Africa Christian Teaching Service
The Building And Opening Of Herridge
Herridge Technical School in Karusi, Burundi was completed in September 2007. It consisted of seven classrooms, offices and a refectory with secure storage and cooking facilities to enable us to ensure that our students would get at least one nourishing meal per school day. We also built two five bedroomed houses to accommodate the teachers most of whom stay at the school during the week and go home to their family at the weekends.
There was much to do in the last few days before the big opening at the start of term. The floor in the refectory had to be polished, classrooms had to be furnished with desks and chairs and uniforms had to be made and presented to the students. For most of these children their uniform was the first proper set of clothes they had ever owned.
There was much to celebrate on the day as this was a momentous occasion for the town of Karusi with our school being the first to offer free secondary education to the poorest children of its community. Large crowds came from the town and its out lying villages and communities to be a part of the celebrations. A host of bishops and ministers from the Anglican, Methodist and Pentecostal churches came to give God's blessings through their prayers for the work and future of the school. Officials from governments as far away as the USA took part in the opening day along with the most celebrated guest, the president of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza.
There was entertainment performed by the Burundian Drummers and Dancers then to finish the celebrations all of the students and officials were invited to the refectory for a meal.