Hotlin Sitorus is small woman of huge determination, faith and compassion. She is the Principal of the Manna School in Medan.

Back in 2007, she instigated and spear-headed the establishment of the Manna School and ever since then, has pushed forward with her dream of education for the impoverished and disadvantaged young children in current school’s predominantly Muslim neighbourhood. Her vision: “We need to let them (the children) know about the Grace of God, and we need to believe that every good thing we do for them now will have a positive impact for them in the future.”

Fast-forward to 2024 and this following story inspires faith in the generosity of those who support Asia Focus and the tenacity of Hotlin and her school staff to positively impact the education and future of their students.

In Hotlin’s words (with some editing) she explains:

Many of the children who come to Manna School are from families where the parents can’t afford the expensive fees of good schools with excellent facilities. Our students couldn’t compete with those students from wealthy families because we didn’t have the finances to upgrade our facilities. However, we work to make Manna School a good school, one where the children learn life skills to survive in the future.

We teach them to have faith in Jesus Christ and to have a strong and honest character. Of course, they learn the national curriculum and this includes technology.

At the beginning of 2023, we had only 3 computers in our computer room (note: there are 152 students at the school) and only one fan to try to cool the room as the children used the 3 computers daily on a rotational basis. You can imagine how hot this room became. But in August 2023, after an Asia Focus group visited and saw our desperate needs, money was raised through Asia Focus to help us. We were then able to purchase 8 computers, an air conditioner and pay for our internet fees.

Now, we have a good computer room where the students can study well because the room isn’t hot anymore. Besides that, I have a new laptop from an Asia focus donor because my old one was already broken. I am very grateful for this.

In October 2023, our school was able to conduct the National Assessment independently, as we had passed the regulations and accreditation. This makes Manna School different from other schools in our area. We are really proud of this as not all schools can stage the National Assessment independently.

Thank you very much Asia Focus – you have made a big difference. Through your help and encouragement, we are giving our students a good education with strong Christian values. This school will never let the children stop dreaming because they are born to poor parents. We want them have big dreams and be thankful.

Hotlin Sitorus, Principal, Manna School, Medan, Sumatra

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