Classrooms and labs, loud boiling test tubes, sing to the Lord a
new song!
Athlete and band, loud cheering people, sing to the Lord a new song!
He has done marvelous things. I, too, will praise Him with a new song!
- "Earth and All Stars" by St. Olaf Cantorei
In the mornings, as the evening’s fog lifts itself from
the hills, the streets of Rwamagana are filled with hundreds of children once
again. Uniform clad and notebooks in
hand, they chat excitedly with their friends and shout “Good morning! How are
you?” as I pass. But who am I looking
for? I’m looking for the ones in the crisp white shirts, sharp khaki pants, and
green neckties. They are mine. And I am theirs. Rwamagana Lutheran School feels as it should
once again. The dormitories are full and
campus is no longer quiet.
After a three month holiday, last Monday marked the start
of the new school year across Rwanda. And
excuse my cheesiness as I allude to the rather situationally appropriate hymn
above, but we are most certainly “singing a new song” this year at Rwamagana
Lutheran School. Our song this year will include labs and loud
boiling test tubes, many new students, and our first class of graduating
seniors. The notes of this year’s song
started falling in place long before our first day of school. When I arrived last September, the
construction of our school’s laboratory was well underway. Slowly, it began looking more and more
lab-like as it acquired black boards, desks, sinks, and a fume hood. Then all of our new science equipment
arrived; it was like Christmas morning for a scientist. We got calorimeters and galvanometers and
periscopes and resistors. We got beakers
and flasks and test tubes and burners.
As the school’s laboratory assistant, my time had come. I got to work labeling, sorting, and
inventorying. I arranged the furniture
and then rearranged it again, trying to get the perfect scientific feng shui.
Once everything was just so, our visitors arrived. (And by this, I mean we were actually still
frantically trying to get everything in place and our visitors graciously
chipped in to help with our last minute dusting, sweeping, and scrubbing.) These American visitors had made the journey to Rwamagana for the dedication of our newest buildings, including the laboratory, a
cafeteria, and a dormitory. Among these
guests of honor were both the donors of our laboratory building and all of our
science equipment. Community members and
students returned to campus to celebrate the dedication.
I knew it was going to be a memorable day marking the
beginning of something exciting at our school but when the day came it struck
me as something deeper than that. The
morning was filled with worship, prayer, and speeches. Choirs and a traditional dance troupe
performed. When the donors spoke,
telling of their connection to the school and their hopes for its future, I was
taken with emotion in a way that I hadn't expected. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for these
gifts that our school had been given.
As the school year begins and I work with the science
teachers to create a more hands-on science curriculum, I hope to get more kids
hooked on science. But as much as I
would love to uncover some untapped affinity for genetics or stoichiometry or
anatomy, the reality of this lab means so much more than preparing future
doctors or engineers. This lab and the
equipment that fills it tell our students that we believe in them. It sends the message that they are worth it
and that they can be whatever they want to be, whether that is a physicist or
novelist. And that’s a song worth
singing.
The grand opening of the lab with the bishop of the
Lutheran Church of Rwanda and the mayor of Rwamagana.
The periodic table, drawn by one of our students,
was the finishing touch to the chemistry lab.
Traditional Rwandan dancers really got the celebration going.
Ester, one of our students, leading her church's
choir at the dedication service.
Ignace, another student, inscribes the initials of the
three wise men above the door, a tradition dating
back to the middle ages.
The school's founder, Robin, and I show off some of the new equipment.
Three of our teacher's preparing lessons during teaching workshops.
If you would like to learn more about the excitement at Rwamagana Lutheran School, visit RwandaSchoolProject.org or visit the school's Facebook page.
