Day 11 Thursday in Kasait
Ben Harris and Emily Jackson
Last night after the local children eventually headed home, heads bobbed and laughs were shared in the back of the troop carrier as it transported our group up the hill to the Jesuit compound at Monserrat. This beautiful hillside property is in a picturesque location which overlooks the school. The houses almost floated upon the mountain and the sunlight, about to make its journey to the other side of the world, trickled over the group. We made our ascent up the hill, so we could catch this moment of elegance. Journals opened and pens scraped paper with deep thought as our group wrote in the fading light. In the sun setting there was no sadness. A sense of realisation swept amongst our souls on the mountain last night. This pure beauty can only be tainted by the ever increasing industrialisation of this great nation. These two things – industrialization and natural beauty - so crucial in the greatness of our world, cannot co-exist. A few of us wonder: where did we go so wrong?
At the breakfast table this morning we had a meeting about how we would approach our lessons today. The lesson planning that took place the previous day was extremely helpful. This was also, except for a few of the boys whose attention wavered. There were a few sheepish look down their end of the table, when they asked “So … what do we do today”. Nevertheless, the lads soldiered on hoping their eye catching looks would work with the girls and their athleticism on the football pitch with the boys.
It’s amazing how easy and fulfilling it is to connect with the children of this lovely school. Simple things, such as playing sport and singing songs develop a really strong bond with the kids and it’s something all of us have found rewarding throughout this experience. Fr Peter introduced a few of us to a Jesuit, Noel Olivier who has been in East Timor for about 18 months. Fr Peter knew him from working with Jesuit Refugee Service in Cambodia in 1990. Most recently Br Noel has been working with JRS in Afghanistan. Br Noel interviewed a few of us about our experiences for his newsletter. While classes played football and volleyball, others watered newly planted trees. The morning sporting games are always fun and a great way to break the ice as we meet the new classes assigned to us. There is much friendly competition here. In football though a few stray legs, late tackles and a few cheeky elbows took the playfulness up a notch.
Following our games we then headed to our dining room to take a quick break and regain our thoughts. We headed into class and began our lesson that was meant to be ‘Maths’. We managed to answer a scarce amount of algebraic equations or fraction conversions on the board; however, it’s hard to stay on topic when the cheeky, comical kids are begging for something more entertaining. Our own teachers were in the staff room running some Professional Development with the local teachers. Soon enough, all six of the classes ended up beating rhythms on desks, having singing competitions from class to class, and games of the ever popular Hangman and Pictionary. We would enjoy having any of us as one of our teachers.
It’s such a joyful experience being a part of these classes and the relationships that are being built between us all and the children are ones which many of us will remember for the rest of our lives. After our always enjoyable lunch organised by the year 8 student leaders, we were fortunate enough to all head to the local beach, accompanying our classes to participate in their community service. They do this once a term. Earlier this year the local primary school, located not too far down the road, was unfortunately flooded, so community service for Term One was directed at cleaning and beautifying the grounds surrounding the school. For Term Two service our school took on the role of gardeners as they planted trees at this same local primary school.
Today we took on the scorching hot weather to clean and dispose of the rubbish and weeds bordering the shore of a beach picnic area. Plastic and paper litter was everywhere. The kids got straight into it, bending backs and reaching far into bushes to grab any garbage within their sight. Not a single world of complaint escaped from the student’s mouths and it was captivating to see them work with nothing less than a bright smile planted on their faces. They put us to shame. After a long and strenuous hour and a half, we Aussies began dropping away to shelter in the shade but the children kept working. It’s nothing short of mind-boggling to see the commitment these students have to their service and how content they are to partake in any activity presented to them. The love and pride that the members of the community have for their areas is simply amazing, while the school students were cleaning rubbish the local citizens were more than happy to lend a hand by cutting the weeds for us to remove. Mr Shane O’Brien then decided to have a go with the machete and the locals were more than willing to stand back, watch and laugh while they let him trim weeds for the remainder of the time. The dedication and gratitude of these students is something we will remember and hopefully something we can execute ourselves we return back to Australia.
We returned to school and played for a while with the students until it was home time. We helped them clean classrooms. And then chatted in small groups and rested. We played volleyball with the children who live nearby till 6.00. Then most had showers and washed clothes so we would have enough clean clothes for the next few days. At 7.00 we gathered with our group for mass where we sat in a small circle and prayed. Some of the local children joined us for our Eucharist together.
We are all looking forward to settling to our sleeping quarters as we are tired by all the activity today. We want to be well rested for another energetic day tomorrow. The boys agree that no ball games will be played inside the sleeping area tonight after our lesson last night!
Ben Harris and Emily Jackson
Last night after the local children eventually headed home, heads bobbed and laughs were shared in the back of the troop carrier as it transported our group up the hill to the Jesuit compound at Monserrat. This beautiful hillside property is in a picturesque location which overlooks the school. The houses almost floated upon the mountain and the sunlight, about to make its journey to the other side of the world, trickled over the group. We made our ascent up the hill, so we could catch this moment of elegance. Journals opened and pens scraped paper with deep thought as our group wrote in the fading light. In the sun setting there was no sadness. A sense of realisation swept amongst our souls on the mountain last night. This pure beauty can only be tainted by the ever increasing industrialisation of this great nation. These two things – industrialization and natural beauty - so crucial in the greatness of our world, cannot co-exist. A few of us wonder: where did we go so wrong?
At the breakfast table this morning we had a meeting about how we would approach our lessons today. The lesson planning that took place the previous day was extremely helpful. This was also, except for a few of the boys whose attention wavered. There were a few sheepish look down their end of the table, when they asked “So … what do we do today”. Nevertheless, the lads soldiered on hoping their eye catching looks would work with the girls and their athleticism on the football pitch with the boys.
It’s amazing how easy and fulfilling it is to connect with the children of this lovely school. Simple things, such as playing sport and singing songs develop a really strong bond with the kids and it’s something all of us have found rewarding throughout this experience. Fr Peter introduced a few of us to a Jesuit, Noel Olivier who has been in East Timor for about 18 months. Fr Peter knew him from working with Jesuit Refugee Service in Cambodia in 1990. Most recently Br Noel has been working with JRS in Afghanistan. Br Noel interviewed a few of us about our experiences for his newsletter. While classes played football and volleyball, others watered newly planted trees. The morning sporting games are always fun and a great way to break the ice as we meet the new classes assigned to us. There is much friendly competition here. In football though a few stray legs, late tackles and a few cheeky elbows took the playfulness up a notch.
Following our games we then headed to our dining room to take a quick break and regain our thoughts. We headed into class and began our lesson that was meant to be ‘Maths’. We managed to answer a scarce amount of algebraic equations or fraction conversions on the board; however, it’s hard to stay on topic when the cheeky, comical kids are begging for something more entertaining. Our own teachers were in the staff room running some Professional Development with the local teachers. Soon enough, all six of the classes ended up beating rhythms on desks, having singing competitions from class to class, and games of the ever popular Hangman and Pictionary. We would enjoy having any of us as one of our teachers.
It’s such a joyful experience being a part of these classes and the relationships that are being built between us all and the children are ones which many of us will remember for the rest of our lives. After our always enjoyable lunch organised by the year 8 student leaders, we were fortunate enough to all head to the local beach, accompanying our classes to participate in their community service. They do this once a term. Earlier this year the local primary school, located not too far down the road, was unfortunately flooded, so community service for Term One was directed at cleaning and beautifying the grounds surrounding the school. For Term Two service our school took on the role of gardeners as they planted trees at this same local primary school.
Today we took on the scorching hot weather to clean and dispose of the rubbish and weeds bordering the shore of a beach picnic area. Plastic and paper litter was everywhere. The kids got straight into it, bending backs and reaching far into bushes to grab any garbage within their sight. Not a single world of complaint escaped from the student’s mouths and it was captivating to see them work with nothing less than a bright smile planted on their faces. They put us to shame. After a long and strenuous hour and a half, we Aussies began dropping away to shelter in the shade but the children kept working. It’s nothing short of mind-boggling to see the commitment these students have to their service and how content they are to partake in any activity presented to them. The love and pride that the members of the community have for their areas is simply amazing, while the school students were cleaning rubbish the local citizens were more than happy to lend a hand by cutting the weeds for us to remove. Mr Shane O’Brien then decided to have a go with the machete and the locals were more than willing to stand back, watch and laugh while they let him trim weeds for the remainder of the time. The dedication and gratitude of these students is something we will remember and hopefully something we can execute ourselves we return back to Australia.
We returned to school and played for a while with the students until it was home time. We helped them clean classrooms. And then chatted in small groups and rested. We played volleyball with the children who live nearby till 6.00. Then most had showers and washed clothes so we would have enough clean clothes for the next few days. At 7.00 we gathered with our group for mass where we sat in a small circle and prayed. Some of the local children joined us for our Eucharist together.
We are all looking forward to settling to our sleeping quarters as we are tired by all the activity today. We want to be well rested for another energetic day tomorrow. The boys agree that no ball games will be played inside the sleeping area tonight after our lesson last night!