It is always hard to say goodbye.
Yesterday was our last day of Camp Challenge at Letsie High School. Starting two days ago, our students started to act extremely sad, sitting around us with tears in their eyes, not believing that we only had one day left together. One of our boys, the same one in my previous post, was so sad about us leaving that he lied down in the middle of the road and would not get up until we urged him not to be so silly. We returned to our huts that night, busy with writing individual notes to each student, and all the while knowing that the next day would be terribly difficult.
We began our last day treating our students with fat cakes for breakfast (deep fried dough balls…delicious!). Then, all of our students presented their individual community service projects which they had worked on for the last 5 weeks. I was very impressed by how well they learned the problem solving model and how well they could apply it to a bigger problem in their lives, their communities, and their country. We also presented them with a small gift (notebook, pen, pencil, eraser, lollipop, photos, CVs) and had a small dessert party after lunch (soda, oranges, chips, cookies, cake). Despite all the festivities, the atmosphere was very bittersweet.
As we closed the day, Susan and I were both able to address the class to say our final goodbyes. For myself, I came into the experience not knowing how much a Problem Solving camp could impact the lives of these students. Although the students learned a lot from the course on how to solve their life problems and think more critically, I believe the greatest lesson that both the students and I learned was that of love. As I said my last goodbye, with tears in my eyes, I encouraged my students to continue studying hard, but more importantly, to pursue the meaning and the source of unconditional love. These students have taught me more about hope and strength than I could have ever imagined, and it was with both sadness and excitement that I left my students to start a new chapter in their bright futures. When we finished speaking, we found our students crying like waterfalls- some delivered speeches to us and most handed us a pile of handwritten notes. They expressed their blessings for a safe journey, their utmost thanks for investing our lives in theirs, their wishes of us never leaving, and their joy of having us not only as teachers, but also as friends and sisters. To them, we did more than just teach, we listened to their problems and loved them as much as we could- and many of them were sad and scared to lose the only people in the world that seemed to believe in them. We told them that although we were leaving, we would always be with them in spirit, love them, and think about them often. In the end, with tight hugs and best wishes, everyone was thankful for the time we had together.
Love,
Beverly