pinnacle members
Serving Children Around the Globe BY JOAN FUDALA Five Pinnacle Presbyterian members
A K-7 boarding school that serves
a newsletter.” He also co-authored
combine high tech with high touch
children with physical disabilities, the
a coffee table book, Miracle By The
to significantly impact children’s lives
rural Faraja Primary School is located
Mountain: The Story of Faraja Primary
around the globe.
in the shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro.
School, which is used to recruit and
It teaches educational basics and
thank donors, benefit the Faraja Fund
After retiring from the Chicago
helps students prepare for tests that
Foundation
Tribune, journalist Mike Conklin
could allow them to continue their
and describe
sought a way to positively impact
education beyond 7th grade. With
the
the lives of others. “I’d always been
little disability infrastructure in the
and successes
on the outside looking in; now I
country, Faraja helps its students
of the school
wanted a chance to be on the inside,
learn to adapt and lead productive
and its students.
doing something worthwhile.” In
lives.
2011 Mike joined a mission trip with
Mike
mission
always
his Presbyterian church in Illinois
Mike shares his writing and reporting
takes something special on his
to Tanzania, where they visited the
talents and his experience teaching
mission trips. “I noticed a large
Faraja Primary School. There he
college journalism during his visits
concrete slab on the campus which
found his calling and cause.
to Faraja. “I’ve helped them develop
they use to dry their crops. Next visit
a web page, a Facebook page and
I brought two basketball hoop stands,
10
Pinnacle Vistas • Winter 2021
