The Lifestyle Christian Academy just outside Worcester was finally able to officially celebrate the opening of their High School last Friday.
This has been a long time coming and was made possible by the efforts of various people and pioneered by reverend Jongwoo Kim. Kim and his family moved to South Africa fifteen years ago and relentlessly worked toward this goal.
In 2012 Lifestyle Christian Academy merged with Shofar Christian Church. At that stage, it was just a primary school. The school also nearly closed at the end of 2012 but then Kim took over the reigns from pastor Gerhard Kotze. Not long after a school was built on the Ywam premises and reopened in 2013. They started with seven learners and by the next year it had grown to 45, and the school erected a new building to house the primary school.
Reverend Kim and his wife, Connie, continued to reach out to their fellow Koreans for donations to help them build a high school. Koreans from various churches and individuals’ financial help made it possible for the Kims to buy land and then to pay for the construction of the building that was designed by a Korean architect living in America.
Reverend Kim passed away in 2018 and his wife has since taken over as the school’s headmaster. The school was completed in 2022, but due to waning Covid-19 regulations and other factors, celebrations had to be postponed.
As she addressed the guests and learners at the ceremony Connie Kim was emotional. She thanked all the guests and everyone who has donated toward the completion of the school over the years since they started this journey.
“They say it takes a village to raise a child. But do you believe it takes a village to educate a child? Yes, it does, it is a collective effort and so many people have been a part of it.”
