No Complaints

We raised our six children in the United States.  Now I feel like a Grandmother not only to my 8 (soon to be 10) grandchildren in the states, but to 54 children in our Village as well as the 200+ children at School of Hope.  I must confess that our own children were usually not very eager to help around the house.  Here the expectations are different:

In our houses in the Village, as part of life-skills training, and learning to serve each other in the house, the children:

                Help cook the meals

                Wash their own clothes by hand

                Help keep the house clean

                Slash the grass in the rainy season

                Shuck the corn

At school, the oldest children:

                Fill water jugs for drinking and washing hands

                Help maintain the courtyard

                Sweep and mop the classrooms

                Take out trash

                Help wash the dishes

                Serve the teachers their lunch

The children helped move books from one classroom to the next

Dishes after lunch at the School of Hope. 

This week, due to family circumstances and sickness, 2 of our 3 support staff were not present at school.  This meant that we had to have the children helping with sweeping, mopping, and cleaning our buildings.  I remember hearing someone comment once that parents in the states would be very upset if their children had to help with the responsibility of janitorial work at a school.

After seeing US schools in operation, I would have to vote that the system here at the School of Hope is much better.  Children are learning the value of:

                                                                Service

                                                                Doing a job well

                                                                Caring for the environment

                                                                Sharing responsibilities

                                                                Obedience

                                                                And Teamwork

These are great lessons that go beyond the a,b,c’s and 1,2,3’s of basic education!  We are doing a good job!