Last day at Ccorao School, Peru

COUNTRY: Peru
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Construction
WRITTEN BY: Kate Elphinstone

The last day at Ccorao school was difficult to say the least. The small faces we had grown to know and love would be fixed permanently in our minds at this age, with little chance of seeing how they would grow.

During our time here, we worried that we weren't doing enough, that the children weren't learning enough, that we should have had more time at the school. But it was all put in perspective on the final day.

The gratitude that they showed us was a reminder that our time here meant more than we could have imagined. We travelled half way around the world to spend 2 hours, 5 days a week trying to teach English. We didn’t feel like we were doing enough, but then we weren’t looking at the big picture.

Just to have the school in the community, to have our In Country Partner help support local families and for the kids to meet and learn from us has made their community better. The families have support if they need it and education for their children offers an outlet from home life. Sadly, the school’s buildings are better than the homes in which they live. But the school allows them to be kids before reality forces them to grow up too soon.

Our last lesson was a chance for us to throw a party for our classes and hand out our gifts. It was one of our quietest lessons in grades 2 to 3, with the photos and pictures from Australia and koala key chains keeping them in awe. But it was nothing compared to the many gifts they gave to us, more than we expected; handmade earrings, bracelets and a classic Cusco woven shoulder bag.

After the lesson, we had time to return to the home we had visited the week before. We revisited the family with the boxes of supplies they needed: new shoes for the children, backpacks, blankets, clothes and school supplies. The young daughter was very happy with her new school bag, perhaps the only bag she will have for many years. It is such small offerings, such basic needs that can mean so much. That is something that resonates from our time here, that we should never underestimate what a small gesture, from our perspective, can mean.

When we returned to the school after the home visit the children clung to us, requesting photos and excitedly grabbing the camera to see the resulting image, fascinated. They held our hands, coaxing us to run with them, as we made our way across the paddock to the perimeter fence. The mud bricks we had helped move are now stacked into a sturdy fence, protecting the school grounds and property. The opening in the fence had been decorated with streamers. The teachers decided that us volunteers also needed to be decorated by streamers, followed by confetti and mass amounts of flowers for us to hold. We then officially 'opened' the new fence, breaking a vase like a piñata. And in true Ccorao style, it began to rain just as the teachers finished their speeches of thanks for our time at the school.

We headed inside for the final farewell and the final hugs from our kids. They sang to us first, then lined up and one by one hugged each of us, giving more bracelets and hand made cards. The line soon came to an end and that was it. They left, walking to their homes as we reviewed the photos, juggled all the gifts and looked around at each other in disbelief that we were at the end of our time here.

The next group will visit the school in April. It’s comforting to know that the work will continue, that more people will get to see these children grow. Even though we only had 4 weeks, it really is only the beginning of so much more.