On March 9th, NES (Nehemiah English School) started its full-time semester with one student.

While it may seem odd that we would launch our Nehemiah English School program with just one student, CoVID-19 delayed the start of all schools in Korea, and initiated strong social distancing practices. This made it extremely challenging to accept applications and begin working with prospective students. However, there was one student who had been fervently waiting for the school to start, and our staff at NGI did not want to make her wait any longer. And so we began our Nehemiah English School year. 

Thankfully, we hired a new administrator for NES, who has worked hard to put together an effective curriculum, has worked with our staff  to develop attainable teaching methods, establish guidelines, etc. Because our core staff members who manage and operate the school are not professional teachers, they have had to go through many training sessions, tests, trials, and errors to arrive at our current standard. Every single staff member and volunteer is giving their all in an effort to build a strong foundation for the school. Through daily prayers and intensive research, we continue to seek the right steps to support the Nehemiah mission, and the students who participate in our courses.

English is known to be the biggest problem for North Korean refugee students that have come to South Korea. This is due to their lower quality of education, no access to English language materials, and little opportunity to use it in their daily lives. However, in order to successfully complete their studies in South Korea, English language skills are necessary. With this in mind, there is a high demand for our English Language classes. We offer a safe, supportive environment where students can learn and find mentorship for their journey.

Our program is quite rigorous, starting each day at 9:30AM and ending at 3:30PM. There are three sessions throughout the day, consisting of: 1) Review, where the student and the teachers review the past materials and repeat exercises needed. 2) Side by Side teaching with an English as Second Language (ESL) teacher who is a native English speaker, 3) Grammar, which is a class run in Korean in order to help deeper understanding of grammar taught in the previous ESL session. Phonics are also included in this third session.

Once the threat of CoVID-19 has eased, we will be opening up English classes to the students who can attend 1-2 times a week. In order to do this, we desperately need voluntary teachers who are interested in helping North Korean refugee students with their English language studies. Each volunteer will provide an indiscriminate opportunity to learn English, experience the pure joy of learning and gaining knowledge,  and be provided with the opportunity to embrace a brighter future.

In order to best help, there are two things you can do. Firstly, consider volunteering as an English teacher to a North Korean refugee student. Secondly, please spread the word that we are in need of teachers so that anyone willing to give their hearts to our friends from North Korea will feel the call to this opportunity.

Lastly, please join us in prayer and financial support so that NES can bear fruits in the lives of all participants, and that NES would become a place where teachers and students all grow together. Thank you so much for our continued prayer and support for NGI’s missions. If your organization or institution is interested in partnering with NGI in this ministry, please reach us at 02-63-8488 or click the link below.

Nehemiah Global Community Center(NGCC)