"I look out today, and I don't see the same people I saw 2 months ago." says Mzee Denis, Restore Academy's English and Literature teacher, as he looked into the faces of our students. "I see doctors, lawyers, teachers, politicians, people who will stand next to those in Washington DC. In less than 2 months you people have changed and grown. As you break for the holiday, don't walk away and forget who you are. Remember who you are becoming..." I was moved to tears as he commissioned these young people to believe in themselves.
On June 11, 2007, we started Restore Academy with 3 students and 7 teachers. Our goal was to have 30 students. I bit my lip as I sat with our teachers. I was worried. " We can't have more teachers than students." I said, unsure if I was doing a good job hiding the panic in my voice. I tried to sound encouraging and optimistic. My heart sank as our head teacher, Mr. Peter Okot, showed me the registration list. 11 students registered. We're only 19 students short of our goal, I thought to myself. "The students will come Madame, " Peter assured me, his joyful spirit exuding from his every breath. "When will they come? What more can we do? How can we spread the word?" I pleaded, as I gazed into wide eyes examining me calmly. I imagine they were wondering what they had gotten themselves into. Though Peter had spent weeks hosting community meetings about the new school, I commissioned them to make flyer's, go to villages, go to camps, go to churches...to do whatever they could to get more students in our little school.
Who would blame the community for being hesitant? After all, we were starting a secondary school in the middle of June, a month into the 2nd term of the year. The only building we could find in the same vicinity of our building site for the permanent school was a tiny 3 room unfinished store in some one's front yard. Our 3 classrooms are 1/4 of the size of a normal classroom, with no electricity, and the latrines out back were still being dug. We needed to rent a temporary building close to the community that our student body would ultimately reflect. This little unfinished building, fully equipped with Grandma sitting under the mango tree and chickens everywhere, was the best, well really the only option. And such is the humble beginning of Restore Academy Secondary School in Northern Uganda.
August 18, 2007, I stood before 60 Restore Academy students listening to Denis, Peter and the other teachers tell the students how far they had come in so little time. Our school literally exploded. In less than 1 week after my panicked plea to the teachers, we had 39 kids registered...a couple days later the number of students doubled again. Today we've got 100 students registered. Our student body is made up of former child soldiers, girls left with babies and painful memories of being abducted to be wives of soldiers. All of our students are IDP's, Internally Displaced People, refugees within their own country. All of our students bear burdens they are too young to carry. But their sad stories don't stop them from smiling. These kids walk miles to attend class at Restore Academy, their first hope for education in years. They dare to believe they can pick up where they left off so many years ago. They are learning to learn again.
The vision of Restore Academy is to raise up a new generation of leaders for this country Uganda, for this continent Africa. We will remind them that tribal and religious differences don't matter as much as them respecting each other as brothers and sisters. Unity amongst themselves is of utmost importance. We will remind them to believe not only in themselves as individuals, but in each other as well. We will teach them how to respect, honor, and love themselves and others. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control -these are the principles we hope will emanate from our school walls.
To the students I said, "We are here because we believe in you, we believe you can be the types of people God created you to be, no matter what you've done or been through." I meant every word. Though they are the students, I think I am the one being taught. I'm learning how people can overcome anything. I'm learning that given the opportunity people will rise to the level of expectation. I'm learning that teachers may just have the most important job in the world. I'm learning how much believing in someone spurs them on. But I'm most grateful that, thanks to these students, we are learning how to hope.
Click here to see pictures of Restore Academy: http://picasaweb.google.com/ilea65/LearningToHopeRestoreAcademy
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