“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

- Nelson Mandela

Support for Schools

COFA believes that providing students with the opportunity to attend quality Christian schools provides them with the educational and spiritual tools to reach their full potential and become effective and compassionate leaders of their families, communities, and nation. Such private Christian educational institutions either do not exist in low-income communities or require significant structural improvement. The inability of indigent families to afford private tuition at these schools adds an additional challenge.

COFA has helped schools in Mhluzi, South Africa and Kamwenge, Uganda. Churches in other rural communities have approached COFA for assistance in opening their own Christian schools. We hope to provide that help in the near future.

St. Peter Christian College

More than a decade ago, Pastor Mandla Khumalo and St. Peter Confessional Lutheran Church opened a preschool in Mhluzi, South Africa, which is the formerly segregated residential neighborhood outside of Middelburg. Parents soon asked for a place where their children could continue their Christian education. Pastor Khumalo and the church met that need in 2011 when with the creation of St. Peter Christian College. With the help of COFA it has steadily added new classrooms for its students as they progressed through their education, eventually becoming a K-12 school with 600 students. Some of the ways the school incorporates Christ into its educational program can be seen on our Preparing students for a Christ centered life page.

Construction Program

COFA has provided much of the funding for construction that has allowed St. Peter Christian College to develop into a modern educational institution that provides a quality Christian education. The construction program is still underway and needs additional funding. Plans for 2023 construction, estimated to cost $291,000, include completing a science laboratory and computer center, expanding the entrepreneurial center located on the campus and building a coffee shop that students can help operate, and building the infrastructure for a vegetable garden.

Program Support

COFA hopes to support several programs that will enhance the educational experience of students at St. Peter Christian College. It estimates that the total cost of the projects below will be $40,250 during 2023.

- Sport and leadership development

The school already retains outside coaching for netball and tennis. It would like to add coaching for soccer and chess for students interested in those activities.

- Technology upgrades

The school would like to offer more classrooms technology improvements, such as laptops, projectors and smartboards so that all teachers can take advantage of online teaching aids and work towards a more interactive classroom environment.

- Teacher development

The schools needs to continue developing and training teachers and school leaders to bring them up to date with the technology advances on the campus and to ensure that they continue to meet academic deliverables.

- Robotics program

The school plans to offer robotics as a subject in Jan 2024 and plans to work toward a rollout on that date by first implementing the subject as an extra curricular activity in 2023.

Student Scholarship Campaign

Many families are unable to afford tuition at Bethel Pre-School and St. Peter Christian College, so COFA has been funding scholarship for needy students. Recognizing the need to provide stable funding for scholarships, COFA has initiated a campaign to obtain $250,000 in donations annually over the next five years, with $50,000 designated to annual costs of scholarships and $200,000 toward an endowment for St. Peter Christian College scholarships. Earnings from that endowment can be used to provide scholarships indefinately.

Use the links below to see our Scholarship Page to see details about the Scholarship Program and profiles of the inspiring students that have benefitted from the generosity of COFA’s supporters. Click the buttons below to see the video and brochure supporting our Scholarship Endowment Drive.