Started in Josue’s home in 2012, with his two boys and a couple other kids, God's Grace for Kids is a Christian Day Care/K-12 School, in Cotonou, teaching students in its bright, colorful newly refurbished facility! Christian principles are taught daily to all students, regardless of beliefs in the family, so it has become a wonderful outreach tool for Josue’s ministry! In 2016-2017 school year, 63 students enrolled up to 4th grade as one grade per year has been added! Expansion plans have continued: for fall of 2024, 10th graders are the top class, with enrollment up to 205 students total! Many students speak a local language at home, so French and English are both being taught to help students progress globally!
Josue’s wife Prisca is the administrator, and the staff has grown appropriately. Josue was renting only the first floor of the building in the beginning, but added the second and third as the school grew in numbers. Before the patio space was needed for classrooms, it was used to raise chickens, teaching the students how to care for them! They were sold at market, providing funds for more tables and chairs at the school!
The building had been for sale almost since the day the school started—but God provided this answer to prayer: in 2015, Josue was able to strike a deal with the landlord of this property. If he could raise $100,000 by July 1, 2016, a contract would be written between them. That contract would allow him to pay the remaining $200,000 balance over 10 years, and Hope for Youth would own the building free and clear! At the very end, but in God's perfect timing, the $100,000 came in! Josue is now in his eighth year to make payments, and the school is providing profit to the ministry! Finally Prisca is able to draw a salary, helping family finances!
Sufficient funds have been raised to complete the purchase of the property next door as well! It will be used to expand God's Grace into high school grades and create a technical school as well, as soon as the building permit, filed for in 2020, is granted so that this expansion can occur! Please pray for this!
Every sixth grade student at God's Grace has passed the end of year government exam!!! This is required, or a student may not be offered any more education! And all the 9th graders, in the spring of 2024, also passed into 10th grade, even though the "rules" changed in February and they suddenly had to pass exams in a foreign language other than French or English! This showed competency at a second year level!!! This school is doing a fabulous job of educating each student, as they all passed into the next grade in the spring of 2024!
