Sam Johnston, an ex-BC student now working for Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), has been stationed in Nairobi for the last couple of months. He recently visited Ark Quest Education Centre and sent us this report.
I have been fortunate enough to have visited Ark Quest twice (albeit briefly) in the last six months. Having met Calvine in New Zealand many moons ago, when I learned I was coming to Kenya, a visit to Ark Quest was on the top of my to-do list.
With each trip to Mahanga, I have been impressed by the standard at which Ark Quest operates. I have found the students to be attentive and enthusiastic at school. I recall seeing kids leaving school at 5.30 p.m. and asking where they were coming from. “They’ve just finished school” was the reply. I couldn’t believe the effort these kids were putting in. This was only compounded when I went for a walk one Saturday morning to discover a group of students in class! Seeing children putting in this much effort, I realised the life altering value in education. The kids themselves know this, and realise the opportunity they have in front of them, and they have taken hold of it with both hands.
Then we have the teachers, who are passionate, dedicated and hard working. Despite minimal resources, these teachers do a superb job, putting in a huge amount of time and energy with the students at Ark Quest. On my first trip I had the privilege of taking the older kids for a lesson in basic aerodynamics. I was able to teach them how an aircraft is able to fly and, in doing this, I wanted to instill the belief that they are more than capable of becoming pilots or engineers etc. I opened it up to questions afterwards and was pleasantly surprised by the complexity of questions some of the students were asking. It showed they had grasped the basics and were applying them already.
I am already looking forward to my next trip to Mahanga. There is something about what Ark Quest is doing that makes my heart celebrate. To have kids who are vulnerable, from situations that are hopeless in different ways, and to see them have this opportunity of life changing education, I just can’t help but see God in that. This is why I keep being drawn back to what Calvine is doing at Ark Quest, because it’s God’s Kingdom being displayed in a simple yet powerful way.
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