This page highlights pictures from projects supported by Acts of Grace within the most recent five years.
Photos are listed in alphabetical order by charity name. Click on the charity's name to be redirected to its website. Click on the Grant Description link to learn more about each grant. These pictures are used with the express permission of the organization that provided them and are not to be reproduced for any other purpose.
Expanding the Opportunities of Special Education (Dominican Republic)
Grant Year: 2019
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Across the Dominican Republic, the need for special education is great. Public schools are insufficiently equipped with the resources or knowledge to accommodate children with learning disabilities and behavioural difficulties. Material poverty further prevents many children from accessing private special education. Sinergia Leadership Foundation is a network of 15 Christian schools in the Dominican Republic. Within the network, Espacio de Gracia Christian School is the only school dedicated solely to special education, filling an educational gap not only in its own region, but also in an educational system as a whole.
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Currently, Espacio de Gracia only has enough space to accommodate its 70 students and 7 staff. More space and expanded services are in high demand. However, property in the Dominican Republic is both limited in availability and extremely expensive. A neighbouring sister Christian school is inspired by Espacio de Gracia's mission and has space to add more classrooms. The schools have merged under the single name and mission of Espacio de Gracia located in the larger sister school.
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This project will renovate the existing school to add two floors to the building including 8 new classrooms, a science lab, a computer lab, 2 offices and a meeting room. This additional space will double the school's enrollment capacity. The renovations will also create opportunity for Espacio de Gracia to enhance as well as expand its unique services to better serve its students and their communities.
Grant Year: 2019
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Children with hearing difficulties face significant barriers due to a lack of understanding in the Congolese culture, which often perceives deaf as unintelligent and worthless. The Ephphata School for the Deaf brings love, hope and freedom to over 250 vulnerable children and their families in an accepting, Christ-centred environment that teaches skills for a productive, fulfilling life.
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Ephphata School is subject to the limited infrastructure of the DRC which provides only inconsistent and weak electricity. In 2018, a solar panel was installed to provide power for most of the school, but did not cover the carpentry workshop which is still powered by an old, inefficient, and costly generator. This results in students receiving insufficient training.
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Reliable and significant power from the new solar panel will transform Ephphata’s amateur carpentry workshop into a professional training centre including higher grade tools and machinery. With these upgrades, Ephphata School will be able to more effectively prepare students for self-sufficient independence by dramatically enhancing their carpentry skills to meet the highest professional standards. The new solar panel and enhanced training will also support the school’s long-term sustainability by enabling income-generating activities such as the production and sale of milled lumber and high-end furniture.
Abundant Leadership Institute (Rwanda)
Recurring Grant - Grant Years: 2017, 2018
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Each cohort of the Abundant Leadership Institute (ALI) is comprised of educational leaders from Rwanda and Central/East Africa. The approaches and frameworks presented during ALI are practical and Christ-centered, equipping these leaders to become catalysts for change in their own contexts.
Pictured here: An educational leader from Uganda represents his ALI peers during class discussion. He describes, through this image, the importance of raising a child holistically balancing academic excellence with developing his character in a fit body.
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Educational leaders participating in ALI attend classroom sessions once per quarter to begin each module with learning from a faculty member.
Pictured here: Dr. Mike Richardson (Columbia Bible College) demonstrates the concept of being an empowering leader to the Cohort 3 class. He explains the demonstration by saying, "empowering servant leaders stand as tall as they can while helping others reach beyond their self-imposed limitations."
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Each leader participating in ALI is paired with a mentor who provides insight, encouragement and prayer support throughout the 2-year program. Mentors regularly visit ALI students both in the classroom and at home during the program.
Pictured here: ALI mentor, Richard Taylor, spends time with a Cohort 2 student during one of the modules.
Since this grant was originally made, ALI has since been established as its own charitable organization, now called Kurumbuka Leadership Solutions, which is working with leaders from various sectors in addition to education. With a mandate focused entirely on developing and empowering African leaders, Kurumbuka is also developing additional programs that will empower leaders, connect influencers, and multiply solutions to support a growing movement of African leaders who want to find African solutions for African problems.
