff and volunteers drive to 4 different schools in Davidson County. From 4-6PM, they offer a free after-school program that provides homework help, academic lessons, and enriching activities. Students learn to think critically, solve problems, and work together. All the schools we work with are Title I schools, meaning that the school has a high concentration of low-income students.

Many Institute students volunteer with Global Outreach Developments’ after school program, CASE, serving four local middle schoolers. These pictures are from their annual “Showcase” performance for parents, planned and prepared by the middle school students.

Programs like CASE are all the more important after the Covid-19 lockdown. The lockdown (not surprisingly) affected student performance across the board, but it especially affected those populations that are subject to the education gap. Even during Covid, we were able to creatively offer both after-school and summer programming that served our CASE students.

Our work to counteract the negative effects of lockdown and narrow the education gap is not limited to students in America. At the peak of the covid pandemic, 94% of students, or around 1.6 billion children, experienced school closure. Even to this day, around 700 million children are still studying from home. This has left families trying to navigate remote learning in an uncertain context. These are not just statistics for our organization. Our conversations with our cooperatives and friends in India, Uganda, Kenya, The Philippines, and El Salvador has brought the many negative consequences of the lockdown into focus. In order to meet the educational needs of our friends, we have provided $80k in scholarships so that students could study online at The Institute and The Academy. We’ve worked hard to offer online education that is easy to navigate, fun, interactive, and effective. It’s another way we are bringing education to where it’s needed most.

Professor Benjamin Reese teaches at The Institute for G.O.D. in Nashville, directs the CASE after school program and helps get biblical education to learners throughout Latin America. Bridging the education gap is something Mr. Reese is involved in every day!

Just as the covid-19 lockdown greatly affected certain populations, these populations are also affected by summer learning loss, which refers to the performance loss that happens during summer breaks. On the other hand, students with access to summer camps or other educational programs experience decreased loss during the summer months. This is why we have made it a priority to offer summer programming like Camp Skillz.

There are so many ways we are bringing education where people need it most. The education gap is real, and we need your help to make sure all people have the opportunity to quality education.

Join us in raising $75,000 to bridge the education gap, including supporting college students in the third world.

We’re participating in The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee’s #TheBigPayback fundraiser, bringing awareness to Middle Tennessee nonprofits. We’re participating with our parent organization, Global Outreach Developments International to reach this goal and need your help!

donate here!