Education is the art of training a person, specifically a child, by developing his or her physical, intellectual and moral qualities. According to Ellen White, Christian education involves much more than pursuing certain studies. It involves preparation for eternal life.

In the Central African Union Mission, which consists of Chad, the Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tome and Principe, education remains a major challenge for governments. In some remote places, the population does not have access to education because of the lack of school infrastructure. According to the World Bank, the literacy rate in these countries is very low. In Central Africa, for example, the literacy rate of the population is 38 percent.1

I am the product of an Adventist education. In countries with a Muslim or animist majority, churches use education as a point of contact between them and the local community. Thanks to education, the church preaches its gospel to more than 1,000 students daily in areas like Fria, Guinea, positively impacting Muslim families. Today, the Adventist School in Fria, beyond its excellent training, is considered the only school capable of transforming the character of children. Through this school, the church transmits Christian values to students and teachers through teaching the Bible.

The animists of Central Africa believe in ancestral spirits residing in inanimate and animate objects. As missionaries among them, we will also use education as a point of contact between us and the local community. Sister White, in her book Education (page 57), says:

“The greatest want of the world is the want of men—men who will not be bought or sold, men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by its right name, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.”

We will use education in the word of God to train young people capable of changing their community, transmitting to them the true values of Christian education, laying the foundation for Christian faith and preparing them for eternal life.

1https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syst%C3%A8me_%C3%A9ducatif_en_R%C3%A9publique_centrafricaine

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