Isaiah Palm Scholarship Fund BCA

It was in 2017 when Andy and Nannette Palm first began to feel that their season of almost 11 years serving the Central Asia area was coming to a close. We were contacted by TeachBeyond about an amazing opportunity to work alongside Belize Christian Academy in Belize. They left Central Asia in June and moved to Belize in Central America in August 2017.

Jonah, Elijah, and Isaiah traveled with Andy and Nannette, and the children attended Belize Christian Academy. Elijah graduated from BCA in 2021.

Belize Christian Academy is located in the middle of Belize in the capital, Belmopan. The mission of BCA is to provide, by the grace of God, the best education possible, by developing children mentally, spiritually, socially and physically, using curriculum, instructors, and an environment consistent with Biblical truth, honoring the worth of the individual made in the image of God, and declaring and worshipping God as Creator, Savior and Lord of all things.

Their family left Belize during the pandemic for home assignment leaving their belongings in storage there with every intention of returning. Andy and Nannette dreamed of watching Isaiah continue his education at BCA and eventually graduate. Isaiah loved to learn and build friendships with his classmates.

In March 2023, at the age of 14, Isaiah went on to be with Jesus. BCA had a huge impact on Isaiah’s life. We are grateful for all the teachers who loved on Isaiah and brought him to a closer relationship with the Lord. A fellow BCA parent whose son was close to Isaiah encouraged us to start a scholarship program in Isaiah’s memory.

Elijah and Nannette had the opportunity to go back to Belize in June 2023 to begin the process of starting the Isaiah Palm Scholarship. While there, BCA presented the family with a special painting of Isaiah that a young girl had hand painted which was used during a candlelight prayer vigil the students participated in when they had found out about Isaiah’s tragic passing.

Belize Christian Academy is a world class school graduating Christ centered leaders to transform Belize and beyond. Would you help the Palm family honor Isaiah’s memory by donating to his scholarship fund? Education is not free in Belize. The Isaiah Palm Scholarship will go towards students who demonstrate exceptional character and leadership in their community who have financial needs going into High School.

"In Latin America and the Caribbean we are experiencing an unprecedented educational crisis that will have enormous and lasting repercussions for the whole of society. Currently in our region, due to the effect of the pandemic, projections show that 4 out of every 5 children will not know how to read a simple text. What professional and technical future could they aspire to if, from their childhood, they do not have the fundamental learning skills?" said Garry Conille, UNICEF's regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean.

"If the governments of the region do not take urgent measures to make up for what has been lost and ensure the basic foundations of learning, millions of children and adolescents are at risk of dropping out of school, especially those from indigenous and Afro-descendant communities. Leaving the majority of their childhood without knowing how to read and write is a social and economic cost that Latin America and the Caribbean cannot and should not afford. The future of this crisis is now, we cannot wait any longer to act," said Conille.

Elijah and Nannette had the opportunity to go to Belize in June 2023 to begin the process of starting the Isaiah Palm Scholarship. While there, BCA presented the Palm family with a painting of Isaiah which was hand painted by a young girl and used for a prayer vigil there.

Belize Christian Academy is a world class school graduating Christ centered leaders to transform Belize and beyond. Would you prayerfully consider honoring Isaiah’s memory by donating to his scholarship fund? Education is not free in Belize. The Isaiah Palm Scholarship will go towards students who demonstrate exceptional character, and leadership in their community who have financial needs going into High School.