By Randal Dick
NUWARA ELIYA, Sri Lanka-- This is one of the church's true success stories. Upon getting to know the Sri Lankan brethren, I've begun to think of them as "the little church that could."
Many times I've watched countless glasses of iced tea being consumed and have wondered where all that tea came from. I had heard of Ceylon Tea, and that tea must be picked by hand--only two leaves and a bud are selected from the plant.
Now I sit and marvel as our train labors along through steep hillsides covered with sculpted carpets of tea bushes. Women and children with bags over their shoulders are nimbly plucking the two new shoots from the plants.
We are near Nuwara Eliya, a small Sri Lankan mountain city, five hours from Colombo, the capital. This is the home of the Worldwide Educational Institute.
WEI began in 1986. Herbert Armstrong visited Sri Lanka in 1984 and was asked by President Junius Richard Jayewardene to do something for Sri Lanka.
A foundation was formed, and Ambassador Foundation began to operate a school called the Waterfield Educational Institute.
WEI was designed to train young Sri Lankans to function in the modern business world. It was non-denominational and offered scholarships to deserving young people.
The late Joseph Tkach changed the name of the institute in the early 1990s to Worldwide Educational Institute to more accurately reflect the work of the church.
Ambassador University provided students who were trained in teaching English as a second language (ESL).
However, declining income forced the closure of Ambassador Foundation projects in 1995. After graduation in December of that year, Worldwide Educational Institute was officially closed. Even the brass plaque that had rested beside the main entrance since the opening of the school was taken back to the United States as memorabilia.
But the Sri Lankan brethren, who had no involvement in the institute before that time, rallied, together with their pastor, and made a plea for the school to remain open.
They felt the church could continue to operate the school as a service to the nation and continue to have a spiritual effect on the next generation of leaders.
They urged Mr. Tkach to give them a chance to continue running the school as an outreach of the Worldwide Church of God, Sri Lanka. They had no money, and neither did we. But the late Mr. Tkach, always one to support the weak and give progress a chance, agreed.
The Australian churches agreed to supply a small amount of money as a safety net during that first difficult year. Now the scramble began to regain some enrollment. Because the school was already closed, students had begun to make other plans for their education.
Word was out all over Sri Lanka that Waterfield was a thing of the past. The WEI team, led by director Joe Piotrowski and Bharat Naker, pastor of the Sri Lankan church, as well as Sharmila Hassan, a WEI graduate, began to advertise far and wide that Waterfield, now to be known as Worldwide Educational Institute, was open and ready to serve the youths of Sri Lanka.
Bharat told me during this trying time that the church was praying for God's will to be done. They needed about 60 paying students. God provided 63 to start the 1996 school year.
On this trip, as we pulled into the WEI grounds, we saw more than 120 smiling and waving students gathered for a school photo.
The second major obstacle the Sri Lankans had to overcome was finding teachers. They had no qualified teachers and no money to hire anyone. The first break came when Joe Piotrowski, director of the project, put his plans aside for a year and remained as director. Two Ambassador students set aside their educational plans and went to Sri Lanka to serve as teachers.
However, WEI needed more teachers. The answer was Sri Lankan teachers who were graduates of WEI, familiar with its philosophy and operating style.
During the 1996 school year the search began for a new director. After nearly a year of searching, a new director was located. He is Robert Reeves, a Sri Lankan known to the school who had been given a full scholarship to Ambassador in 1992.
Robert became a member of the Worldwide Church of God while at Ambassador. He married Zephani Santibanez, from the Philippines, after they graduated in 1995. The Reeves, three AU students and six WEI graduates serve as the faculty and staff.
The students, ages 19 to 22, learn English, computer literacy, typing and basic accounting. WEI focuses on recapturing true values. Students and parents of various religious persuasions value this emphasis.
Sri Lanka has the typical economy of a developing nation. Anyone with skills to effectively compete in a Western technological environment is in demand. I met several people in various business roles who told me that they were WEI graduates. Several told us their WEI training made the difference in their obtaining a good job.
Judging by the enrollment level and the enthusiastic students, I would say that WEI is a success in the making. However, I also noticed how they are limping along with outdated equipment.
In 1996 church headquarters in Pasadena sent WEI seven used computers pieced together from spare parts. When I walked into the class room, I saw those computers being used and appreciated as if they were new.
The school has one ailing dot matrix printer that they carry back and forth from office to classroom. They have a copier that is on its last legs. It would be a tremendous blessing to WEI if they could obtain additional, possibly better equipment. The Sri Lankan brethren have done so much for themselves, on behalf of their country, that I want to share their needs. Perhaps someone will read this just when their company is getting rid of old computers, and would like to donate them to a worthy cause.
I receive a steady trickle of inquiries from members and ministers, wanting to know how they can help other brethren.
I commend the Sri Lankan brethren for their heart, their vision and dedication to reflecting Jesus to their people. If you can help, please let me know.
WATERFIELD INSTRUCTORS--
From left: Jeanine Eagle, Kyle Patmor,
Robert Reeves, director, and Angie
Andrews.
April 22, 1997, WN, pages 8 and 9
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