The Sahelian

Bullying! What is bullying all about? What does it mean to bully someone? Does bullying just involve hitting somebody till he or she bleeds? Is it just something physical? No! Absolutely not!

Yesterday in assembly, Uncle Brian (the director of Sahel Academy) shared some memories of his growing up years in Liberia - his memories of bullying. He told us a story about him and his friends when he was young.

His friend Billy was weak and was always sick. Jimmy was a bully and he always picked on Billy. Billy was always hurting. Uncle Brian and a couple of his friends felt that what was going on was plain injustice, but none of them had the guts to stop Jimmy.

One day, however, Jimmy took Billy’s bike and was riding about on it with Billy trying to follow on his heels. Uncle Brian got so mad that he told Jimmy to stop it. Jimmy did not listen to him, so he lunged at Jimmy on the bike. Unfortunately, his arm got stuck in the wheel. He was hurt, but he had stopped Jimmy from bullying Billy.

To cut a long story short, Uncle Brian, assured each and every one of us that the staff of Sahel Academy wants to make Sahel a safe place for every student. He advised us to talk to a staff member or our parents if we ever get bullied in any way. He also charged us to take a stand against bullies and to stop bullying before it gets started. The story struck a chord in the hearts of all who heard its powerful message. ~Susana, Antony, Adam

Today, Pastor Dave invited those who had birthdays in the months of July and August to his house, out near the American Embassy. There were around 10 people who showed up, eager to begin the festivities!

As we all waited restlessly for dinner, we chatted and shared things about the week with those that were around them. At long last, Uncel Dave emerged from his house and announced that dinner was ready! He then selected people to go first based on the date of their birthday!

The dinner was very exotic! Tacos were on the menu and everyone was eager to start making their favorite taco out of almost every topping available! Everyone indulged in the great fun of making tacos: putting on topping after topping as if the dinner was a food contest.

Soon afterwards, it was time to eat the cake! We all huddled into the room and gathered round the cake! The pastor told each of us to blow out one candle. After each one of us had successfully blown out one candle, we each got to partake in the delicious and decorative cake!

Next, was sharing time. We each had to share some information about our birth. Mine was pretty funny because at the time of my birth, I was kicking like a soccer-ball in my mother?s stomach!

We ended the night by playing a game I had never heard of. This game was called speed uno. It took a while after Uncle Dave told us how to play, but I eventually caught on. Soon afterwards you could feel the adrenaline of the intense game soak into your mind. You were always thinking ahead of what to do and you had no time to lose. It was a do or die situation!

The dinner was a great event to start off the school year and was a kind gesture from Pastor Dave and Aunt Anora that made all the July/August people leave feeling special and happy.  ~Jonathan

The actual event did not begin until 3:20, but all day long the entire school was talking about the teams and the competition that was to come. Red, Blue, Yellow and White shirts were prevalent in the classrooms and hallways. Every team had pride in their colors and their team members.

At 3 o?clock, the final bell rang and everyone got ready in nervous anticipation. Tents were being set up and rules read over by the team captains, score-keepers and referees. Each team was organizing their members so that they could score and defend well. Many parents arrived and found a spot to sit and watch the games. The heat was high, and the humidity added to the heat, did not help to ease the nervousness for the games to start.

But the heat did not matter. The games had started; the sweat began pouring. I can remember the excitement in the air. Scoring, passing, and defending for a whole afternoon; what could be better than that?

The first game was Blue-Red. Claire scored the first goal of the tournament. Every one was fresh and excited to play. As the afternoon progressed, each team played the three opposing teams once. By 6 o?clock, Blue team was in the lead and it was time for some fun. The teachers and parents decided that they wanted to play a game. Then, the students wanted to play against parents. It was a lot of fun to hear laughter and see parents, students and staff getting along so well.

The elementary children got to play kickball during the soccer tournament and the Red team came in first place. After all these games, everyone took a break for a wonderful potluck dinner. There was plenty of food to go around, and the socialization was great. The younger children ran around, very excited about the people and the amount of good food.

After the potluck, the games resumed. First, Red and Yellow played each other and Red won, passing onto the Final games. Immediately after, White and Blue played, with White winning and going onto the finals. There was a consolation game where the two last place teams played each other. Yellow won the game against blue, unfortunately, since I have great pride in my Blue team! I also must add that Blue only won through penalty kicks.

The final game was intense, Red and White both containing very competitive players. In the end, Red won the entire tournament, with the final goal scored by Rufus.

All in all, the day was very fun and everyone kept very good attitudes despite the heat and the competitiveness. Congratulations to the Red team! ~Suzanne and Trae

School began this very rainy morning at Sahel Academy with an assembly to introduce this year’s theme: Daily Eternity. We want to work together on living each day as if it counts in eternity - because it does! Our theme is taken from Col. 3:1-2 which says, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."

At the close of the assembly, we celebrated the life of one who personified our theme in her daily life, but who went to live with the Father in heaven this summer - Helene Zoolkoski. We have planted a tree on the south side of the dining hall, along with a plaque which says: "In Memory of Helene Zoolkoski, Parent-Teacher-Friend".

Join in our prayers for Chris, Elisheva, Zebadiah, and Joel Zoolkowski as they return to the states tonight to continue rebuiding their lives without their parent (wife), teacher, and friend.

Dan Field, on behalf of Sahel Academy Staff, shared the following commendation to the 2007 Senior class:

“I was particularly honoured and pleased when the senior class asked me to give the staff commendation as this class holds a special place in my heart since they were one the first classes I ever taught. I arrived at Sahel in October 2004 and after 2 weeks I began teaching math to the Grade 8 class who have now just finished 10th grade and the Grade 10 class who are the graduates we are honouring today. Both classes were challenging in opposite ways – the grade 8s refused to be quiet and the grade 10s refused to speak. Some things don’t change much.

"Daniel, you’re the first alphabetically and you were the first to arrive at Sahel. You are quiet and unassuming and don’t like to be in the public eye, but even so your honesty and integrity shine through. Academically you have worked hard and have been successful. You have served your fellows students well as part of a great Student Council. You have grown in your faith and your walk with the Lord. Today is a big day for you but I would say May 1st was a bigger day when you were able to make a public confession of your faith through baptism. Your love for your family is obvious to everyone, as is your love for your home in Tera. You now have to leave your home and your family as you go to college, but God will go with you. Trust Him and don’t be afraid to speak up for what you know to be right.

"DK, as you shared in your testimony a few weeks ago, you have fought some major personal battles during the last few years, but you have also experienced some victories with God’s help. You give yourself wholeheartedly to whatever you are involved in, and this year it seems you’ve been involved in almost everything. You have studied extremely hard (sometimes maybe even too hard!) and achieved academic excellence. As student council president you have grown in your abilities as a leader and the success of student council events does you credit. You have also served Sahel and the wider community as a member of the outreach committee. You plan to head to the US to study architecture, and if you continue to work hard as I’m sure you will, you will have success. Keep striving for perfection, but don’t get frustrated with yourself if you sometimes fall short. Remember the lesson God has been teaching you, that true fulfilment doesn’t come through good grades but through seeking first His kingdom.

"David, you may have been the last to arrive at Sahel but you have made a big impact in your two years here. You had a difficult and disrupted education and faced many challenges before you came to Sahel and it can’t have been easy for you to have to come here and find your feet in yet another new school. You deserve credit for the way you so quickly integrated into Sahel life. Despite the challenge of learning and using English, your third language, you have done well in your studies. You have a heart to serve. Your total of 140 hours of community service this year we believe is a Sahel record. You have a great love for children and the elementary students will miss you greatly. You have made a great contribution too with your work on the school website and as audio-visual technician for both school events and the Sunday Evening Service. Why is it you can solve technical problems but hate problem solving in math so much? You face another difficult transition to Korea, a country which is technically your home country but where you have never spent much time. Keep your eyes fixed on the God who has brought you through all the transitions you have made up until now.

"Emmanuel, sports is your area of excellence and I for one will never forget that hat-trick you scored in the last 10 minutes of the soccer game against La Fontaine, not least because that gave us the only proper win we have had in the 2 years we’ve had a team. You have served the school and the community this year as you worked on the outreach committee. As you shared with the secondary students last week, you have had many struggles in your time here at Sahel, but you have grown through those struggles, particularly in your walk with the Lord. You have had to say goodbye to some friends who were very important to you, but in doing so God has shown you more of the importance of relying on him. You are now at an important new beginning. It is great that you want to serve God in a special way with your life. God has blessed you with many abilities - work hard to exercise them for His glory. We will miss your big grin and the jokes about goats.

"Hadiza, you are another one who does not like attention and you’d probably rather just slip quietly away from Sahel without all this fuss, but we can’t let you get away without letting you know how much you have been appreciated during your time here. As teachers, we have been enormously impressed with your hard work, conscientiousness and attention to detail. These qualities combined with great ability have led to your excellent academic results.You have been a friend and willing help for your classmates. You would like to go into business and diplomacy. Your work ethic and focus will I’m sure drive you to business success. To be a diplomat, I’m afraid you may have to learn to talk a bit, but your integrity will make you an excellent ambassador not just for your country but also for your God.

"Ijeoma, you too have been extremely diligent and focused on your studies and you have gained great academic success. The way you worked to catch up on the assignments you missed during the weeks while away in Nigeria early in the year was really impressive. You also worked hard in fundraising for the senior trip this year which made it a particular shame you were unable to go. One thing I have noticed particularly more recently is your determination to make something happen when you are convinced it is necessary, whether that be persuading your math teacher to give you a retest because the first one wasn’t up to your usual standards (though that didn’t work out!) or finding a way to graduate from Sahel even though you had to leave at Easter (more successful). This hasn’t been an easy year for you, but we are delighted that you are here today to receive a well-earned diploma from Sahel. I understand chemistry isn’t really your favourite thing, so the doctor idea has been replaced by a future career in finance. It will be a good day for Nigeria when Obinna O. is President and Ijeoma O. is Chief Finance Minister.

"There are four traits which I think serve as a good overall summary of the character of this class – excellence, hard work, service and integrity. The world, which you are about to enter, is in desperate need of people with these qualities. You have done well so far, but this is only the beginning. You will find yourself in many situations in life where you will be tempted to compromise and take the easy option. I want to challenge you to keep going, to keep developing these qualities, looking to God to give you the strength to do so. If you do, then you will be successful, useful members of society in whatever the situation you find yourself.

"Seniors, it has been my privilege, our privilege as a staff, to be your teachers over the last few years. Thank you for your work, thank you for the great memories you have left us with. Our prayer for you is that you might know God’s richest blessing as you walk with him into the future he has prepared for you.”

This year’s annual banquet celebrating our graduates was held at Le Gourmet, a local Lebonese restaurant. The junior class worked hard and prepared an entertaining program enjoyed by the 53 staff, students and parents in attendance. In addition to the slide show packed with memories for the seniors, the eleventh grade class added a comical prediction of the future for each senior. Here’s what they had to say.

Daniel D: This young man will be a missionary in Tera, working as an archaeologist on the side, and working on his Doctorate in American History through offline courses. During this time, he will be busy on his latest discovery, "The pre-fossilized Tera-ist." After acing his history exams, he will meet the woman of his dreams. Bethany Jenkins will be working along side with the Cleaner Earth Foundation, showing Nigeriens how to make proper use of their manure. It will be love at first site when Daniel stumbles upon her in his Salanga which caves in. Daniel and Bethany have 5 kids. For chores or punishment the children will dig Zia holes. They will live the rest of their lives in Tera and make up the Tera anasara population. The town will name their official soccer games the DeValve cup. Unlike his father, Daniel will never be mistaken for Zidane while playing in the DeValve cup. Daniel lives to be 85.

Daniel K: Our bright and thoughtful DK will become a famous architect and will be working on the newest addition to the Chicago skyline. This corporation will be working along side with the V-White foundation of rubber concrete. During the prime of his life, DK suffers a minor accident. It goes on record as an RCBB (Rubber Concrete Bouncing Back). While in the ER, DK falls in love with his anesthesiologist named Raziel. After complicated dating, they marry and have a dog (kids don’t come until a year later). Happily married with 2 kids, DK is now running his own company - Kim Young Skies. DK becomes the top competitor and makes it big. Upon retirement, DK and Raziel move to Ghana. Raziel continues to put people to sleep as she does story time for the kids of Ghana, and DK spends time studying his architecture books and creating new building ideas for Ghana - and teaching Tae Kwon Doe. DK lives to be 87.

David: Our beloved David marries after graduating college. With a major in computers and a minor in childcare, David opens up a childcare center in Korea, You Childcare. His wife Kate stays home and looks after their 7 kids. When David is not at the childcare, he is working as a computer programmer. He creates and sells 4 games that hit it big on the market. "Useless Goats" and "T for Too Good" win him a job at the Microsoft Corporation in Korea. All is going well until Y2K2 hit. Microsoft looses a lot of money. On the rebound, David designs an invaluable backup program and defeats Y2K2 which makes him rich. He expands You Childcare. You Childcare becomes know worldwide and opens up centers around the globe. David, now with 38 grandchildren, retires to the Bahamas with Kate. David lives to be 94.

Emmanuel: Eman becomes a well-known pastor in Ghana and runs a soccer summer camp for children. Camp Yeboah teaches many famous soccer players. Drogba and Messi both send their children to Camp Yeboah. With all his success, life just gets sweeter for Eman. While on one of his campaigns, Eman meets Sarai. Sairai is working as a cafeteria lady in one of the places where Eman’s tour stayed. Emman spills his jello on the floor, and Sarai comes to clean it up. Sparks fly as their hands touch while cleaning up the slippery jello together. Sarai and Eman get married in a hut, and as a wedding present from his friends, they receive Jerry and Obi. Jerry and Obi, the pet goats, have it good. Whenever Eman isn’t at Camp Yeboah, he is taking care of Jerry and Obbi. Sara and Eman have two kids. Eman continus to be a pastor and work at Camp Yeboah. Eman lives to be 88.

Hadiza: Gifted and single, Hadiza manages a successful fashion boutique in Nigeria called Sparky Sarki, which soon has its headquarters in Champs Ellyses. With her pet cat Fat Louie by her side, Hadiza travels the world learning and creating new things for Sparky Sarki. Hadiza does so well that she becomes known worldwide and in doing so, Sparky Sarki puts Dior and Louie Vuitton out of business. Fat Louie lands the lead role in Garfield’s "Tale of Two Tribes." Celebrities around the world order Red Carpet dresses from Sparky Sarki for the opening of this movie. Hadiza lives life to the fullest. Driving in her Mercedes Bends or flying in her private Redeye, Hadiza travels to other fashion shows around the world. Hadiza lives to be 89.

Ijeoma: IJ becomes a very successful doctor whose crowning achievement is the development of an immunization for malaria. Many countries pay IJ for her antidote. Soon IJ has enough money to open her own Malaria clinic. On weekends, IJ tutors kids in Chemistry. Ijeoma Vaccinations becomes based in Nigeria and helped many people. Nominated for a medical award, Ijeoma Vaccinations becomes well know throughout Africa. IJ falls in love with her neurologist, Jim, and they marry and have one child. IJ and Jim spend the rest of their lives together helping those in need. In their honor, the people of Nigeria make a statue of a syringe that can be seen from outer space to repesent Ijeoma Vaccinations. IJ lives to be 90.

~mostly Adam and Valerie

Mission Impossible was really fun. It started with everyone going into the dining hall. Mr. Bliss read over the rules. When he was done our team got together and talked for a minute. This is the concept of the Game: There are two teams of Spies (students) and one team of Enemy Agents (staff). The first order of business is to find your team’s Pick up and Drop off point as well as bombs that are randomly hidden around campus. At the pick up point each team member receives a microfilm (and occasionally a clue to help find important bombs worth many points or a water grenade that can temporarily take out an Enemy Agent). You must then successfully deliver that microfilm to your team’s drop off point. Easy, right? Not so simple; for there are enemy agents out to catch you in the process. If you get caught by them you have to hand over your “life” (wrist band) and any other effects they ask for and go back to base to get a new “life”. To safely pass by an enemy agent, you have to dodge their ball or hit them first with one of the water balloons that are passed out to your team every 10 minutes or so at your pick up point. For the first 20 minutes or so, spies were running around in confusion. I felt like a chicken with it’s head cut off as I dodged enemy agents in search for our pick up and drop off points. Once we found them, we weren’t running crazy anymore. We ran back and forth from pick up to drop off so many times. Finally Mr. Bliss called us all in. He announced what each team had managed to secure at their drop off points and then the totals of both teams. The other team shouted for joy; they had outdone us by 9 points. ~Noah & Andrew

The Sahel Suns soccer team finally got the victory they had so much longed for. This was a very crucial match against Ecole Yasmina because they had drawn a game and lost the other three. But in this last game, the Suns put forth their every effort and surprised Yasmina with a comeback win. Yasmina opened the scoring early with a goal which could have been prevented. Nevertheless, the suns were not downhearted and made some great changes with the help of Emman and DK controlling the midfield. They scared the opposition defense with some wild shots. Then Yasmina struck again and, well, it looked like that was it for the suns. They seemed to be heading for another defeat when DK passed the ball to Emman who then passed it to David immediately. David ran forward and kicked a leading pass to Emman who slammed the ball into the back of the net.  After that, there were great plays from the Sun defenders who stunned the opposition by intercepting many of their passes. Emman equalized with a very lucky header in the dying minutes of the game. The game had to be decided through penalty. The opposition missed three of their penalty shots, but the suns cruised to victory by scoring all five penalty shots. Alas, the suns have finally achieved glory with the help of Mr. Field?s and Uncle Brian?s tactics.