Letter to my friends: I am building the school
...And everything started quite some time ago, when I was passing from the College where I work to visit a local potter in the village. Together with the students we were passing nearby the school.
When you hear the word "school". What do you imagine? Tables and benches for every child to sit on. Big black board on the wall, a table and a chair for teacher, maybe some maps of the world and some pictures on the walls (of course, there are walls and roof, and the floor!), flowerpots on the windowsill (of course, there are windows!). And then there are some shelves with nicely arranged books for children. Is this the image you see when you close your eyes?
Please, look at the pictures of the school I was passing by the other day... Look, how it is and compare with the image you just had...
Very often we read something like: "today in the world there are 120 million of children who are not attending the school and from these 115 million live in Africa". How often we react? And to be honest, me neither - some time ago I would not react. But here I cannot close my eyes and pretend that nothing is wrong with these numbers, because the numbers became faces, names, words, colors and smiles...
I see these numbers every day and they are no longer empty sounds. There are 300 children studying every day in the school that I am talking about, sitting on the ground, or hiding under the close by growing tree, with wind and sun reaching for them all the time...
I think it is wrong to let this school stay the way it is. I want to make a change. And this is where I feel I have no other way, but to appeal for your help, my friends and colleagues, people that know me and believe in me. Even in developing country like Mozambique proper schools (not like the one you see in the picture) are build with money. Even with all my great wish and great wish of my colleages volunteers here, we would not be able to start and finish the construction of the proper school with our own money.
If I don't use this opportunity to ask you for help, I might loose the opportunity to help people here. So this is what I am asking you for - to support my vision of the proper school for 300 children (every year!) of Manje village. If you feel you would like to help, there is an account number at the end of the email, to where you can transfer as much as you feel donating. Even 5 euro can make a change, though it seems to be so little. May it be the drop in the ocean, but it might improve conditions for 300 children next year and for the coming generations. And believe me! These children deserve every cent spent on construction of the proper school for them! And if you feel you know someone else who would be willing to help, feel free to forward this letter.
Please, close your eyes again and imagine the school... I will do my best to make this vision come true and I can promise you that your help will be used in a proper way. I am building the school. The construction is still in my head, but I am sure it will stand there, on the way from the College where I work to the local potter in the village...
Thank you for your patience while reading this quite long email and if you have any questions, suggestions or comments, please do not hesitate to write to me.
My best wishes from very hot Mozambique! (today it is 43!!!)
Eugenija
PS: I would like to give a special thank you to Edgar and Lucia for being great inspiration to me in daring to have a vision and reaching to make it true.
Account number:
Name: Giedre Ceponyte
Bank: SwedBank (www.swedbank.lt)
LT 787300010098589161
SWIFT code: HABA LT 22
More about payments: http://www.swedbank.lt/en/pages/private/domestic_and_international_payment_orders
When you hear the word "school". What do you imagine? Tables and benches for every child to sit on. Big black board on the wall, a table and a chair for teacher, maybe some maps of the world and some pictures on the walls (of course, there are walls and roof, and the floor!), flowerpots on the windowsill (of course, there are windows!). And then there are some shelves with nicely arranged books for children. Is this the image you see when you close your eyes?
Please, look at the pictures of the school I was passing by the other day... Look, how it is and compare with the image you just had...
Very often we read something like: "today in the world there are 120 million of children who are not attending the school and from these 115 million live in Africa". How often we react? And to be honest, me neither - some time ago I would not react. But here I cannot close my eyes and pretend that nothing is wrong with these numbers, because the numbers became faces, names, words, colors and smiles...
I see these numbers every day and they are no longer empty sounds. There are 300 children studying every day in the school that I am talking about, sitting on the ground, or hiding under the close by growing tree, with wind and sun reaching for them all the time...
I think it is wrong to let this school stay the way it is. I want to make a change. And this is where I feel I have no other way, but to appeal for your help, my friends and colleagues, people that know me and believe in me. Even in developing country like Mozambique proper schools (not like the one you see in the picture) are build with money. Even with all my great wish and great wish of my colleages volunteers here, we would not be able to start and finish the construction of the proper school with our own money.
If I don't use this opportunity to ask you for help, I might loose the opportunity to help people here. So this is what I am asking you for - to support my vision of the proper school for 300 children (every year!) of Manje village. If you feel you would like to help, there is an account number at the end of the email, to where you can transfer as much as you feel donating. Even 5 euro can make a change, though it seems to be so little. May it be the drop in the ocean, but it might improve conditions for 300 children next year and for the coming generations. And believe me! These children deserve every cent spent on construction of the proper school for them! And if you feel you know someone else who would be willing to help, feel free to forward this letter.
Please, close your eyes again and imagine the school... I will do my best to make this vision come true and I can promise you that your help will be used in a proper way. I am building the school. The construction is still in my head, but I am sure it will stand there, on the way from the College where I work to the local potter in the village...
Thank you for your patience while reading this quite long email and if you have any questions, suggestions or comments, please do not hesitate to write to me.
My best wishes from very hot Mozambique! (today it is 43!!!)
Eugenija
PS: I would like to give a special thank you to Edgar and Lucia for being great inspiration to me in daring to have a vision and reaching to make it true.
Account number:
Name: Giedre Ceponyte
Bank: SwedBank (www.swedbank.lt)
LT 787300010098589161
SWIFT code: HABA LT 22
More about payments: http://www.swedbank.lt/en/pages/private/domestic_and_international_payment_orders
Comments
Tavo blog'e publikuojamos nuotraukos - šaunios, tikrai puikiai perteikiančios emociją, turinčios Tavo "firminį" matymo kampą. Dar džiugu tai, kad jos -aukštos rezoliucijos.
[b]Bet labiausiai kas juntama iš Tavo būtent pastarojo meto publikacijų - tai dideli vidiniai Tavo asmenybės pokyčiai. Džiugu, kad visomis savo išgalėmis prisidedi, kad pasaulis taptų geresniu.[/b] Matyt reikėjo Tau tos Afrikos, oi kaip reikėjo. Lygina Dievulis tas mūsų dvasines kupras savo specifiniais, mums nesuvokiamais metodais.
Žinau, kaip Tau nelengva. Dėkoju Tau už tai, ką darai. Meldžiuosi, kad nesusirgtum.
Su tikrai nuoširdžiais draugiškais linkėjimais - Robertas
Kaip ir sakai, bandau prisideti prie pasaulio pagerinimo. Kas is to gausis, matysime. Bet bandau save nuteikti, kad pati intencija yra gera ir nepaisant rezultato tai bus nuostabi patirtis tiek man, tiek zmonems esantiems aplinkui.
Aciu, Robertai, dar karta. Karsciausi linkejimai tau is Mozambiko!