Dr. Hope in Mozambique

Dr. Jennifer Hope and fellow members of The Gathering United Methodist Church in St. Louis, Mo., traveled to Mozambique last spring for the dedication of a new school and a clean water well. Her church supports a UMC initiative to build schools and safe wells in the southeastern African country.

The need to haul water from the river for crops and daily necessities had prevented many students from attending school, Jennifer explained. “Or they were walking more than seven miles, including two river crossings, complete with crocodiles, to get there.”

The associate professor of education, who prepares McKendree students to teach elementary and middle school science, observed a class of about 45 students and afterward, taught them how to play tic-tac-toe. Some had never been to school before. “The teaching we witnessed was expert, despite the lack of physical resources and the fact that school director and students do not share a language,” she said. “The experience really put into perspective our complaints and assumed needs with regard to public schooling.”

 

 

A student who previously attended a distant school shares some of his schoolwork with Dr. Jennifer Hope.