I am a teacher.
And so, Aphoyo happens to be rather biased towards the glories of education.
Cause I love it. Cause I believe in it. Because outside of Jesus Christ, I believe that a good education is the most transformative experience we have here on earth.
Our students have just started the 2017 school term. Reflecting on their return to school, I can't help but think about how I feel at the start of a new school year. I still get a thrill out of the new pencils and supplies laid out around my classroom. This year I got a new whiteboard, and I about died. I didn't, actually, but I did a dance.
I love the start of the school year. I love that I still feel full of butterflies when I meet my students. And even more so when I meet their parents. I love the way new expo markers glide over the board as I write "Welcome back to school! I've been preparing for you all summer and can't wait for our school year to start. Love, Mrs. Walker" (on my BRAND NEW WHITEBOARD). It's joy in the little things, what can I say?
But I have to admit, I have been jealous when my peers receive ipads, smart boards and projectors and I am stuck with little more than my whiteboard. I have to admit that I have begrudged my school's budget as I purchased the 100th gluestick of the school year out of my own funds. I have to admit I've been embarrassed when I have asked my husband if we can drop $100 on play dough, books and folders.
This summer, I had the privilege of meeting Gloria. If you haven't read this young woman's story, please do. I'll wait right here. I stood in awe as she explained her dedication to her education, snatching back my tears as she told her story- if she could be so courageous, I could listen without blubbering.
Then she offered us a tour of her school. Gloria attends and boards at the best school in Kitgum, a town about 60 miles outside Gulu. I've toured loads of Ugandan schools, but it wasn't until this day that I realized all the schools I've toured were in cities. This school was noticeably different. It became most apparent as Gloria led us to her classroom and I stepped inside. The walls were covered in faded and handmade posters detailing everything from Uganda's geography to biology to English grammar. But these posters were not bright and laminated in the way I decorate my classroom, no they were faded and tattered. The blackboard was painted directly onto the front of the room and with the exception of two dozen desks there was nothing else. Not a calculator, not a manipulative, not a pad of paper. And I held in a gasp.
I have been given everything. I am undeserving of the rarefied (mostly public) education I received growing up. I am undeserving of the school supplies my Mom faithfully purchased for me every August on our annual trip to Target. I am undeserving of the copy paper that I snag from the supply room at work. I am undeserving of everything I have been given. It is an incredible grace that I get to be part of Gloria's life. I'd like for you to have that incredible grace in your life too.
Would you join us? Your generosity will directly impact a life like Gloria's; your generosity will mean that a new child will be accepted into the Aphoyo scholarship program immediately; your generosity gently shapes our world in a better way.
Aphoyo Mat-ae,
Jenni