What to do with ICA?

We were a group of pastors, doctors, school directors, teachers, accountants, businessmen, the president of the AEBECI (Association of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Côte d'Ivoire), a few members of his bureau and one missionary with WorldVenture. All twenty of us sat in the library at the former “Ecole Baptiste” (International Christian Academy) and thought about the question before us, “What could be done with a place like this?”

Bouaké Campus Think Tank – 28 April 2006

We had invited the president of the AEBECI to call a meeting of this kind so that we could begin to think about the future of this campus in Bouaké. When the school board of ICA handed the property back to the mission after 40 plus years of operation they specifically asked that WorldVenture Côte d'Ivoire maintain the place for a period of 5 years in the event that there might be some organization which would want to use the campus again as an MK boarding school. That is why ICA was built and it made perfectly good sense that it be maintained for such a purpose.

In June last year, Angelika and I had been asked by WorldVenture to do the job of maintaining the place while looking into other options for the future of this little piece of real estate in this divided country, realizing that there is a good possibility that ICA will never function again like it did as a full blown boarding program for MK’s in this part of the world. It is one of the hard realities that we face as we see fewer and fewer missionaries in Côte d'Ivoire. Most mission organizations have pulled out and those of us that are here do not have school age kids. This limits the demand and attraction for an MK boarding school in central Côte d'Ivoire.

That said, we had been pursuing options and this meeting was the first of many to come as we began the long, hard process of figuring out what to do with ICA the day the French troops decide to leave. With disarmament beginning to happen and the identification process underway in preparation for the presidential elections in October this year, we are hopeful that the French troops will be on their way soon. Of course we would prefer to be the ones asking them to move on rather than them moving on because of political changes in France!

As we began to deliberate and talk about a future for this campus an idea began to be formulated which has been on the minds of certain ones for some time. It was suggested and strongly supported by all those at this meeting that the ICA campus be turned into an American style Christian university with an emphasis in agriculture and development but with a missiological twist. As we began to think about this suggestion and the unique location of this campus close to a major city like Bouaké, its proximity to the state run University of Bouaké and the possibility of sharing professors, the proposition seemed to make sense.

One of the underlying themes that continued to be voiced was the fact that there is an education crisis in Côte d'Ivoire where schools do very well at giving out lots of information to students but it lacks greatly on the practical side. There is a tendency to lecture and prepare students for the upcoming exams but much of this kind of preparation has little practical value. One of the issues in the current conflict in Côte d'Ivoire is due to this kind of education which prepares poorly a student for the real world of the work place. As a result there are many students who have finished the equivalent of a master’s level course but have no options for employment and have no idea how to go about finding or generating employment other than trying to become a functionary of the state as a teacher or professor. This is one of the major criticisms of the French system of education which had been the model for Côte d'Ivoire from before its independence in 1960.

At this point we are at the looking-into-it stage. Nothing is poured in concrete yet but we do need move forward with some idea. Right now in Côte d'Ivoire there exist many private lycées (high schools) and grammar schools. These are due to the dearth of adequate public sector schools and the large influx of students in the south because of the education crisis in the rebel held north of the country. A university or college styled after a US system would be something new, daring, and could help reverse the current education crisis in Côte d'Ivoire. Not only would it prepare better students for the realities of the work place but it would also give tools to those who might want to use agriculture as a platform for missions work elsewhere in Africa. Supporting fulltime missionaries will always be a challenge for churches in Africa due to the logistical challenge of moving money around easily. We are still very much a cash-based economy where deals have to be backed up with hard cash. With agricultural training for missiological purposes, such a school could have a significant evangelical impact in the region.

As we begin to think about such a strategy we would welcome any suggestions and comments that might help us think more clearly concerning the future of this campus. We have only just begun to explore options and it is very possible that we are missing something altogether that you have been thinking about or better yet, involved in, which would help us do the right thing in this endeavor. We believe that God has used ICA in the past to educate many young people in a great setting and through a tremendous program for 40 years. It would seem that the future of such a school at this location is no longer an option.

We feel that we have a responsibility to move towards something with the AEBECI in the future. The AEBECI is the organization we are associated with in this country and the organization to which WorldVenture properties are generally handed over once WorldVenture no longer needs them. The AEBECI also has a keen vision for the future. Having the majority of its churches in the rebel controlled zone of the north puts this organization in a unique position as we move towards a period of reconciliation in Côte d'Ivoire. Most churches of other origins closed their doors with the rebellion, having been filled, for the most part, with southerners. Most pastors of these churches left the rebel zone while the majority of our pastors and believers remained. It has not been easy for them but they have managed and it is a stronger church for the struggle.

Thank you for your prayers and interest in this project. Remember, we are just sort of scratching about right now. We are a long ways from organizing classes and assigning dorm rooms. Thanks for any input you might have in this regard.

Tel : 225.05.29.23.46

Contact : rags@worldventure.net

AEBECI Contact : aebeci@yahoo.fr