VIM Trip Reflection

By Becky Wong

Traveling to Kumi this 2nd time around held special excitement for me. Having spent more than half my life teaching in the public schools, I couldn’t wait to see teachers and students in the brand-new classrooms. I pictured the rough brick structure that we had helped start 5 years ago, now transformed into a shiny new edifice. Well, on my first visit to KCVS, I was in a state of disbelief at what this “new” school looked like:

Dirt floors, crudely finished walls, no glass in the metal window frames. The front doors of the school lay on the ground amidst construction rubble. The walkway to get to the classrooms was a mixture of lumpy rock and cement, inviting one of us to twist an ankle or stub a toe. The chalkboards looked as if they were 10 years old, and where were the books? I certainly couldn’t see any. If this were a school in the U.S., it would be immediately shut down! My gosh, I thought, what have we done???

This was the first Saturday after we arrived, so school was not in session. But the amazing thing was that kids were around. Maybe they were bored at home and had nowhere else to go, or maybe they had seen the new visitors arrive in the school van and were curious. First there was a handful, then pretty soon, a dozen or more kids, smiling and looking at us. We started to chat with them, asking them their names and their grades.

Then Connie and I couldn’t resist, we got out the pen and paper and asked a child to write his name on the paper. Sure enough, he neatly printed his name and grade, then proudly handed it back to us. Of course, we had to take his picture, he smiling shyly, but obviously pleased with his accomplishment. Then one by one, each child did the same; wrote in the notebook, and snapped a photo with us.
Then it dawned on me.....it didn’t matter that the floors had dirt or the chalkboards looked worn or the cement was half broken; there was something here that was unmistakably a sure sign of a good school: smiling, bright-eyed children were here and they were eager to learn.

Over the course of the following week, it became evident that teachers, using chalk, chalkboard, and only one book for a whole class, were teaching reading, writing, math, and all the basics, and were doing a remarkable job, using lots of their own creativity and ingenuity. Every day was graced with children singing and praying, giving thanks to God for all they had. And even in the few days we were there, we saw the building transformed before our very eyes. The construction crew worked round the clock to complete 3 of the classrooms so they DID look spanking new! Along with cement floors and a newly- cemented walkway to each room. Glass panes were hand-cut and placed in the windows, and the front door took it’s rightful position to welcome the guests on the day of commissioning.

So what did I learn? First, not to let first impressions cloud the true underlying picture. Second, in Kumi, the people can use even the simplest resources and with hard work and perseverance, produce great results. Third, that when we let God be in control, miracles can happen beyond our imagination, and that is exactly what is happening with KCVS. The humble gifts that we have offered are opening new doors to a bright future for the children of Kumi.