Little Davey Rides Again!
Rod and Sherry Boyd

David (Little Davey) and Deborah Kaiser did it again! The Kaisers and the rest of the Little Davey Project team assembled 75 computers and set up 5 computer labs over the course of a week in May. A sixth school that the team was not able to visit also received 8 computers. David and Deborah raise funds to purchase the computer components from both individuals and businesses. David reminds us that the Lord always comes through at just the right time, but rarely early! It is a walk of faith. The team was a perfect balance of veterans and rookies… 5 of each. The veterans know the ropes, from hard drive imaging to computer assembly to lab set-up to cabling. Of course, it doesn’t take long for the rookies to catch on! The rookies remind us to look for the things we often take for granted. The team arrived on Friday night and began building computers on Saturday. We ran into some hard drive imaging issues, so the process took a little longer than usual. Sherry, Deborah and a couple other ladies went shopping for teacher supplies. Little Davey also raises funds to give each teacher a bag of teacher supplies at the schools they visit. The Kaisers also have contact with the Nike Corporation and each year Nike Panama donates several soccer balls—5 for each school this year! They arrived deflated, so blowing up the balls was another task for Saturday. After Sunday morning service and lunch, the rookies visited the Panama Canal and did some shopping while most of the veterans returned to continue building computers. We had almost 50 finished by the end of the day. The Tocumen Fountain of Living Water School was the first school to visit on Monday. The whole team worked to unload and unpack the components and begin the lab set-up. Then half the team visited classrooms for English and cultural teaching. Each of the children received a handout that talks about the team and their hometown. The handout also included the verse “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13) and reinforced this truth with an activity page. We’ve heard many testimonies of the children sharing this handout with their parents. The team also presented each teacher with their bag of teacher supplies during the classroom visits. This year David and Deborah wanted the opportunity to interview the computer teacher, director and pastor whenever possible. He wanted their perspective on why teaching computer needs to be a priority in the school. The most memorable interview was at the first school we visited. The Tocumen School received 15 computers in the combination computer/language lab. This lab is used to teach computer to elementary children and English to elementary and secondary students. The teacher in this lab is teaching both subjects and requires training in both disciplines. She reminded us of how important these two subjects are and how the computer is vital for teaching English. Panama is a Spanish-speaking country with surface-level exposure to English. The computer lab offers well-developed audio-visual and interactive programs to effectively reinforce English learning and to provide opportunity for students to hear native English speakers via audio and video programming. The Tocumen school has a second computer lab for secondary students. We were amazed to hear about the breadth and depth of teaching and learning that is taking place. Since our schools participate in the Microsoft Academic License program, they have an abundance of software available from the Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook, etc.) to several programming titles including Visual Studio. We concluded our time at the Tocumen School with a dedication of the computer lab. Then we presented the soccer balls to the PE teacher. After a late lunch, we returned to continue building computers. On Tuesday, the team delivered 15 computers to the Canaan Good Shepherd School and 12 to the nearby Soldiers of Jesus Good Shepherd School. Both of these schools are directed by Ana Taju. The Soldiers of Jesus School was started as an extension and outreach of the Canaan School is located just 4 blocks away. Ana started this school in her home and because of growth moved to a nearby building. Because of lack of space, the computer lab is in a room at the back of her house. Then it was back to assemble the final computers that remained. On Wednesday the team traveled to the Aguadulce Good Shepherd School. Little Davey Project was inspired by a little boy that attended this school. (See Aldo’s Story.) This smaller school received 10 computers. The school is in a new campus and required assistance from one of our other schools. Two years ago Ana Taju was asked to provide oversight. She made the trip with us to the school. The school prepared a delicious “arroz con pollo” lunch and sent the team on their way. On Thursday the team delivered 15 computers to the Arraijan Good Shepherd School. This school is built on the side of a hill. Space is at a premium. The team was impressed with the “creative use of space” that included wall to wall desks to accommodate this growing school. As is our custom, we had the team over for dinner on the last night. It’s a great time to say thanks and to talk about the experience at the schools. One experience stood out to most of the group, especially to the veterans. It was an experience that reminded us that we have just a part in the process of transforming lives for the Lord; that He has passionate people in these schools that persevere. Ana Taju is one such person. Because of her love for children, passion for the Lord and gifted leadership, the Lord has used her to start two schools and oversee a third. In total, these schools are ministering to 1,110 children and youth. All of us feel honored to know her and to be a part of her team that with the Lord’s help is transforming lives for God! Thank you, David and Deborah for your vision and leadership. And thank you Little Davey Team for blessing the children and youth of Panama.