True gratitude

Before taking off to Ghana for a three month traineeship at an elementary school, I was able to collect a significant amount of money which I want to invest in local charities and good causes. Now that (classmate and fellow trainee) Laura and I have been teaching Ghanese children for a while, we noticed the need for better reading materials and study books.

 

The school uses English methodbooks which are sufficient, but outdated. The texts are very repetitive. No wonder we decided to spend a good portion of the money on new, better books. We went to a bookstore in Accra, the capital of Ghana, to see if they could be of service. Their welcome was more than open en friendly. In fact, the staff was so kind and helpful that we ordered no less than 350 books from them. As a result, we’ll be able to provide each grade with fifty books.

 

Last week, the kids had their final exams. A perfect moment to donate the brand new books to them, we figured. We dropped in on the little children first. As soon as they heard about the new books coming, they immediately thanked us by passionately singing five beautiful songs to us. We then went from class to class. What struck us the most was their deep gratitude. They were fully aware of the significance and importance of our gift and showed true happiness. They sang songs of praise, applauded and danced around the classroom.

 

The children in my own class were beyond excited. All the chairs and tabled were removed from the classroom and they all sat in anticipation. They started singing and cheering before they even knew what the gift was. After telling them about the books, they bounced up and down like crazy. They were thanking God for our presence and the rest of the day they continued to thank us excessively by following us around everywhere we went.

All in all, it was a day of pure gratitude and happiness.