History
The Story of the Mustard Seed School
The story of the Mustard Seed School begins with a brave and dedicated woman named Razafiarisoa Elisabeth, better known as Razafy. She is the mother of the current principal of the Mustard Seed School.
Razafy had a life story filled with challenges and hardships, but she was determined to use her life to make a positive difference for Malagasy children.
In the 1980s, Razafy found work as a housekeeper for a group of Norwegian missionaries who would later play a central role in the school's mission through the Association for Schools in Madagascar.
Razafy had already endured a difficult childhood and a time as a widow and single parent with five children. Job opportunities had been sporadic, but Razafy was always focused on helping those in need.
She opened her modest home to poor women with small children, allowing them to live with her family. Once, she encountered a young girl at the train station trying to sell her newborn baby to passersby. Razafy rescued both the mother and the child and spent months working with the girl's family to facilitate a reunion.
This was typical of Razafy—she was always there for those who had no one else to turn to. She was a fearless and resourceful woman and was also politically active for a time in an attempt to improve people's living conditions.
Razafy felt called to build a school for the poor children in Antsirabe who did not have the opportunity to attent school due to economic challenges.
Many of these children had to work to help support their families or beg on the streets.
One of the Norwegian missionaries Razafy worked for was Eva Wallem Nielssen. In 1992, Eva, who had by then moved back to Stavanger, received a letter from Madagascar in the mail.
It was Razafy writing to share a grand vision.
She was convinced that it was God's will for her to build a school for the poor children of Antsirabe. Too many children were illiterate; they could neither read nor write. Instead of going to school, many of them had to work to help earn money for their family's livelihood. The alternative was to go downtown to beg or do nothing.
Razafy saw that she had a calling. She would do something for some of these children.
Even though her house had been severely affected by a cyclone twice just before this letter was written, she was asking for money to build a school. But the founders of the support association did not initially have high hopes for the project. They informed her that it was too large a project for them to participate in building a school.
But Razafy proceeded anyway.
In 1994, she wrote again to say that she, along with one of her sons, had made several thousand sun-dried bricks that the school would be built from. They were now drying in the sun on her property. These bricks were made from the characteristic Malagasy red earth, mixed with cow dung and finely chopped straw. With water from the river, she made a thick "paste" that could be packed into wooden molds and then quickly knocked out and laid on the ground. The school building was to be set up on her former cornfield, close to her home.
Several times, she had defied her neighbors' warnings of misfortune because she was experimenting with new crops on this cornfield. The fear was that the ancestors would punish her for changing their customs. Once again, she embarked on a project on this patch of land, regardless of what others thought.
Now was the time to begin building a small school building consisting of two classrooms with space for 25 students in each room.
In the letter, she asked for help with funding for the construction of the walls, benches for the students, as well as two desks and two blackboards. Eva, who was impressed by the initiative of her former housekeeper, engaged her sewing association and other good friends to help raise money for this and sent out requests. In addition, they provided funds to purchase a piece of land adjacent to her own property so that the students could grow corn and beans for a daily school meal, which the students would cultivate themselves.
At this time, Per and Sigrun Skjæveland were working as teachers at the Norwegian school in Antsirabe. Razafy approached the couple and shared her school project with them. With strong support from their families in Norway, the two joined in the construction phase of the school and have contributed both practically and financially to the project ever since.
The first school building was completed in 1994. Over time, this project became larger than any of Razafy's friends in Norway had ever dreamed of.
The First Students
The First Students
Just before the school year started, Razafy, a deacon, and Sigrun Skjæveland went around the northern district of Antsirabe looking for school-aged children in shacks and huts, in the streets, under staircases, in parks, and at the markets. The children they encountered explained that they were not attending school because they had to work and earn money for their families.
After finding the children, they approached their parents and initiated a form of negotiation: "Can't your children work from 6:00 AM to 8:00 AM? Then they can come to us for food and free education from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. After that, they can work for the rest of the day."
Some parents quickly embraced the idea, while others were gradually convinced of the importance of education. This effort soon proved to have a significant impact on the children and the neighborhood as a whole.
In addition to basic literacy and writing instruction, the school has always focused on instilling a sense of self-worth in the children and strengthening their self-esteem. As part of the curriculum, students first learned about personal hygiene, how to greet politely, say thank you, and how to use a pit toilet, a common practice in Madagascar.
The School Gains Public Accreditation
In 1995, the school received public accreditation and began following the national curricula. The students took exams as private candidates and achieved excellent results. Razafy's daughter Noro, who had just completed her six-year education at the teacher training college in the capital, was appointed as the school's principal. She took a job at a nearby high school so she could manage Sennepsfrøskolen alongside it, working without pay at her own request until 2021.
Noro is a remarkable woman, just like her mother. As the head of the private school association in the province, she maintains regular contact with the Ministry of Education in Madagascar, keeping the members updated and organizing training sessions for the introduction of new curricula and pedagogical approaches.
The teachers at Sennepsfrøskolen are handpicked by Razafy and Noro. Eight of them have received a full teacher education at the church's teacher school, Fandriana, through scholarships from Norway, managed by Principal Noro. Some of these teachers were once students at Sennepsfrøskolen themselves.
If a student struggles with a subject, the teachers offer extra lessons on Wednesday afternoons. Noro trains and updates the teachers during weekly staff meetings. Special issues concerning the students are also addressed in these meetings, where they adopt a democratic approach to tackling problems.
At Sennepsfrøskolen, solidarity and neighborly love are actively practiced and systematically implemented. For instance, the teachers contribute towards hospital stays when necessary.
However, the teachers are not just instructors. They serve as social workers, making home visits when students report problems or illnesses at home. They do everything they can to help. As of now, no teachers have left before reaching retirement age. They thrive in their jobs and enjoy a unique sense of community.
