I want to introduce you to two young men who graduated with New Dawn's first class of graduate in 2009. John (picture above, bottom right), and Peter (pictured above, bottom left) are brothers who have endured patiently and are experiencing the blessings of following the Master, Jesus, as they reap the fruits of education. One of their dreams is to be able to financially support their precious "mum" (picture above, center), just as she has prayed for and encouraged them all these years.
John recently completed a diploma course (associate's degree) in Human Resource Management. He hopes to find work in the field, and to eventually complete a full degree in the field. John is charismatic and his face usually bears a gigantic infectious smile. On the day this serious picture was taken, he was spending time with his classmates reflecting on the value of his education at New Dawn. John's physical circumstances never changed during his four years at New Dawn, as his family continued to live entrenched in poverty. What changed was how John thinks about poverty. In a startling declaration, John summed up New Dawn's victory over the evil one when he said, "Poverty has been taken out of my mind."
Peter recently began coursework toward a diploma in medicine, and hopes to carry his studies far enough to become a doctor. John's and Peter's educations have been sponsored by a family in our Saba, International network, and we join these brothers in praising God for his providence! Currently there are many graduates of New Dawn who are pursuing additional education, or have completed it, and are gainfully employed (36 of the first 69 grads have acheived some kind of additional education, and only seven are not employed).
If you look very closely at John's shirt in the above photo (red) you will see that it says "World Changer". How true that New Dawn School is in the business of developing World Changers, starting with the individual students. The changes begin to flow into their families and communities, their places of employment and churches. The story about these World Changers is only in its infancy, so we urge you to stand-by and pray, because God is good and able to accomplish far more than we could ever ask or imagine!
Saba, International intends to continue sponsoring New Dawn graduates as they pursue addtional education, so I will leave you with encouraging words of thanks from John:
Don't forget to tell all those who participate in supporting me and others from my community that I love you people so much. May God bless you abundantly because you have made us know that we, the product of our past, we are not the prisoners of it because there is hope in us and a good future ahead of us!
posted by Cathy Woller, for Saba, International
