Recently Khushi, a Bangladeshi teacher from GEMS, travelled to New Zealand to visit Baptist Church supporters and share about the work of the school. She talked with Andrew Page about her motivation for being involved in the work.
“The Bible says in Acts 20:35 that you get a greater blessing by giving than by receiving. We need to believe that and act upon it. I have things I need, but how can I be happy? It’s by working for others so that they can find life. For me, that is what GEMS is about. It’s about helping others and, in so doing, helping my country. If we don’t help the next generation, they will never grow and our nation will never change.”
When asked about her involvement in GEMS (a joint New Zealand/Bangladeshi Baptist initiative), these were Khushi’s first words... words that reveal what is at the heart of the school and her involvement in it—changing a generation and giving hope to a nation.
“There is one particular thing that makes GEMS special and makes it different than other schools. It’s the attitude of the teachers. We have teachers from all different backgrounds but we all work together to provide an education that goes beyond basic schooling. We try to help children with all their challenges.”
What Khushi went on to describe is what we might call a ‘holistic’ education. It’s about giving children an education, but also impacting their character and answering their greater needs.
“The children in our school face all sorts of challenges. They may be physical, or they may be struggling with some aspect of their work. It may be an emotional problem or some wider issue. We try to help them. It’s this that sets GEMS apart from other schools within the schooling system here.
“Others—people from other schools, or families of the children here—notice that we are different and watch us to see what we do and how we act. We simply try to give the blessing and hope that someday, in some way, fruit will come from it.”
Please continue to pray for Khushi and the staff and students at GEMS.
