Every eye was on Chief as opening day approached. Would he risk ostracism, persecution and even death to enroll his children in this Christian school in the face of such opposition?Chief did not hesitate. Along with his brothers, their wives and all their children, he set up camp on the hillside adjacent to the school, enrolling their many children and opening the way for dozens of other Fulani parents who have since followed in his footsteps.We opened the school on Feb 1st, with 35 children, four classrooms and an assembly hall.From February through June our goal was to introduce Fulani kids to the concept of school – let me tell you - for the first two months, it was sheer chaos! We also planned to teach them as much English as possible in preparation for the official opening in September.Enrollment quickly shot up to 240 children and soon, we not only had 4 classrooms filled, but 3 more classes set up in the assembly hall! A team of teachers came from Wenatchee and a retired teacher from Michigan, to help train our Nigerian teachers and to give special tutoring to the children. Volunteers began work on the second classroom block.In June, we tested each child to determine their placement for September, and then on September 5, 2008, Hope Academy for Little Shepherds officially began!