My Girafe :)!
 |
| My Farewell Picture from Refugee Kids |
Today was a sad day: it was my last day working at that Special School (2 hours a week for one year). As some people I know would say: don't feel sorry it is over, just be happy it happened ... well, I suppose so :( I will miss the kids' incredible WILL to learn, their energy, the beautiful African smiles and clothe colours & designs, the laughs, the cheekiness, the 'Thank you Miss'
(although I am a Mrs but who cares :)!
I learned that literacy is not complicated, just READ READ READ and SUPPORT A READER ... that is all. Always encourage, just enjoy each other's voice: the voice of the child who tries, and make your voice pleasant to the child who listens. Just be kind to each other, and the rest is just magic unfolding through your eyes. You don't fully understand why, but before you know it, the child becomes more and more proficient: it is not totally your making!
My kids were from China, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Thailand, Cambodia, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Somalia, Erythrea, Irak, Congo, Russia, etc. some were refugees (I'd say 80%), and some were from newly arrived migrant families.
Prospects of a brighter future was beaming in all eyes! Some kids had to travel a long and complicated way to come here and sometimes, but they did not complain easily. The only question I would allow myself to ask them was: 'how long have you been learning English?', and sometimes, they would explain a lot, sometimes not much at all, and I would not ask more. Sometimes, they would say: 'I did not go to school because there was war'. While reading how to make kites, a little girl told me about all the kites she made back then in Irak.
 |
| Eid Mubarak token on my last day - that was lucky :) |
 |
| Farewell Card from the amazing Team Leaders with beautiful Rooster painting from the Kids |
