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Carol Stream, Illinois 60132

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© 2024 Opportunity Internationala 501(c)3 nonprofit. EIN: 540907624.

Shalom… the way things ought to be.

By David M. Knibbe

While in Ghana a week ago, I visited the Peace International School. In this particular location just outside of Sunyani, Opportunity International and IDP Foundation Rising Schools are partnering to provide financial services and training to the private school’s proprietor so she can offer a quality education to more children living in poverty.

Our clients continue to remind us that their children’s education is one of their top priorities.  They tell us that their hope for the future is that their children will receive a quality education. This is the way it ought to be. We’ve learned that when our clients’ businesses flourish and grow, they begin sending their children to school.

When I heard the name Peace International School, it brought to mind a school which provides a service that makes things the way they ought to be. “Peace” is a great word. Many times, it is reduced to meaning just the absence of war.  Sometimes it means “as long as no one is yelling at each other, it must be peaceful.” However, the word “peace” in the Bible comes from the Hebrew word “shalom.” Now, “shalom” is a BIG word–one with a wide and expansive meaning. Neil Plantenga, in his book Engaging God’s World, uses this definition:

Shalom is when all things and all people are in perfect harmony and wholeness with each other and their Creator; when all things and all people are fulfilling their originally created and designed purpose.  Shalom is the way things ought to be.”

Peace International School…training up children in the way they should go…advocating harmony and wholeness and bringing shalom to their community. Click Here to learn more about Opportunity’s Banking on Education initiative.

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