Vision becomes reality for Lezha Academic Center
Lezha Academic Center, a vision of Klementina and Dini Shahini and an initiative supported by Virginia Mennonite Missions and Eastern Mennonite Missions, will open its doors in Lezhe, Albania in September 2011. A Vision Support Team is providing oversight to the school.
Klementina Shahini, an Albanian and American educator, will serve as executive director and principal of the school. Klementina and her husband Dini have begun transition plans and expect to move from Chesapeake, Virginia, to Lezhe by March 2011 to make preparations.
The school will begin with thirty 10th and 11th grade Albanian students who will study core curriculum subjects including Bible studies. ACS, a nonprofit organization, will offer rigorous academics in English with a Biblical worldview to prepare students to become leaders who apply Christian principles to life. VMM begins teacher recruitment efforts this fall, and a VST group traveled to Lezhe Nov. 20-26 to negotiate the lease for the school property. The approved business plan will lead to operations that are self-supporting by the fifth year.
An Albanian proverb “Weeps the field because it does not get any seeds” gives pause for both purpose and reflection. You can continue to help plant seeds in the springtime of the lives of Albanian children and youth. You can transform lives by continuing your investment in Christian education so “fields weep no more.”
It is time for planting seeds! You can help plant seeds with your financial assistance and prayers. The Albanian Christian School Vision Support Team and the Menonit Arsimor Shqiptar Foundation (MASF) welcome your gifts for this transition phase. The Mennonite Schools Council and the Mennonite School system in Detmold, Germany, are committed to assist as well.
While 70% of the start-up funds have been raised, more money is needed to support student scholarships and the purchase of curriculum materials and technology. There will be expenses to prepare the rental property for occupancy.