A reflection from a visit to Venn’s Town Mission Ruins |30 August 2025

The seed still lives: Building a new season of nationhood

The first time I heard of Venn’s Town was in May 2024. I had travelled to Seychelles to visit my then fiancée; now my wife. She spoke of ruins tucked away in the lush hills of Sans Soucis. I was immediately drawn, but time did not allow us to make the journey. The desire, however, remained.

So, this year, when I returned to the islands and to her, Venn’s Town was one of the many places we visited. The climb from Mont Fleuri was humid, but as we reached higher, a cool breeze met us among the cinnamon trees. Standing together in that clearing, among moss-covered stones and whispering roots, it felt as though we had stepped onto sacred ground.

At first, I thought Venn’s Town was just a resting place for liberated slaves. But I soon learned it was much more: it was the site of Seychelles’ first school for children of the freed slaves, planted by the Church Missionary Society in the 1870s. What stood there was not merely a ruin, but a root. Not just history, but heritage. A seed of freedom sown in education, pointing to a future still unfolding.

And it was not just any education: it was one anchored in the Word of God. Those children, once uprooted by history, were taught not only to read letters but to encounter the ultimate narrative of hope, sacrifice, and destiny found in Scripture. They were given the story of God, the reminder that they were created in His image and called to a greater purpose.

The journey so far: A nation that learns and grows

Seychelles has nurtured much from that seed. Today, the nation stands among Africa’s leaders in literacy, educational equity, and gender parity. Children grow up with the opportunity to learn, and since 2009, the University of Seychelles has opened its doors; a milestone of self-determination that many nations still pursue. These are not small achievements. They are living fruits of Independence. But every fruit carries within it new seeds. The question before us is: What kind of future are we planting now?

Beyond success: The call to belong and build

Many of Seychelles’ brightest sons and daughters gain knowledge abroad, and that global exposure is a gift. But this task remains: to create conditions that invite their return, or at least their contribution. Education should not only prepare students to thrive anywhere, but also inspire them to build here. True education asks not only, “What can I achieve?” but also, “For whom am I achieving it?” Independence becomes complete when our learning raises pioneers who see themselves as builders of Seychelles’ tomorrow.

The Family, Church, and State: A shared mandate

Before a child enters any classroom, they sit at a family table. Parents are the first teachers, planting imagination and courage into their children’s hearts. As Harvard’s Centre on the Developing Child affirms, “Family engagement in education has been shown to be one of the strongest predictors of long‑term student success and civic engagement”, the Church, too, has always carried the power to awaken purpose and calling. It was the Gospel, after all, that first declared every child matters as much as a king, and that education is not a privilege of the few but a calling of all. And the State provides the structures and platforms where dreams can take root.

When these three – home, faith, and policy – work in harmony, a nation gains strength from its roots up. Together, they shape not just professionals, but pioneers. This symbiotic trinity is crucial in the ultimate realisation of this utopia. As Scripture reminds us: “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain.” (Psalm 127:1).

From importing to creating

Sometimes we believe true excellence must come from outside. But Independence itself proved otherwise. The Seychelles soil carries genius, creativity, and resilience. To nurture a “creator culture” means daring to believe that Seychellois hands, Seychellois hearts, and Seychellois minds can author the nation’s solutions.

Healing and Hope: Confronting our wounds

Yes, challenges remain. Among them is the wound of drug addiction, which has touched too many families. But even here, hope is not lost. Every healed life becomes a testimony that frustrated potential can turn into renewed creativity, leadership, and service. When schools, families, and churches work together to awaken both the mind and the spirit, frustrated destinies can be restored. Addiction loses its grip when young people are invited to see themselves as God sees them: carriers of answers, not problems; builders, not burdens.

The seed at Venn’s Town: Still waiting, still alive

That day in Sans Soucis, as the cool breeze lifted from the valley and the stones lay quiet, I realised the ruins were not silent. They spoke. They spoke of children once enslaved who were taught letters and, more importantly, destiny. They spoke of faith that history could be rewritten, and of a God who sets captives free. That seed is still alive in Seychelles. It waits for us to water it with vision, courage, and unity.

Independence re-imagined: Freedom becoming fulfillment

As we reflect on the recent Independence celebrations, may we not only recall the struggles of the past, but also imagine the possibilities ahead. Seychelles has come far; and can go further still. The story is still being written, and it belongs to us all.

The seed still lives. May this be the season we awaken it again through God’s Word, through faith, and through shared vision so that our children do not only inherit freedom, but carry its future.

“Linyon i fer lafors.”

By Gershom Ireeta