It was January, 2025 and I was building relationships with the Central Abaco Primary School (CAPS) staff and getting a better understanding of the Department of Education in the Bahamas. I remember vividly a meeting with Principal Glendena Mills in her office. I was asking what Many Hands could do to help teachers and students in their teaching and learning. She quickly shared, “We need a Journeys Reading Curriculum for our teachers. Our reading scores are low and we have no curriculum to support our teachers.” I had recognized this need as well and knew we needed to help.

After reaching out to several school contacts in the states and spreading the word of this need to people I knew in education, I realized this was a big ask. I could find a section here or there, but I needed 3 sections for each grade level. This was a bit overwhelming and difficult to do from Abaco. It was then decided it would be best to start at Grade 1 (their kindergarten) where the reading foundation is formed and work our way up. A phonics curriculum was decided on and purchased for the first 3 grade levels. We knew this curriculum would be best utilized if there were projectors and document cameras in the classrooms. When a local Iowa school (Pella Pulic) was asked, they donated what they had as they were upgrading their technology. What an answer to prayer!

An IMPACT team in June had an electrician, and in one day the team hooked up all the electrical needed for the technology and did a deep clean of the school grounds. God just keeps providing.

The prayers answered don’t stop there. It was the beginning of May and we felt good about our additions to helping CAPS for the 2025-26 school year. I was able to spend some time with the teachers onboarding the phonics curriculum. Then, Steve Brand, Principal at Mount Vernon High School in Iowa, called his brother Tim (MH CEO) and asked if we would be interested in Mount Vernon’s Journeys Reading Curriculum for the Many Hands mission. Tim’s brother had no idea that the school in Abaco had asked for this exact curriculum. Tim reached out to me and I gave him the thumbs up! Not only did they have Grades K-4 but they had 5 sections of each level! Amazing!

I was so excited to share this news with the teachers. Now we only had to figure out how we were going to get all of that curriculum to Abaco, an island in the Bahamas where shipping costs are high and it takes time and logistics to work in your favor. I told the teachers, this is what we pray for next!

God had already been working on the shipping of this curriculum! Loren Van Wyk and his son had been in Abaco in March and saw the need and help that a dump trailer would be in our home rebuild projects. He had it purchased and donated to Many Hands with some concrete tools that came from a group from Michigan who plan to do some flat work in October. Hard not to take a breath here and see all the amazing people that came together to make this happen!

Mount Vernon graciously boxed and delivered all the curriculum to LDJ Manufacturing at the beginning of July. Doug and I spent 3 days going through it and took out 3 sections of every grade level and placed it on 5 pallets about 4 feet high. Chad Van Wyk covered it in plastic and shrunk it to keep it dry then loaded it in the back of the dumptrailer. What a load of blessings it had on it!

Loren and his grandson, Treyton, drove the dumptrailer to the port in Florida. That trip comes with its own amazing story. If you haven’t heard it yet and get a chance, take Loren out for coffee and ask him about it. OR read it here in a recent newsletter from Tim! God shows up and does His thing!

Three different COH teams helped at CAPS in the month of August. Some of our work: empty the dumptrailer, sort the curriculum, install the projectors, show the teachers how to use them, build a wall space for the copy machine and paint the library. We were ready for the first day of school at CAPS on September 2.

These kids have not had a reading book of their own on their desk to read from since before the storm. Many thanks to the village of people that made this shipment happen and to God be the glory for the details. May we all continue to be a vessel for Him to work through here in Abaco.

– Carrie Veenstra

Making Reading a Reality: A Quick Look

• A Crucial Need: Central Abaco Primary School (CAPS) desperately needed a reading curriculum, as low scores and a lack of resources hindered student progress.
• Miraculous Donations: Through a series of incredible events, including unexpected technology upgrades and a serendipitous curriculum donation from Mount Vernon High School, CAPS received the exact Journeys Reading Curriculum they needed.
• Teamwork Triumphs: Incredible logistical coordination and dedicated effort from numerous individuals and COH teams ensured the massive curriculum shipment reached Abaco and was ready for the first day of school.
• Books in Every Hand: For the first time since Hurricane Dorian, students at CAPS now have the correct reading books, a powerful testament to collective generosity and faith.