NBA-POM
Light Under the Trees: Bringing the Gospel and the Classroom to Nangua and Da-azio
How The New Breed Army and Pure Olive Missions are carrying the gospel, and a classroom, to two of the remotest communities in Ghana's East Mamprusi District.
In Da-azio, school begins under a tree.
There is no bell and no building. There are no walls, desks or blackboard stands, and no roof to keep off the harmattan dust or the midday sun. What there is: about 90 children, most of them between one and nine years old, gathered in the shade, and one teacher who chose to stay.
A year ago there was no school in Da-azio at all. Today there is one. It is fragile, open to the sky, and held together by faith and sacrifice. It is also proof that where a community is willing and someone is willing to serve, learning can begin anywhere.
Two communities at the end of the road
Nangua and Da-azio sit deep in the East Mamprusi District of Ghana's North East Region. They are among the remotest communities in the district. There is no electricity, no community clinic and no safe, reliable source of drinking water. Homes are built of mud and thatch, and the nearest services are a long, difficult journey away.
Education here has been left almost entirely to chance.
- Da-azio had no school of any kind until last year. Generations of children grew up without ever holding an exercise book.
- Nangua has one school, and one community volunteer teacher who handles Basic One through Basic Four alone, in every subject, every day.
These are not statistics from a report. They are the conditions our team walked into, sat in and prayed through.
One teacher, ninety children, and a tree for a roof
The New Breed Army started the Da-azio school last year. It has run under the trees ever since.
Its heart is one volunteer. This teacher chose to live in Da-azio: no lights, no clinic, no good water, none of the comforts most of us take for granted. Every day, this one person teaches about 90 children, most of them between one and nine years old. On top of that, the same volunteer pastors the community, leading worship, praying with families and walking with them through daily life.
There is no salary to speak of and no classroom to retreat to when it rains. There is only a calling.
This is what sacrifice looks like in practice: a calling, and a crowd of small faces who show up every morning because, for the first time, someone is there to teach them.
One teacher cannot carry this alone forever. That is why we went back.
The NBA-POM outreach: light for the soul, tools for the mind
The New Breed Army (NBA), in partnership with Pure Olive Missions (POM), returned to Nangua and Da-azio with two aims: to share the light of the gospel, and to strengthen teaching and learning.
This was not our first visit. NBA has served Da-azio before through medical missions, bringing basic care to a community with no clinic of its own. That trust opened the door for this outreach.
Ministering the gospel. Under the shade of the same trees that serve as classrooms, our team preached, sang and prayed with the people. Children sat cross-legged in the dust, mothers gathered with babies on their backs, and elders listened from their benches. We prayed over the sick, the weary and families one by one.
Empowering the schools. We delivered teaching and learning materials, including exercise books and writing supplies, to the schools in both communities, and placed them in the hands of the teachers who will use them.
Meeting practical needs. Clothing was spread out on tarpaulins and shared with children and families, and small gifts were handed to the children.
Listening to the community. Our team sat with the chief, elders and community leaders to hear their needs in their own words and to plan the next steps together. One need rose above the rest: a proper place for their children to learn.
Why it matters: every child has a right to learn
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) commit the world to leaving no one behind. SDG 4 calls for inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all. It builds on the earlier Millennium Development Goals, which set universal primary education as a global target.
"For all" must include the child in Da-azio. It must include the pupil in Nangua who shares one teacher with three other classes.
For us, this is also a matter of faith. The same gospel that speaks of light in darkness calls us to care for the whole person: body, mind and spirit. A child who learns to read can read the Word, run a business, serve as a nurse, or lead the community. Education is how the light we carry keeps shining long after our vehicles have left.
