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THE
QUEENS AND KINGS SCHOOL
Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria
[click
here for October 2004 update]
[click here for January 2005
update]
[click here for August
2005 update]
[click
here for Fall
2005 update]
[click here for February
2006 update]
Editor's
note: Although
not a "Christian Science school" The Queens and Kings
School in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, operates on the principles
and
values found in Christian Science, and is run by Christian Scientists.
I thought you'd find this account interesting and inspiring.
MM
PROJECT:
FIRST SCHOOL
The Queens and Kings School, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria
Christian education for all children between the ages of 3 and
10 Stella Chisa Elikor [photo: right], a member
of First Church of Christ, Scientist, Port Harcourt, Nigeria and
of The Mother Church in Boston, is the founder of EFL –
Education a Foundation for Life. This is what she says of her
mission. This is an arm of the outreach of God’s, Divine
Love’s, ministry. It is a Divine adventure.
God
is the builder of every house. Let God build EFL to His glory.
“God keepeth us from falling, fulfilleth all our need, His
Love doth e’er uphold us” (based on Hymn 189)
The
joy of the Lord is our strength. “It is the Lord who rises
with healing in his wings..... In holy contemplation we sweetly
then pursue The theme of God’s salvation, And find it ever
new..... I cannot but rejoice.” (Hymn 313)
This
is Stella’s prayer:
“Father, I thank you for this exalted hour, Blessed be Thy
Holy name. We adore You even as we worship You. Teach us how to
serve You in Spirit and in Truth and in sincerity of purpose.
That our lives will shine as a light unto others, who have not
known the Truth. This is our earnest desire. That all glory will
be ascribed to You, and You alone.”
Her
views about "Education, a Foundation for Life" are as
follows:
1.
EFL is to help to restore the lost glory of Education in my country,
Nigeria.
This
will be done, by ensuring that the quality of education will be
motivated and controlled by the spiritual idea of Divine Love.
Again, that we must have qualified Teachers, who will have a zealousness
for the profession, and thereby give their very best, so as to
achieve our high objectives/goals.
2.
EFL is to instil the reverence and appreciation for God, as the
omnipotence, omnipresence of Divine efficacious Love, the All
in All.This spiritual quality is very much lacking in our educational
system in Nigeria. This fact has brought about the high rate of
crime and cultism we see presently in the country.
We
know that it is established that the fear, reverence, and love
of the Lord is the beginning of true wisdom.
A
child that has been taught from ages 3 - 10, the qualities / attributes
of God and the blessings He bestows, will always strive to maintain
God’s rules and ordinances and share those blessings throughout
his/her life. My country's educational system is such that they
have never given much thought to these spiritual laws and qualities.
3.
EFL is to let the children understand that "Intelligence
is of God, Divine Mind". And this Divine intelligence He
endows on all his loving creation in an understanding of the Divine
principle of the universe, Love. God and Man coexisting, as Spiritual
Principle and idea.
4.
EFL will inculcate to the children the need for absolute Reliance
on God. We will teach them never to heed to any other false beliefs,
suggestions and obligations that are not from God, Divine Principle.
Absolute
reliance on God, puts off all fear, strife, anxiety, hatred, malice,
slander etc.
Trust
in God, imbibes calmness, stillness, joy, love, light, trustworthiness,
and great expectations of growth, understanding and fruition.
5.
Through EFL all the children will be taught to love their fellow
man/woman absolutely, thereby loving God. Their knowing that every
man/woman/child is the "image and likeness of our Father/Mother
God” will undoubtedly lead to the result of our Education
having the quality of excellence. We will reveal stable, loving,
caring, thoughtful, progressive, objective, positive children
willing to contribute, by their own lives and example, to a more
spiritually based society in Nigeria.
NOTE.
The Queens and Kings School started on 14 OCT 2002 and currently
operates with 50 children and five teachers from temporary leased
land in a two roomed structure erected by themselves. The school
starts each morning with Daily devotion and closes with prayers.
The school uses the King James Bible supported by other Bible
translations to enable the children to understand better the spiritual
ideas taught in the Bible. The school also uses the Christian
Science hymnbook, but is non-denominational, welcoming children
from Moslem as well as Christian homes.
Each
month under “Character Education” we focus on one
spiritual quality. This month the quality is humility. On Saturday
at our last Parents and Teachers meeting we worked with this Bible
text from I Peter 5:5-7 Likewise, younger ones, be subject to
older ones, and all being subject to one another. Put on humility.
For God resists proud ones, but He gives grace to the humble.
Therefore be humbled under the mighty hand of God, so that He
may exalt you in due time, casting all your anxiety onto Him,
for He cares for you. (Modern King James Bible)
If
you would like to support The Queens and Kings School, Port Harcourt
you can do this in many ways including your prayers. You can also
consider:
1.
Making a capital gift. The school has acquired five plots of land
just off the main Airport Road, in the garden city of Port Harcourt.
The foundations have been laid for a three storey building including
putting in 78 pillars to carry the weight. The walls of the ground
floor have been completed comprising ten classrooms together with
toilets, cloakroom and office. Work is now progressing to finish
paying for the land and “deck” the ground floor to
make it watertight and usable. The budget for this phase of the
job to provide the basic ground floor structure, which is very
capital intensive, is £21,610 ( $39,546 ) of which £6,001
($10,981 ) has been raised, leaving £15,609 ( $28,565) still
required.
2.
Regular giving. It is our desire to be able to provide all the
school children with a daily supply of milk. This is a commodity
few of them ever taste. In order to be able to do this to supplement
their present diet, we will need regular financial support. It
will cost approximately N14,000 (£60) or ($ 110) to provide
milk for one child for a full year. If you are interested in helping
one or more children in this way on an ongoing basis,
please mark your gift “Milk!” In order to reduce the
banking costs of taking in US Dollar gifts, we have opened a US
Dollar savings account with HSBC Bank in the United Kingdom.
You
may now contribute online with your credit card through PayPal:
If
you would like to make regular payments to our bank account, either
in
dollars or sterling, contact Ros Leach: Ros@evedesign.com
Contributions
via the post should be sent to:
Rosalind Leach, Bradda House, Bradda Road, Port Erin, Isle of
Man IM9 6PQ
British Isles. Please make your cheques/checks payable to “The
Queens and
Kings School”
Very
many thanks for all your kindness and love
God bless you all,
Trevor Leach
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CONTACTS:
The
Queens and Kings School
Port Harcourt
Rivers State
Nigeria
Run by E.F.L. Education a Foundation for Life
YOU
MAY NOW DONATE ONLINE BY PayPal! [secure, online credit
card processing]
Contributions
via the post should be sent to:
Rosalind
Leach
Bradda House
Bradda Road
Port Erin, Isle of Man IM9 6PQ
British Isles.
Please make
your cheques / checks payable to “The Queens and Kings School”
To make
direct bank contributions, contact Ros Leach: Ros@evedesign.com
Web
Site: www.evedesign.com
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