Today I took the red book collection to Mphungu school. I wanted to actually take the book and give them to the students, but the headmaster took the books. He stamped the school stamp on the books. They are currently in his office. I have had to let go of control and trust that these teachers will do what is best with our little books.
I believe strongly that we should not go into another culture and tell people how to change their lives. We can offer what we have, but in the end the outsider should allow those in the community to take what is offered and use it the way they see fit. This is why I am so careful in what I offer. Once it is offered, it is no longer under my control. So today I had to let go of the control of our little books. I have decided that this school, Mphungu, wants our books. I do not know how they will use them, but it will certainly be interesting to find out!
Since one of our goals for Kids 4 Kids Publishing was to get the children to write their own stories to share with the children in American, I have suggested a writing contest for the school. I have also offered to provide the prizes for the winning authors. The headmaster has suggested the prizes be pens and school notebooks. There is no time during school for the children to write original stories, so I will be interested to see how this takes place.
As I was leaving the school today, the standard 2 class saw me. The little ones gathered all around me to greet me. As I was shaking their hands, they were pushing and shoving each other so terribly that the smallest children were falling down. One boy (I assume he was also from standard 2) started to repremand the group, and he pushed the children back from me so that I could actually get out of the gate. As it turned out, this little guy was the class leader. Elected to this position by his classmates. I praised him for his leadership. He jumped right into a situation and corrected it!
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