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Education projects worldwide show a love for all of God’s children

The Church gave books, desks and chairs; built latrines and classrooms; and collaborated with other organizations to promote education in 306 projects in 74 countries

Examples of school donations and education projects in Mozambique, Peru, Lebanon and Fiji. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Children in front of the newly built classrooms at Magude Primary School in Maputo, Mozambique. The Church and No Poor Among Us helped the school upgrade to brick and mortar buildings in 2022. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Children learning in a dilapidated makeshift classroom at Magude Primary School in Maputo, Mozambique. The Church and No Poor Among Us built new classrooms for the school in 2022. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Children learning under a tree at Picoco Primary School in Maputo, Mozambique. The Church and No Poor Among Us are working together to build new classrooms for the school in 2022. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Mufutau Quadri, the head boy of Ebenezer African Church Nursery and Primary School in  Abeokuta, Nigeria, addresses the guests at the ceremony for the opening of a new block of classrooms on Feb. 1, 2022. Latter-day Saint Charities partnered in constructing the new building. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Ebenezer African Church Nursery and Primary School cultural group dancing during the handover ceremony for a new school building on Feb. 1, 2022 in Abeokuta, Nigeria. The classrooms were built with the help of Latter-day Saint Charities. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Students at Ebenezer African Church Nursery and Primary School in Abeokuta, Nigeria, rejoicing during the opening of a new block of classrooms on Feb. 1, 2022. The classrooms were built with the help of Latter-day Saint Charities. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Local government and education leaders cut the ribbon along with representatives from the non-profit organizations who helped build a new block of classrooms for Ebenezer African Church Nursery and Primary School in Abeokuta, Nigeria, on Feb. 1, 2022. Latter-day Saint Charities was a partner on the endeavor. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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President Didier M. Mutombo, president of the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Binza Stake, speaks on behalf of the Church at the Badiadingi Institute ribbon cutting in Kinshasa, DR Congo, May 18, 2022. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Children, teachers and other participants attend the inauguration ceremony at Badiadingi Institute in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on May 18, 2022. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
School children from Badiadingi Institute sing for guests at a ceremony marking refurbishments and donations in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on May 18, 2022. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Some of the fifty sewing machines donated to the Badiadingi Institute in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on May 18, 2022. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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Bibles handed to students in Kenya The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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Breaking ground for a new primary school in Buwagi, Uganda The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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Leonardo Ferraz via cultura.rj.gov.br
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Students in Lebanon receive backpacks from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Union of Relief and Development Associations in early 2022. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A volunteer with Latter-day Saint Charities, the humanitarian arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, distributes backpacks to children in need in northern Lebanon in early 2022. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A group of schoolchildren in Northern Lebanon receive backpacks from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Union of Relief and Development Associations in early 2022. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A young woman in Lebanon tries on her new backpack received from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Union of Relief and Development Associations. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Center for Youth Integration volunteers work with Roma schoolchildren in Belgrade, Serbia. The facility has funding help from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
One of the drop-in facilities run by the Center for Youth Integration in Belgrade, Serbia. The facility helps Roma children with volunteers from the University of Belgrade and with funding from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

In a Mozambique village, students were trying to learn in a makeshift mud classroom that flooded every time it rained. Children, teachers, government and tribal leaders had been praying for help in a Malawi village as they met for lessons outside under a large mango tree.

Children in some parts of Peru didn’t have enough space in their classrooms nor enough desks. Frequent typhoons in the Philippines knocked out power and cut off internet access for many students.

After The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints got involved, things changed. In these schools and many others around the world, the Church built new classrooms, donated furniture, gathered supplies and collaborated with local organizations in other ways to improve educational opportunities for tens of thousands of students in 2022.

The list of 74 countries and territories where The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints took part in 306 education projects in 2022. | Church News graphic

Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé explained to the Church News in the recent Inside Church Headquarters series how collaboration with organizations and planning with Church areas makes more outreach possible.

“We want to reach out to the most vulnerable populations, people that really are in need anywhere in the world, regardless of their nationalities, their race or their faith,” Bishop Caussé said. “We have developed relationships with a network of organizations, good organizations, that we can trust in every part of the world. And so this enables us to reach a higher scale.”

Bishop W. Christopher Waddell, first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, noted that each of the Church’s 23 geographic areas has a five-year humanitarian plan based on needs in that part of the world. “Then we work together to meet the needs that are real, everywhere in the world,” he said. 

One of those areas that does a lot with education is the Africa Central Area, where Elder Matthew L. Carpenter, General Authority Seventy, serves as area president.

“One of the sweet things about being in the Africa Central Area is the tremendous opportunity to lift and help others to lessen suffering,” Elder Carpenter said. 

He said the Church identifies schools that may need repair or have other barriers to education.

“In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Kenya and in other countries in the area, the Church coordinates with local education departments to put in latrines at schools, refurbish classrooms and provide desks and school supplies,” Elder Carpenter said.

An Ebenezer African Church Nursery and Primary School cultural group dances during the handover ceremony for a new school building in Abeokuta, Nigeria, Feb. 1, 2022. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church also works to improve childhood literacy and provide teacher training. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Church provided funding and partnered with a Catholic organization called Don Bosco to train teachers and teach literacy to children who could not afford the fees to attend school.

“In one particular town, we had 400 children who had dropped out of school. They came to our Church buildings five days a week for nine months,” Elder Carpenter said. “They were taught by members of the Church who were hired by Don Bosco to be teachers.”

At the end of nine months, more than 80% of the children passed all of the country’s literacy exams.

“We see this as a pattern we’re looking to extend beyond this one city, going throughout the country and likely throughout the entire region. This program is consistent with our humanitarian objectives to help many of God’s children in need,” Elder Carpenter said.

Other educational efforts in Africa

On Feb. 1, 2022, children celebrated the completion of four new classrooms at their school in Abeokuta, Nigeria. The Church worked with the Build-a-School Initiative in Africa and Coafrica, the Africa Classroom Coalition.

Children and teachers at the Badiadingi Institute in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo received an almost completely new school in May 2022 after refurbishments funded by the Church.

A latrine block collapsed at Kenya’s Catholic Nyabondo Boys’ Secondary School in February 2022, and the Church built new, safe facilities which opened on June 15, 2022.

Church leaders, school officials and local government authorities prepare to cut the ribbon on new school latrine blocks in Nyabondo, Kenya, June 15, 2022. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

In June 2022, the Church partnered with nonprofit organization Windle International Uganda to upgrade six schools in the refugee settlement of Nakivale, Uganda. The schools received classrooms, desks, chairs, textbooks and vocational training materials. 

By the end of June 2022, the Church and the nonprofit organization No Poor Among Us replaced makeshift classrooms in underprivileged schools in Mozambique with brick-and-mortar buildings.

Students and teachers at Mvindeni Primary School in Kenya received desks, remodeled classrooms, latrines and showers, in addition to copies of the Bible and the Quran on July 14, 2022. 

At the Waya Primary School in Chimbwi, Malawi, in September 2022, the Church funded the construction of eight new classrooms and teacher preparation areas, and provided new desks and textbooks. 

Heavy rainstorms destroyed school buildings and property in Buyanga and Buwagi, Uganda. The Church, school administrators and community leaders broke ground at three schools in November and December 2022.

In December 2022, students in the Democratic Republic of the Congo received a new donation of desks, tables and chairs at the Camp Major Vangu Elementary School.

Children of the Camp Major Vangu Elementary School hold signs saying “thank you” in the country’s official languages in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dec. 15, 2022. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Education projects in Latin America

An agreement signed by the Church in Honduras in July 2022 meant the Food Bank of Honduras would be able to provide food to the Francisco Morazán School — giving the students the food they need during the day to improve their performance in school.

On July 21, 2022, the Church donated fully equipped kitchens to three public schools in Palencia, Guatemala. The kitchens include industrial stoves, freezers and dishwashers, as well as two containers and a room to prepare the food.

Seventeen schools in the Ucayali department of Peru received new supplies including kitchen utensils, folders, shelves, blackboards, tables, chairs and prefabricated module classrooms on Sept. 17, 2022.

In November 2022, the Church donated materials and labor to help finish three schools in the Orange Walk and Cayo districts of Belize. The donations included desks, whiteboards and paint.

The newly painted Guinne Grass RC School, in Orange Walk District, Belize, on Nov. 25, 2022 | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

That same month in Guatemala, the Church donated hundreds of desks, tables, chairs and blackboards for 12 public educational centers in Petén.

As part of an effort to improve literary practices and promote cultural development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Church made donations to 46 libraries on Nov. 29, 2022. The donations included books, computers and electronics. 

In December 2022, the Church donated materials and supplies for water purification and filtration systems for three schools in Guerrero, Mexico, working in conjunction with World Vision Mexico.

Students in Ecuador faced challenges due to deterioration of school furniture. On Dec. 16, 2022, the Church delivered new furniture for 15 educational facilities in Quito

The Church donated specialized furniture and equipment for young children learning in special education centers and early childhood programs in the Pasco province of Peru on Dec. 22, 2022.

The Church delivers a donation of furniture and educational material for young children learning in special education centers and early childhood programs in the Pasco province of Peru on Dec. 22, 2022. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

In the Piura area of Peru on the same day, representatives from the Church delivered furniture and various items to the Rosa Carrera de Martos educational center. The items would help more than a thousand primary and secondary students at the school with their learning.

School donations in Pacific, Asia, Europe and other areas

Children in schools in remote areas of the Philippines have struggled when storms knock out electricity and internet access. The Church in September 2022 distributed 24 new portable and battery-powered servers from World Possible to several schools.

The small island of Moorea in French Polynesia only has one library to support reading in seven schools. In October 2022, the library received an upgrade and a donation of books from the Church.

Elder Frédéric T. Riemer, Area Seventy, left, and Manea L. Tuahu, Church’s Welfare and Self-Reliance Services manager, inside the Moorea Bibliobus, a mobile unit which goes out to neighborhoods in Moorea, French Polynesia, in October 2022. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Volunteers in Auckland, New Zealand, helped the organization Pacific Assist on Dec. 3, 2022 by loading desks and chairs onto a shipping container bound for schools in Fiji. Local school communities can use the furniture to improve educational experiences for children.

Other educational efforts in 2022 included giving 1,500 elementary school children in Lebanon each a backpack filled with pencil boxes, rulers, notebooks, sharpeners and erasers.  The collaboration between the Union of Relief and Development Associations and the Church aimed to help children be better prepared for school.

The Church worked with the Center for Youth Integration in Serbia to provide two drop-in gathering places for Roma schoolchildren in 2022. The Church financed school and hygiene supplies, office supplies, transportation and outdoor activities for the effort.

One of the drop-in facilities run by the Center for Youth Integration in Belgrade, Serbia. The facility helps Roma children with volunteers from the University of Belgrade and with funding from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
One of the drop-in facilities run by the Center for Youth Integration in Belgrade, Serbia. The facility helps Roma children with volunteers from the University of Belgrade and with funding from the Church. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Following the example of Jesus Christ

The Church of Jesus Christ gets involved because it is what the Savior taught, explained Bishop Caussé.

“Helping others and reaching out to the people in need is really at the heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We wouldn’t be the Church of Jesus Christ if we did not follow or strive to follow His example every day,” Bishop Caussé said.

Bishop Waddell expanded upon the commandment to love one’s neighbor.

“Who is our neighbor? Everyone is our neighbor. … We reach out to everyone, whatever their circumstances may be, wherever they may be from, whatever race or religion,” he said. “We’re here to bless everyone that we can bless.”

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