In Ethiopia each year hundreds of thousands of 12th grade students take a National Exam, and TLC students are no exception.  The government uses the results of this exam to determine whether students can go on to University, to which Universities they will attend, as well as which field they will study.  Students have no say in where they go to school, or what they study.  Students who score the highest on the exam will attend Universities, and others will attend colleges and vocational schools.

This year, the national pass rate for University was only 3%.  Thirteen TrueLight students took the National Exam, and of those 13, 5 scored well enough to move on to University. That is a pass rate of 38%!  We know that these scores are the fruit of years of study and hard work by the students, as well as countless hours of support and tutoring provided by TLC staff.  We praise God for the ways that He is using TLC to change the trajectory of our student's lives.

Those students will not be attending University, will go on to  study at a local college or vocational school.  This will allow them to transition to the workplace with necessary skills to become self supporting citizens.  In the fall of 2023 there will be a total of 22 TLC students who are attending University or college. 

The expenses for these students is markedly more than TLC children who are still in grade school, although the cost is minimal compared to US college expenses.  $1500 will cover the school fees, supplies, transportation cost, and monthly food stipends for a student's entire 4 years of study.

This is Soya.  She has been a part of TLC for over 12 years now.  After one of TLC's youth retreats she became a believer in Jesus. She has been hungry to know more about Jesus since then.  She volunteers at her church to help with the children's ministry and has formed a Christian fellowship with other students from her high school. She recently was accepted to University and will soon go on to college.

She worked incredibly hard at school,  because her mother is not educated and could not help her with her school work. She received tutoring from TLC and along with other support to help her succeed in her education.  

Just before she found out she was accepted to university, she had asked one of our Bible study teachers for a study Bible. She said she was still struggling to learn how to study the Bible well and gain more understanding of Scriptures. A study Bible cost $15, which is just over two weeks' salary from her mom. There is no way she could have purchased a Bible on her own.

We are so encouraged to see Soya and others like her have an eagerness to grow and learn from the Scriptures.  If you are interested in purchasing some Bibles for some of our older students who are interested in more in depth study click the link below.