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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodists together |
February 2007 |
Operation Classroom celebrates 20 years of ministry to Africa
By Joe Wagner
This year Operation Classroom celebrates 20 years of partnership ministry with the Liberia and Sierra Leone United Methodist conferences. What began as a conversation over a cup of coffee has become of one of the most effective mission programs of The United Methodist Church in West Africa, and has sparked interest in other United Methodist conferences to consider this concept in their mission outreach.
When Bob Bowman and John Shettle were elected lay leaders of their respective conferences in 1984, they discussed how they might work together to help renew United Methodist churches in Indiana. They met at Hardee's in New Castle, and began a hands-on mission program. Later, with the guidance of the late Bishop Hodapp and the late Rev. Mark Blaising, they formulated a plan for the mission program giving birth to Operation Classroom.
Partnership program
Operation Classroom was designed to be a partnership program linking the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries, the Liberia and Sierra Leone United Methodist conferences and the North and South Indiana conferences with a goal to upgrade secondary education in these two West African countries.
In order to implement this plan, an advance team - composed of North and South Indiana Conferences leaders - traveled to Liberia and Sierra Leone in September 1986 to meet with the West Africa conference officials and visit schools selected by church leaders of the Liberia and Sierra Leone. The team met with principals and teachers, spoke with students, viewed buildings and received reports of needs in each school. When team members returned to Indiana, they determined the best way to challenge Indiana churches to meet these needs by:
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Assigning districts to partner with specific schools,
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Empowering Indiana laity to become actively involved in mission and
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Embracing a hands-on mission approach.
The Operation Classroom program was launched Jan. 1, 1987, involving a partnership with four schools in Liberia and six schools in Sierra Leone. The goal was to upgrade these schools until they were able to be self-supporting, then Operation Classroom planned to move to partner with other needy schools. The Rev. Joe and Carolyn Wagner were selected as program coordinators.
Operation Classroom evoked an immediate, enthusiastic response across the state. By June 1987 Indiana United Methodist churches, through a special offering, gave more than $52,000. The first year both conferences raised more than $197,000 to the Advance designated for Operation Classroom schools.
From 1987 to 2005, Hoosier United Methodists contributed a total of $3,129,939 to Operation Classroom through the Advance.
Hands-on mission
To initiate the concept of a hands-on mission program, a statewide ingathering was held at Westfield in September 1987. Churches were asked to bring supplies they had gathered for their partner school. A semi-trailer load of school supplies and books was collected in three hours. These donations were shipped to Liberia and Sierra Leone in January 1988. Since these shipments, many districts have had packing parties with hundreds of people participating. Through 20 years, more than 60 volunteers have come to the OC warehouse in Lapel, Ind. to load approximately 51,000 boxes of school, medical, and refugee supplies and equipment filling 64 overseas shipping containers valued at more than $2.5 million.
In January 1988, the workteam program was launched, with 16 volunteers going to the W.P.L. Brumskine School in Buchanan, Liberia, to construct a security wall. A few weeks later a second team of 22 volunteers traveled to Albert Academy in Freetown, Sierra Leone, to construct a wall around the campus. Since 1987 OC has prepared and sent 381 people to West Africa, including 13 field coordinators and 15 individual short-term volunteers. The 40 teams have worked in 12 schools and two hospitals, and have held 17 seminars for teachers. In addition to those from Indiana, Operation Classroom teams also came from Minn., Tenn. and Colo.
Through civil wars in both Sierra Leone and Liberia, Operation Classroom continued its partnership with citizens of these embattled nations. Supplies were shipped, refugee schools and medical clinics were started, and trauma counseling seminars began. Partnerships were established with five additional schools.
Medical component
In 1994 Operation Classroom established a medical component to its program - Operation Doctor. A volunteer physician and nurse were sent to Kissy Clinic in Freetown, Sierra Leone to help reestablish the program and care for the vast medical needs of this part of Freetown. In 1999 Dr. Dennis Marke, M.D. became Kissy's chief medical officer. Early in 2006, the Kissy Clinic, with its new surgical theater and post-op ward, became the UMC Kissy Hospital. Operation Doctor is the major partner with Kissy Hospital and is responsible to raise $15,000 to $20,000 annually for the medications, as well as Marke's salary. Kissy Hospital has excellent HIV/AIDS, nutrition, maternity and outpatient programs.
Operation Doctor also renovated water and electrical systems at Ganta Hospital, in north Liberia. OD has provided funds for medication and fuel, has shipped supplies and equipment from Indiana to Ganta, and has assisted in renovations.
Educational ministry
Now, 20 years later, Operation Classroom continues a viable ministry in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Partnerships with 14 schools, totaling 14,000 students, include providing school supplies, vocational equipment, books, work-study grants ($75 each) and scholarships for teachers ($1,200) to go to college in their own country. Building renovation is another priority. One of the major emphases this year is to provide science equipment for the schools. This year OC plans for four work teams from Indiana.
Vocational education also is a priority for each school. The need for tools and other equipment continues. Some OC schools continue to assist the West Africa conferences in helping former child soldiers and other children and youth through their trauma. The Operation Classroom-sponsored Peal Center counseling program of the Liberia Conference works with children and youth though peace clubs in schools, children-for-peace programs and a Palaver Hut Management program.
Operation Classroom's 20-year celebration includes an emphasis on student work-study grants of $75, which provide for a student's annual academic tuition. A minimum of 1,500 work-study grants is needed. Each Indiana Area district and local church will be encouraged to plan some observance of Operation Classroom's twentieth year. Speakers are available plus an statewide celebration on Sunday evening, Oct. 28, at the Jonathan Byrd Cafeteria in Greenwood.
For more information, or to schedule a speaker for your church, contact Joe and Carolyn Wagner, co-coordinators, P.O. Box 246, Colfax, IN 46035, or e-mail ccwagner@hotmail.com, wagners@operationclassroom.org, or log on to www.operationclassroom.org.
Last updated on 25 Apr 2008