Welcoming a new year with hope and gratefulness

Happy New Year,

As we welcome the new year 2025, we can’t stop being grateful for the journey 2024 has been. Although sweet and sour, all our challenges help us grow every day and shape our upcoming actions.

After the holidays, the students have returned to school, but sadly, there will be one empty spot in our classroom. When some were busy celebrating, a family had to say a forever goodbye to a child; our community was mourning. One of our students, a little boy from 2nd grade, departed this world. Ndala Augustin, 8 years old, will be deeply missed.

While words cannot express the sadness of this loss, we can’t stop wondering why.  Why has it to be a child so young? What if they had access to good healthcare? Could he still be alive? What if the children in poor communities had equal access to good nutrition, clean water, good social conditions, and more? Maybe under those circumstances, that child could have survived through that short illness that took his life. But again, the more we think about these deep questions, sometimes the more powerless we feel.

But we shouldn’t be blocked by feelings of hopelessness. We learn every day. And just as our name states, we’ll keep thinking about life and do our best to give hope. We are ready to welcome every day, seeing each one as a new gift to unwrap.

Support Our School

For the Life-Hope team,

Aimée Paulsen.