Teacher's Surprise Encounter Brings Hope

I am very thanks, Golden said with a smile and genuineness only a child can convey.
Did you mean to say, I am very thankful? I asked, returning the smile.
Yes, I am very thankful, Golden answered.
You are most welcome, Golden, I replied. Have a nice day.

Golden began strolling by our office with a group of buddies about three weeks ago. They would come daily to the local diocese to pick up materials for school and always made it a point to look in on us and extend a smile-filled "hello." One day, we surprised them with some stickers. After that, they stopped strolling by and began walking in.

We shared high-fives and goofy handshakes and they would often ask for something to eat. I decided to make a deal with them. I would give them spelling words, work with them, and at the end of the week, hand out a treat. Much to my surprise, they were thrilled to receive homework.

Our spontaneous "deal" has blossomed into daily lessons on English, geography, writing and reading. Two boys, Golden and Patrick, have come every day for two weeks and it appears that they will continue coming. Golden's words of thanksgiving came on the second Friday of instruction. I couldn't have imagined how touched I would be.

One afternoon late in the day, my husband Ted noticed a group of four little people excitedly scurrying around outside the office building. When he arrived at his office door, he turned and all of the little ones were standing behind him in a single file line.

"Well," he said, "how may I help you?" Young Boniface, standing first in line, replied with four short words, "I want to learn." To the next in line, Ted said, "And you?" First James, then Collins and finally Precious all responded, "I want to learn."

"Well, come in," Ted said. "I will introduce you to the Madame."

Encounters Define Roles

My encounter with these children opened another door for me to do what I love, working at the grass roots. Teaching is not something I feel qualified to do or imagined doing, but that's the beauty of an open mind following an encounter. For me, the question became, "How can I turn these children away?" They attend school three to four hours a day. Their school, St. Charles Academy, is a school for children in distress and is their only opportunity to attend school.

Government school is free, but these children can't attend because they don't have money to buy uniforms. Most have lost both of their parents to AIDS. For two weeks, the children came for their lessons wearing the same set of clothes each day. But they crave knowledge. They will stay until pushed out the door. They love homework and will return each day with their very best effort.

Broken Sandals and New Opportunities

After Ted introduced the second group of knowledge-hungry pupils, he left the office. On his way out, lying on the floor on a rag mat he saw a pair of well-worn sandals. It is a photographer's thing (Ted is an Emmy award winning videographer who worked in television for over 20 years) but he stood and stared at the sandals. The light was just right — half shade, half light. He was disappointed that he did not have his camera.

Looking at the sandals, he noticed the back straps on both sandals had broken free. He wondered how they could be worn. Some time passed and the young people left the office. Standing outside, Ted watched as Precious came out, picked up the sandals and walked away, carrying them in her hand.

It strikes me that the broken sandals are symbolic of a broken education system in Zambia, especially for girls. The culture here is hard on girls, often encouraging or forcing marriage at a young age. A typical mind-set here is: "Why do you need an education? What will you do with it?"

The diocese has asked Ted for help establishing a radio station. It's not something he feels qualified to do or imagined doing, but the encounter with Precious has him thinking about the learning opportunities that could be created with radio programming, not only for children, but for adults, too.

Ted and I are both very thankful to have so many opportunities to serve.

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