From Mango Tree to Glory
A lack of effective education in the Cambodian provinces contributes to the ongoing cycle of material poverty, corruption and injustice.
Meeting the need for a good education has been Mango Tree School in Oudong Village since November 2014. The school is run by Manna 4 Life in a remote province of Cambodia, approximately 2 hours away from Phnom Penh, the capital city. Mango Tree School started with a few grades and grew rapidly to serve up to Grade 6.
After 5 years of growth, Mango Tree School began to outpace its capacity to be sustainable.
In 2019, Tenth Church Members, Manna 4 Life staff as well as global supporters entered a season of prayer and discernment for the future of Mango Tree. Graduation for the Grade 6 students was quickly approaching, and nothing was in place for them for the following year.
At the right time, God provided a solution. Mango Tree School’s leadership entered into discussion with Glory School, a nearby school with enrollment to grade 12, about a potential partnership. It was becoming clear that through prayer and sharing of community hopes for the future, something special was materializing.
Their hearts and visions aligned, and Glory School offered enrollment to all 160 kids from Mango Tree! Glory is a Christian-based school that has times of devotions and teaching for staff as well as a Sunday Church Service.
This means the end of the Mango Tree School that we have known and loved. This is not bad news and it is not the end of education or support for the children. In fact, Glory School gives the kids a pathway all the way to grade 12 along with imbedded skills training. Manna 4 Life staff continue to visit the community and support the children. Not all children ended up transferring to Glory School, as some families had other plans for their kids.
As for the staff of Manna 4 Life, they are engaging in a season of rest and training. Spending time together as a team, they are working through discipleship material, getting further education, and are intentionally praying and discerning the future of Manna 4 Life and future projects and partnerships in Cambodia.
Please continue to pray for Manna 4 Life and their time of rest as they eagerly wait for the Lord to reveal His plans for them in Cambodia in the coming months.
Interested in a Cambodia Justice Journey?
The Manna 4 Life team consists of Kevin and Leakhena, Leng and Sitha, and Tua and Pheara.
Kevin Knight is from the Tenth community and moved to Cambodia after going on a Justice Journey to Cambodia in 2008.
This news post was written by Zak Koftinoff who is also from the Tenth community. Zak lives in Cambodia serving with Extreme Love and is in Vancouver serving with Tenth until June 2020.
The picture was taken by Tenth volunteer Ethan Cairns who just came back from Cambodia after serving there for 3 months. The picture includes Manna 4 Life staff member Sitha during a recent visit to Glory School.