Every Child Deserves an Education

Galatians 6:10 ~ "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

It's been a couple weeks since I've been back in the states. The culture shock is starting to subside and I am starting to feel more like myself again. I don't think I'll ever be back to what used to be the normal me. This summer changed me and gave me new perspective on life and why I teach. I teach because every child is important and loved. Every child deserves an education. Every child deserves to be given resources to help them become successful members of society. Every child deserves to have someone in their corner, believing in them and cheering them on. I want to be that person for my students.

Here is a picture of the preschool class in Sierra Leone.

When I first walked into my classroom in Colorado (the same classroom I have been teaching in for two years) I was a little overwhelmed. My job here didn't seem as important as it used to. I didn't feel like I would make a difference here because these kids already have access to a good education.

I had to ask myself, do I truly believe every child deserves an education or do I just want to teach the children who were born into a rural village with very little access to anything? I do believe every child deserves an education. My job here, teaching children who can buy school supplies and who have access to so many resources to help them learn, is no less important than teaching, loving, and encouraging the children in Mokanji.

This is a picture of one of the primary schools I worked with.

Just like the children I taught this summer, my students for the upcoming school year deserve a good education. They deserve to have someone believe in them and to show them they are loved. It doesn't matter how much or little a child has. It does not matter what environment a child was born into - they don't have control. Every child deserves a good education.

To all the teachers out there...No matter where you teach, no matter who your students are, or what their background is, every child deserves a good education, which makes your job important.

Welcome Home

"Welcome Home" - it's a bittersweet phrase. I could not be happier to be home and to see the people I love again. I love being home and was ready to come home by the end of my time in Sierra Leone. However, part of my heart is still in Mokanji. Part of me wants nothing more than to walk up to the Children's Home and love on the kids there. Part of me simply wants to go to Hubbard's store and sing and play with Milondo. It's bittersweet and no matter where I am, part of my heart will be half way around the world.

It always takes time to readjust after a trip like this and I knew it wouldn't be easy. I knew it was going to be really difficult to process everything that happened this summer. There are a lot of emotions involved. There is a lot of excitement and happiness coming home, but with that there also comes feelings of guilt, anger, and sadness.

I often find myself thinking, "It's not fair. It's just not fair." It's not fair that I have running water and people there have to walk to pump water and carry it back on their heads. It's not fair that I don't question whether or not I will eat dinner tonight AND I have access to a great variety of food, but in Mokanji, if they have the means to buy food at all it will be rice and some sort of sauce made of leaves (cassava leaves or potato leaves). It's not fair that I get to teach in a big classroom with access to technology for my students to use and almost unlimited pencils, but the teachers in Mokanji don't have the resources to give their students to ensure their success, sometimes not even a pencil. I could go on and on because there is so much that is just not fair.

Although it's not fair, I can do something about it. God commands us to love each other as Jesus loved us. God wants us to get out of our comfortable worlds that have us at the center and step out to really love someone, to bring His hope to people who desperately need it, and to ultimately glorify Jesus through it all. Love may look different in various situations, but there is almost always a cost. It may cost us our money, time, or talents to love others, but it will have a cost and the cost is always worth it!

Everything that went into this summer was worth it. I am so thankful God used me to teach and love the kids of Mokanji this summer. I am grateful that God has allowed me to be part of what He is doing in Mokanji and by God's grace, I pray I will return one day.