Home Visit

Sometimes it is really easy for me to forget the condition of the homes that my students come from.  I forget that my students have undergone great hardships at such a young age. This sounds strange, but when they come to the Ed Center they seem so "normal".  They are eager to learn. They smile and laugh. They shout things out when they aren't suppose to. They get sad when they have to move their name down on the behavior chart. They have days when they aren't so talkative. Kids are so good at being kids sometimes that I forget that my students go home to homes where they don't get to be kids.
This past week one of our kids had typhoid so I decided to do a home visit to check up on how he was doing.  I also had some parent surveys to do so I visited a few of the other kids' homes too so I could meet their caregivers. First off, I didn't realize how far these kids have to trek every day to school and then to the ed center and then back home.  They live in a part of the village that I had never visited before and I wouldn't be surprised if it took them more than an hour to walk home from the Ed Center, which is after walking quite a distance to school and then to the Ed Center earlier in the day.  Secondly, I forget that my students play such a huge role in supporting their families. They fetch the water, collect firewood, do the cooking, help with the farming, and watch after their younger siblings. I forget that my kids are dealing with their parents' deaths or even being abandoned by a parent that is still living.  I forget that they have suffered such great loss at such a young age and continue to suffer loss as other family members they have grown close to also pass away.
I don't say all of these things to evoke pity from you, because these kids don't need your pity.  Like I said, that is just normal here. My kids have so much joy that comes from the Lord.  They are made complete in Christ, not lacking anything. But I wanted to share with you the reality of my students' lives here because unlike your pity, they can use your compassion and prayers.  They can use your prayers that they will be able to fill the loss of their earthly father and/or mother will the presence of their Heavenly Father and Creator. You can pray that God will provide for them good role models and mentors that will pour into their lives.  You can pray for their surviving parents and caregivers that they too will fill the loss in their own lives with the Lord.  The widows have lost their spouse, the grandmothers have lost their children, and the Aunties have lost a sibling. And we can use your prayers as well as we try and figure out how us teachers at Igmin Kibe can best meet all the needs of our students -- the physical, educational, emotional, social, and spiritual needs that we all have.
        Also, the child who had typhoid came to the Ed Center on Monday feeling much better with a giant smile on his face! Praise The Lord!  All the students shared that they were happy because God healed him!