Chapel of the Cross

Our committee provides support for former Chapel of the Cross parishioner, Cameron Graham Vivanco and her husband, Roberto Vivanco.  They both serve as SAMS missionaries in Quito, and started the scholarship program, Education=Hope, which provides micro scholarships to children in desperate circumstances making it possible for them to stay in school.  Since its formation E=H has spread to seven other countries.  Recently, members of the Chapel of the Cross traveled to Ecuador on a Discovery and Mission Trip to meet with Cameron and Roberto, visit a number of Education Equals Hope ministry sites and meet with scholarship students and their families.  We have hosted the Vivancos at COTC on several occasions, as well. Through our partnership with E=H we have established a missional relationship with the parish of Cristo Liberador in Quito. 

The Chapel of the Cross has collaborated with  Kwasa College  in South Africa for over a decade. The Kwasa is an independent diocesan school that serves students in pre-school through grade five, an after-school program for older children, and two “safe houses” for homeless or displaced children. Under the leadership of the Venerable Sharron Dinnie, rector of St. Peter and St. Paul Anglican Church in Springs, South Africa, Kwasa College has expanded from two pre-school classes operated out of shipping containers to a permanent facility that serves children from pre-school through early grades.  Kwaza’s plans include adding a grade level each year until the school educates students through grade 12.  Kwasa is located approximately 50 miles outside of Johannesburg near an informal settlement of 15,000 living in extremely impoverished conditions.

Chapel of the Cross parishioners have participated in two recent pilgrimages to Kwasa and hosted Ven. Dinnie, along with Kwasa students and teachers, on several visits.  The Chapel of the Cross was instrumental in the construction of “The Chapel of the Cross at Kwasa”. In 2016 a COTC delegation participated in the dedication of our namesake chapel.  Most recently, through a grant from the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, we are bringing two teachers from Kwasa to Chapel Hill to be trained in the Augustine method of teaching reading.  This will enhance their skills in teaching literacy to children whose first language is not English.  We are also planning to coordinate another pilgrimage to the Kwasa College in the near future.