This is a brief report from laurie b. who is on a short term ‘vision trip’ to cameroon. Please continue to keep her in your prayers.
As part of my evaluation of the after school program, I have been observing each of the after school program classes (book club, art/music club, and bible club). In one of yesterday’s classes, the children were learning/memorizing Philippians 2:14, “Do everything without complaining.” The teacher asked the children to give examples of situations when they shouldn’t complain. I listened passively as the children named “normal” situations: complaining when their parents ask them to clean, complaining when they have conflict with their siblings, etc. But my easy, passive mood quickly changed when one child – Seth – confessed, “I shouldn’t complain when I am hungry.”It is hard to explain the thoughts and emotions that I’m forced to reconcile when I have faces like Seth’s imprinted in my mind. My ideals are challenged, and my beliefs questioned. This internal process is not a new to me, especially after having lived here for 7 months last year. And although it is a difficult process, it is important and necessary. It’s also a blessing! Having said that, I am excited to report 2 points of good news…
1) The after school program that I began last year is going extremely well. The results of our evaluation have shown that 80% of the children in the program have made significant progress in their literacy skills. Thanks to several of you, the children are discovering art (which is an almost non-existant aspect of the lives of these children), children’s books (also non-existant here), and are now receiving a snack every day at the after-school program. It’s inspiring to see hope in these childrens’ lives.
2) We held our first meeting yesterday with the men in the village to discuss some women’s rights issues. Although we had high hopes, we were inspired and surprised that the 22 men (which is more than we expected!) who attended the meeting were very aware of and concerned about the issues we wanted to discuss. We did not even have to point out the women’s rights problems because the men named them (which is what we were hoping for.) One man thanked us for the peaceful way in which we approached the subject.
Much to our joy, the men began exploring solutions to the problem and even decided to continue meeting as a group to develop a plan of action in solving the problem!!!
Again, I am humbled by the amount of hope I have witnessed in these few weeks here. We only have a few days remaining before we leave Cameroon and will spend this time wrapping up our work. I will send a final email when these days have passed. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement.
with love,
Laurie
