Construction has commenced on a new eight classroom school with potable water and electricity! A field was acquired nearby for a Sports Program. You may think this is somewhat basic and certainly not up to American standards, but this school is not in America…it is in Nigeria, in a small village called Wassa, a village in the Federal Capital Territory.
But what is inspiring, is that the funding is from donations from The Rotary Club of Blanco County, Blanco Methodist Church, 419 in Blanco, along with many numerous individual donations. These donations go to Africa Arise International, which was founded by Mike Arnold in 2019. Arnold who is the President of the organization, is also Mayor of Blanco, Texas, and a member of the Rotary Club of Blanco County. Mike is also a lifelong Christian who started going to Nigeria in 2010. He was in Abuja in 2011 when out of the blue Boko Haram, a radical terror group, which grew in significant numbers over the years, blew up the UN Headquarters.
At one time the nation was proud of its remarkable unity. Today, the UN estimates that 3.6 million Nigerians, mostly Christian, have been violently run off from their homes and are now living as internally displaced persons (IDP). This is similar to a refugee; except they are still in the same nation. They live in crude encampments with no water, no food, no schools, no support, and no way to go back to their homes. Mike is passionate about educating these children and raising awareness of what is going on in Nigeria. He has been to Nigeria 13 times since 2010, and saw a chance to make a difference in the world by starting a nonprofit organization, called Africa Arise USA.
The goal is to educate the children in the IDF encampments by providing schools, supplies, and teachers. The costs are minuscule compared to the luxury we have in America, but there are still costs. To employ one teacher, the annual cost is $1300.00, and the annual cost for each school is $5000.00, which includes stipends for volunteers, and security for the teacher.
The first school Arise Africa USA built was in an Abuja IDF Camp, home to around 1000 displaced people. There was a school there, but no teacher. Africa Arise funded this. There are two other schools up and running in New Kuchingoro with about 300 students, and in Durumi, with about 150 students. The school in Wassa is the third school that has been built by the funds raised by the non-profit. Africa Arise currently supports 15 full -time teachers/staff total.
“It’s about the kids”, Mike said. He was drawn to the people’s fierce faithfulness in Nigeria. Christianity is so intense there because of the dangers they face. There is a sign at the airport in Nigeria that reads: “Welcome to Nigeria, home of a people with a passion”, an understatement according to Mike. While in Nigeria, Mike visited 5 Rotary Clubs: Wuse Central, Jabi Lakeside, Grandfather, Maitama, and Central Business District. Mike and his wife, Amy, and youngest son Stephen, a senior at Blanco High 1 School, recently returned from Nigeria. It was Amy and Stephen’s first time there. He was also accompanied by Jeff Gibbs, a local Blanco resident, and Dr. Brian Smith, a local orthodontist, also there for the first time.