Don and Jen Knebel
On a trip to Christel House South Africa, we were taken
aback by a particularly frank note posted on the bulletin board in the nurse's
office that would raise an eyebrow if not a protest if posted in an American
school. The note gave advice to students
about how best to deal with the urges that come upon pubescent teenagers all
over the world. When we asked the nurse
about the note and the picture that accompanied it, she said that it was an
effort to deal with the number one obstacle to getting students to complete
high school in South Africa. By the time
they are 18, about a third of all South African girls have given birth at least
once and most of the young mothers leave school for good.
Christel House
South Africa has attacked this problem with candor and compassion, recognizing
that Christel House children face enormous challenges, ranging from neglect to
sexual and substance abuse. As the note
on the bulletin board shows, Christel House does not ignore the potential
impulses of its students, any more than it ignores their need for food and a
quiet place to study. Instead, it
encourages students to make good choices in all aspects of their lives, with
extraordinary results. In the last 12
years, only 13 Christel House South African high school students, drawn from
the poor townships around Cape Town, have become pregnant and only one has
dropped out of school. In a country
where less than half of all students manage to finish high school, the graduation
rate for Christel House students is an astounding 99 percent.
Christel
House succeeds where other schools do not because it recognizes that schools
must administer to more than the brains of its students. It must deal with their hungry stomachs,
their sore feet, their tired eyes, and, yes, their awakening sexuality. That is one of the many reasons we support
Christel House.
Labels: Christel House, Christel House South Africa, Don Knebel, Jen Knebel, pregnancy, students
posted by Christel House Blog @
2:27 PM
