‘Sometimes my mommy doesn’t have enough money to buy me food and I go to bed hungry, does that mean I won’t grow up to be strong and healthy?”
These are words that no five-year-old child should ever have to say.
One of my learners asked this question while were having a class discussion about the importance of eating all your fruits and vegetables even if you don’t want to. We spoke about how fruits and vegetables keep us strong and help us grow.
Although I have been lucky enough to be part of these children’s lives in more ways than a teacher normally would, (I have been welcomed into the tiny rooms that they call home, learnt about their families and their backgrounds) it is still very difficult to accept their way of life as ‘normal.”
One of the biggest challenges I face teaching underprivileged children is to learn to teach myself to consider my daily ‘necessities” as unnecessary luxury items. Life without electricity, a microwave, stove, television, supper or a heater seems almost impossible to people like you and me but to all the children in my classroom, these are luxuries they have never known.
Since I began teaching at the Wings of Hope School in Johannesburg, we have had to face a number of challenges that should not occur in everyday life, homes that have burned down because of having to use fire instead of electricity, children with HIV/Aids, children with cancer, mothers who have no idea where they will live next month, mothers with no money, food or clothing for their children, the list goes on, but beneath all the hardship and poverty, are children with hearts of gold, who bring wonders and love to my life, whose smiles and laughter bring me such joy, whose hugs every morning keep me warm during these cold winter mornings.
Everyday there is a new miracle, a child learns how to write his or her name, learns a new English word, gets excited about a donated toy, even if it is broken and used, has woken their parents up early to stand eagerly outside for me to open the gate, remembers a song, says thank you or simply learns to be a child.
Wings of Hope School has given these children their childhood back but most importantly, it has given them a gift greater than any other — the gift of hope.
The Catholic Institute of Education and Sacred Heart College are co-hosting a conference from October 6 to 8 on issues of pastoral care in schools. This is part of the Care of the Teacher Year. The conference will take place at Sacred Heart College in Observatory, Johannesburg. Guest speakers will include Deputy Education Minister Enver Surty, professor Jonathan Jansen, dean of education at the University of Pretoria, Bishop Kevin Dowling and Cardinal Wilfrid Napier. For more information, phone Debbie on (011) 433 1888 or Vivien on (011) 648 1030