October 21, 2014 was the day the Gobele Sharyn School was officially opened. It was an amazing and emotional day, the culmination of the journey that started with Sharyn’s dying wish. We were excited to see the school come to fruition but there was also a void now that what had been worked for so hard all year was complete. The void was just in our hearts as reaching the end of the journey it felt as though it were time to let go and move on. I’m sure the same sentiment was not shared by the children who were just seeing the world open up before them. It was incredible to see how bringing a school to a community can affect and benefit the entire community, not just the children in, so many ways.
The people of Gobele had a school before which consisted of a few rudimentary shacks built with sticks with pieces of wood for the children to sit on. Needless to say, it was not an environment conducive to learning. The children spent their time staring through the cracks in the walls and the teachers had no materials or motivation with which to teach.
Imagine 1 Day used the money from Sharyn to not only build the school but to build capacity amongst the teachers, to supply materials for the classrooms, to form a PTA, and build a latrine for boys and girls allowing them privacy, especially necessary for girls when they reach the age of menstruation and become marriageable. Not to mention previously a tree at the edge of the school property which stands over a river that is the town’s water supply is what had been used as a latrine.
We arrived to the children fanning the track we were walking in on, they were clapping and singing “Welcome, welcome how are you, Welcome, welcome we love you” as we passed under the banner that read the Gobele Sharyn School. At the inauguration, we heard from community elders, religious leaders, and the principal of the school all of whom related how the new school had benefited all the people of the community. They all ended with we love you and thank you again and again. Each time it was so heartfelt it brought tears to my eyes. I was so touched how the story and spirit of Sharyn had been kept alive in the community and everyone knew what she had done to empower their community. The most powerful speaker was a girl of 18 or so who is married and attending school at the grade 4 level with her baby tied to her back. She spoke of how before small children and girls could not attend school because of the distances they had to travel, or because the girls risked abduction along the way and how now even married and with a baby she can attend school because it is accessible in her community.
We toured the school and saw some of the classes in action. It was exciting to see that parents were attending with their children. Even though they were attending at a grade 3 or 4 level they were excited to learn and become literate and participated fully in the classes, even raising their hands to answer questions. Very high in the cuteness quotient was watching the kindergarten and grade 1 classes sing their ABC’s. We heard from a couple of girls in the grade 5 class about their thankfulness to continue attending classes (most children drop out after grade 4, our school will eventually go to grade 8). A poll was done of the class and most children wanted to grow up to be doctors or teachers which are the two professions they see and respect, or engineers, or police.
A library has been created to allow for quiet reading space, and for access to books for the whole community. Many of the books were actual books from Sharyn’s collection that her son Gabe had sent ahead to be distributed to the schools. There were a few tears when old toys and books were recognized by the boys.
Since the School opened the attendance rate has increased to 81% and they have instituted a child-to-child networking strategy where the older children are educating children aged 4-6 in their neighbourhoods. There are currently 40 children participating in these classes. There are currently 322 children from the village attending school, and the school has the capacity to reach 450 when the upper grades are added. This village will have an entire community that is literate and can continue into higher education or at the very least have enough knowledge to be able to weigh and sell their goods at market, or to make phone calls to their friends, because now they know the basics of numbers and letters.
I am so proud to have been a part of what Sharyn and her family and Imagine 1 Day have created. Words cannot describe the impact of this day, and the year leading up to it, on both the community and the friends and family of Sharyn Mandel, a true hero.
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