After two months of absence I’m home again. I cannot describe to you what a nice feeling it is to roll up my sleeves and begin the challenging work of building something that will change the situation here to such a great degree.

When I returned, I was greeted by the end of the school year in our trade school. I had to review the results of numerous tests, while students anxiously looked towards my corner office, sweating with fear while they awaited their given marks. On November 27th two hundred and nineteen students completed the school year which had begun on January 8th. One hundred of them completed the two-year course (42 bricklayers, 24 carpenters and 34 tailors).

The school benches literally have no time to cool down, as we are already registering everyone interested in the new school year which begins in three weeks on January 4th 2010. We conducted admission tests for bricklayers, tailors and carpenters and registered the names of 120 new students. Soon we will conduct admission tests for our newest courses – for plumbers, electricians and welders. And we are busy preparing the course teaching material as well. This all means that there is even more work awaiting us, as we will have to increase the physical capacity of the kitchen... That is why I rewarded the teachers with a trip to neighbouring Burundi. Some of them have never travelled the 50 km to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, so you can imagine their happiness and excitement on this trip into the “unknown”. And Burundi was a really huge unknown for them, although the travel time is only an hour and a half by bus! During the entire journey, songs, laughter, dance and drumming was heard throughout the bus...

After returning from my trip away, my parishioners are constantly asking me questions about the construction of the secondary school. I myself feel a little shaken at the thought of how incredibly quickly everything has moved - from zero to now nearing our goal! And my Kivumans have already accepted the secondary school as imminent for their children. It is something they can only benefit from, since local tradesmen educated in our trade school, have become very popular with various construction sites all over the country.

And I am so proud to think that the secondary school shall mostly be built by the tradesmen, carpenters and bricklayers that have received their education in our very own trade school, Padri Vjeko Secondary School.

Translated by: Bitno.hr
Edited by: Valerie K. K.