Boarding School (1996)

Excerpt from the draft of “Apostle to the Pygmies – The Doctor Jerry Galloway Story”

In December, I made plans to build a boarding school for the 31 Botoa students who attend the junior high school. The students do not get enough to eat; they are always sick, miss school, and therefore are unable to study. They usually only have one real meal in the evening. It is unreasonable to expect them to stay in school and attend the two-hour study in the afternoon when they are weak and hungry.

The mission has a center to train the barefoot doctors. The center has two dormitories, each with ten beds. These dormitories are in use only nine nights a month. There is also a large yard behind the building and two brick houses with two rooms to house eight students.

We plan to make bricks to build six more dwellings, of which some will house two women and a cook who will live on the premises. The students will cut firewood, cut the grass, plant a large garden, wash the dishes, and clean the dormitories and houses. The large dining room will double as a study hall. There is a solar panel to charge a battery to provide light for three hours at night. There is also a two-room apartment with running water, a shower, and a toilet. I will stay there at the beginning to make sure all goes well.