We have great reason to thank the Lord for what he is doing for the educational work in South Africa. The past year, ending with the calendar year of 1901, was a prosperous one in many ways. The attendance was larger than it had been for some time, there being about ninety in the school, and over fifty in the home. Knowing the growing interest in church-school work in other countries, we had been planning for years to start a teachers’ course, but there were no young people to take it until the past year, when three very promising students who had been with us for years were prepared to teach.
There had been several calls for schools throughout the colony, but we were not able to meet the call until the beginning of this year, when two new schools were started, one at Uitenhage and one in Cape Town. We had one14school in Kimberley. A member of our last year’s class was retained as a teacher in this school, one went to teach in Cape Town, and one has engaged in a number of conference work. They are all doing excellent work. This class has been a source of much encouragement to us.
This year we are conducting the Teachers’ course, although there is but one taking it. We have a fairly large class in preparation for the course another year. The students who take this course have all completed the ninth standard, which is somewhat higher than the ninth grade in America.
We have more calls for teachers than we can fill, but we hope soon to be able to meet all such requirements. The attendance this year is not quite as large as it was last year. The second term opened yesterday with an attendance of eighty-three in the school, and about forty-five in the home.
The spiritual condition of the school has been good, considering the age of the children. Our constituency being small in South Africa, our students vary greatly in age. All the older ones take part in the Sabbath evening social meetings, and most of those who are old enough have been baptized.
Financially we are struggling under a large debt of about £2,800, or $14,000. The interest on this, together with the high prices, the result of the war in this country, makes it very hard for us to meet expenses; but notwithstanding all these difficulties, we have been able to pay every penny of our expenses as fast as the bills came in. We thank the Lord for this as well as other blessings, and are encouraged to press on. During our last conference a fund of about four hundred dollars was raised with which to purchase “Christ’s Object Lessons” for the relief of this school. These books are being sold, and the proceeds are to go toward the paying of the debt. This will relieve us somewhat, and we hope in time will lift the debt.
