Donate Used Technology Devices

Did you receive a new laptop, tablet, or cell phone for Christmas? Is your old device sitting in a drawer somewhere, unused? If so, we would be thrilled to repurpose this device for the benefit of our children.

Imagine how much smaller your knowledge of the world would be if you had never used a computer, cell phone, or tablet. A quick Google search yields millions of results, and solves many day-to-day problems for most of us. In today’s world, lack of access to technology creates a poverty in knowledge that puts one increasingly out of touch with a quickly developing world.

We want to help our children become engaged in the world around them. We believe that providing them access to technology is necessary to make this happen. We would love to offer a prize, such as a laptop, for the winner of our English competition this spring. Not only would this be a prize beyond the wildest imagination of our students, and something that would open up the world to them, it would also serve as a great motivator to ensure that our students study hard for the competition and improve their English skills.

If you have a laptop, tablet or cell phone that you are not using and would like to donate to our program to be used as a prize for the spring English competition, please let us know by March 1st. You can mail the device to our office at 2267 Fraser Road, Kawkawlin, MI 48631.

Building Hope Update: New Staff Room

As part of the renovation at the BCI Academy to fulfill accreditation for high school, the existing staff room had to be converted to a classroom. This left the teachers without a room to prepare their lesson plans. A new staff room was recently built and it is an improvement over the previous room.  The new staff room overlooks the playground, which allows more eyes on the children while they are at recess, and the staff can clearly see the students come and go from the school. Since two of the walls and the concrete slab were pre-existing, the addition was able to be built at minimal expense, helping the build project to stay on budget. We are now one step closer to completing the BCI Academy upgrade project.

Completed Staff Room

Painting in Process

Beginning Stages of Staff Room Build

 

Double Your Gift

We recently put out word that the BCI Academy is in need of a school bus, stove, and footings for the new addition. The total cost of these three items is $7,500 USD. One donor responded to the need in a big way – offering to match any donations toward these projects, dollar-for-dollar, up to $3,750.

At times like these we are reminded that though our challenges are overflowing, so are our blessings.

If you would like to take advantage of the generosity of this donor and double your gift, please contact us at the office by March 1st.

2267 Fraser Road
Kawkawlin, MI  48631
(989) 667-8850
Info@BlessingTheChildren.org

Donations can be mailed to the BCI office, called in, or made online at http://www.BlessingTheChildren.org/donate.

 

An Excellent Problem

Renovation of the BCI Academy is well underway, with improvements to the current school as well as an addition in the works. The teachers have been trained, new desks have been built, and plans are in progress for the new addition.

Teacher Training Session at the BCI Academy

When our BCI President traveled to Ethiopia in November, he was able to see the wonderful progress first-hand as well as the excitement of the students and staff, who are enthusiastic about the upgrades and energy at the school. While in Ethiopia, he identified a few additional needs at the school.

The BCI Academy is growing in popularity due to the strong reputation for providing excellence in education. Enrollment is now approaching 500 students! This is a wonderful blessing, as we can now impact even more lives. The expansion does come with some growing pains – we have outgrown the stove in the cafeteria as well as our school bus.

Our staff in Ethiopia are creative and are accustom to making the best of any situation. When they find themselves in situations that we would consider unacceptable, they do not complain – they make do. As you can see from the photo below, our cook is cheerfully preparing school lunch, despite the fact that the pots don’t even fit on the stove. The cost of a new stove to meet the needs of the growing student body is $2,200 USD.

Cook Prepares Lunch at the BCI Academy

When we outgrew our school bus, we had to begin renting a larger bus. The rental fees are high and this is is not a sustainable solution, so our BCI President and Ethiopian Program Director went shopping for a larger bus. They were thrilled to discover an American-style school bus, a rare find in Ethiopia. This is exactly the solution that we need. Our Program Director put in a low-ball offer at the auction and was shocked to win the bid for the school bus. The only problem is that we need to make a payment of $4,500 USD to secure the bus.

Overcrowded BCI Academy School Bus

New American-Style School Bus

We consider our growing student population to be an excellent kind of problem!

Please pray that we will be able to meet these needs so that we can effectively serve our children at the BCI Academy.

If you would like to partner with us to meet these needs, you may contact us at the office at (888) 269-2719 or make a one-time gift online: http://blessingthechildren.org/Donate/index.html