Dinosaurs, at last
13 Dec 2011 4 Comments
in Lessons, Literacy, Peace Corps
On Tuesday, December 6th the Chateaubelair Methodist School held a ceremony to commemorate the opening of the new school library. Our APCD Mr. Cool – my neighbor, who once worked as a teacher at the school – gave remarks on the importance of reading and literacy, and how he has made sure that this school has received continued support from the Peace Corps. Our school’s principal thanked everyone who has been involved in ensuring this library project turned out to be a success – from the Ministry of Education to Hands Across the Sea and those generous folks at ACE for donating paint. The assembly program also included performances by the Student Librarians, and a “prezi-ntation” that documented the library’s development through photos and information about joining the library.
The opportunity to witness and have a hand in the development of this project has been a truly humbling cornerstone of my service. I recall first seeing the space that had been designated to be the new library. Filled with broken benches, desks and chairs, old books, and covered in dust and cobwebs, the thought of transforming this abandoned classroom into a functional library unearthed all kinds of insecurities and self-doubts about not being able to deliver. My predecessor, Stephanie, had organized a donation of over 40 boxes of books that she had shipped to St. Vincent from Arizona. There were days early on when I would retreat to this room, a flood of emotions as I navigated the unchartered waters of my new developing life as a PCV. Some days I would sit alone in the library, pressing the school stamp into the books one at a time, with tears streaming down my face, wondering if and when I would actually see the day this lonely space would be turned into one filled with life and books and children.
“Miss Camille, when the library gwaan open?” children would ask me each day I arrived at school. Their anticipation kept me going and I promised myself I wouldn’t disappoint their innocent and hopeful faces.
I began to realize that the amount of support I was receiving was directly correlated with the amount of energy I put into this work. Students began offering help – unsolicited! – sacrificing their break times to stamp and color code books, move furniture, and clear away dust and cobwebs off of the old bookshelves. Parents started showing up spending hours organizing the library with me and Carla, the government intern who has been a Godsend through the final phases of completing the library space. Teachers raised funds to purchase the linoleum for the floor and contributed their input about how the library should be run. And the Principal served as an invaluable guidepost for how to get things done.
The library now houses over 1500 books, from encyclopedias to adult fiction to pre-K picture books, and plenty of art supplies to assist in encouraging creative teaching in the classrooms. One student told me “I like the school library because we can learn things out of the books, like about dinosaurs at last.”
Before
After
The resourcefulness of everyone who assisted in this project has been an important lesson for me. I’ve learned and seen firsthand how the inherent creativity of my colleagues, neighbors, and students have helped to synthesize this remarkable accomplishment. My role in all of it was to merely serve as a catalyst; enabling and working alongside those around me to create this space in service to our community in a collaborative labor of love.
And now we can all read and learn about dinosaurs at last, just in time for Christmas.
Of Dreams and Fears
05 Dec 2011 4 Comments
“Dreams are illustrations… from the book your soul is writing about you.” -Marsha Norman
For years I’ve harbored this fear that I’ll be discovered; a fraud whose accomplishments were never legitimately earned, one of those people who skated by in life with mere luck and coincidence of being in the right place at the right time.
In truth I know these fears are manifestations of insecurities – expressing themselves at times when pressures feel like they’re resting heavy on my chest, making it hard to breathe, and infiltrating into my psyche through the intimacy of my dreams; haunting me until the moment of truth finally passes. The fear of failure and disappointing others is so overwhelming that visions of myself choking under the pressure in a paralysis of anxiety cloud my perspective, and staying sensitive to the world and its needs seems counterproductive to the effort it takes in the struggle to simply stay standing.
In times like these I am most grateful for the kindred souls who’ve crossed my path, and who have been a mirror of truth when reality feels like a whirlwind of tasks and lists and expectations. The friends who see the peace and strength I might not, and remind me of it without even realizing the incredible healing power one snapshot can capture.
photo by Brooke Campbell
Grateful.
