The LIFE Project

A distinguished looking man in khaki pants and a plaid button up shirt squats on the dirt floor and bangs onto the tin cans with relish.  A young mom with a sleeping baby on her back grabs for one of the cans: “NO!” The distinguished man screams. “It’s MY turn!”

Such was the scene at the Teacher Training focused on “Fantasy Play.” After some theory and discussion about the importance of young children using their imagination, the Mukuni Teachers got into the lesson by acting out some common preschool behaviors for the class.

Traditional Zambian education does not have a place for imagination or play. From 1^st grade through 12th, children are taught to listen and repeat. But we as Westerners  believe that appropriate and imaginative play is imperative for childhood development. We also believe that children are little people with their own thoughts, ideas, and opinions. In fact, we think Jesus thought the same way!

At first, it was a foreign concept to the Mukuni teachers that children should be encouraged to speak up, create stories, and use toys and equipment in creative ways.  But after three years of being taught the value of children they have become childhood advocates and observers. Our hope for them is that they inspire the children they teach to use Kingdom Principles to think outside the box and raise the standard of education in their village.

The LIFE Project is committed to caring for and educating those whom Jesus blessed…they are imaginative, willing, rambunctious, and sometimes loud….they are the KIDS!