Tu Tu’s Story
“Run!”
Nine-year-old Tu Tu jumped from his chair as his teacher shouted. He ran toward the door with his classmates. A bomb was coming.
“Into the bushes! Go!”
Tu Tu ran down the dirt path and dove into the bushes. Behind them, the bomb exploded. The ground shook.
That was the last day Tu Tu attended school in a real classroom.
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Tu Tu’s village barely gets by financially. The constant bomb threats make everything worse. While Tu Tu and his friends still manage to play and go to school, they’ve learned not to count on tomorrow.
Teachers don’t feel safe working here. Two already left last year, and while replacements arrived, no one knows how long they’ll stay. Tu Tu’s father considered sending him to a safer school, but that would mean living apart from his family and friends. For a nine-year-old, that’s too high a price. Tu Tu stayed.
But the aerial bombing made the school building too dangerous. So teachers moved classes to a safer but unconventional location: a cave. Getting there is harder than walking to the village school, but at least it’s more secure.
The difficult journey is just part of the problem. A cave isn’t built to be a classroom. There are no chairs, no lights, no boards.
When it rains, the students have no proper shelter from the downpour.
When lessons run long, they sometimes study in the dark.
For young students, it’s discouraging. But the teachers keep pushing them forward and tell them to pray when they’re afraid.
And God answered through you, proving no bomb can destroy God’s love, and no cave can hide us from His care.
Because you believed in our mission, Tu Tu and his schoolmates received:
- Backpacks
- Flashlights
- Raincoats
- Notebooks
- Pencils
- Water bottles
- Food and cooked meals at the cave school
- Materials and supplies for creating makeshift classrooms
But your impact went beyond physical supplies.
For teachers, it said: “Don’t give up. Your work matters.”
For parents: “Your children’s education is worth fighting for.”
For Tu Tu: “You matter. Your future matters. God has not forgotten you.”
His community was inspired by the support. Parents began taking turns cooking meals and building makeshift classrooms.
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The threats in Tu Tu’s village haven’t disappeared. But Tu Tu says the support he received motivated him to keep learning. “I am very happy and blessed to receive the supplies, food, and other help for the first time,” he gushed.
He wanted to send a message to those who supported them: “You helped many students in the jungle, striving for safety and survival. Your support and love encouraged many. Thank you so much for your help. May God bless you and your family. Your help impacts us in many ways.”
*Names changed to protect privacy.