Monday 13 September 2010
Created by: Teresa
Today was a sharing of special moments which reflect the many types of experiences we have had since arriving in Malungeni. Blessed with a cohesive team, supported by a flexible team leader, we have found our sense of humor helps us address most situation.
Dot decided to ignore her teacher’s established protocol and thrust herself into the classroom setting. Garnering momentum from this, she then interacted with the children during recess rather then join the teachers in the staff room. She found more pleasure today than in all the days combined. She took on a large student in a game of tug-of-war and another guided her to the shade of tress because she was “white.” What touched her most was when a child selected her to be in the middle of a ring of students singing “I love my Teddy Bear.”
Teta continued to improvise with the children in her classroom. Although the teacher was more present today, Teta managed to communicate well with minimal Xhosa. The children who know even less English still flock to her to receive encouragement for their work. Teta is definitely achieving her goal of making children smile, laugh, and learn. She was quite moved though when a teacher informed her that some older girls would like to meet with her alone. We await the topic of this conversation. Stay tuned . . . . . .
Teresa recorded the presentations of the 9th grade class and enjoyed sharing positive remarks as well as areas for improvement. At the end of the school day she had a chance to sing many interactive songs with all the children. The girls played with her hair and she ended up with cornrows for the rest of the day. Teresa’s special moment was at the community center when a young girl she taught last year ran up to her and jumped in her arms, giving her a huge hug around neck.
James is just glad he did not go over budget with our team. But we hope he is pleased that we are happy to be here and with our accomplishments. We feel we are meeting our goals for the most part and only wish we had more time in the Malungeni community.
We were off to bed early once again to rest up for the next day’s special moments of which we are sure there will be many.
Thought of the day – WE SEEK….. ‘A world free of war and threat of war…
A society with equity and justice for all…
A community where every person’s potential
may be fulfilled…
An earth restored.
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