This morning I went to Simpani to see all the women in the Literacy Program. They were all in the classroom with the teacher who gave out their notebooks, pencils etc. Their faces were so happy, excited and full of expectancy. As I watched them all I got a lump in my throat. I wanted to freeze that hour in a time frame, never to be forgotton. For nearly all of them it was the first time they had ever sat in a classroom. One lady said she would not always be able to get there on time as she was a labourer. Mann asked me what to do about that but I said that was no problem, her face was so full of eagerness that it seemed a small matter if she could not get there on time. We now have 22 women enrolled in this program. The teacher is a very nice young lady who made out a register with all their names. I shook all their hands and wished them luck and told them they would all get a certificate if they completed six months. Then they will have the option to continue. This is a great program for women, just giving them this chance to read, write and learn simple math I think is one of the best things we have done here. Their lives are so hard that this is a bright light for them.
Tomorrow all the Simpani families are coming to the school to say goodbye to me. It will be very hard to say goodbye to these wonderful women and their families.
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