As our
first week at LOAMO school comes to an end, I can confidently say that I can not
wait to start again on Monday. The teachers, students, and staff members have
opened their hearts to us and let us truly experience LOAMO School. All the
kids have learned our names and are so kind and grateful everyday.
Today we
went to the school to clean all the classrooms. The teachers were having a
team-building seminar while we all cleaned. Each person cleaned the room that they
have been teaching in throughout the week. Usually, no one is looking forward
to cleaning and they dread it, but today I was excited. I had been looking at
the chalk dust all over the blackboard and the dirt on the floor all week and
just have been itching to clean them.
I took out
all the chairs and tables and started with the windows. I saw four spiders alone
when I was cleaning the windows, and I was honestly terrified. Then, some of
the cleaning ladies and I mopped the floor. Their mops are old sweaters that
they dunk in a bucket of water and drag across the floor. It is very hard to do
and it is hard on your back as well. The cleaning ladies laughed and laughed
while watching me try to mop. I tried to clean the walls afterwards, but after
so many years of not being cleaned there is only so much you can do. Then, I
moved onto the blackboard. Cleaning the board and all the dust was the most
satisfying thing of all. I cleaned the desks and swept the floor. After that, I
was done with my room and I moved onto the bathrooms. The bathrooms are holes
in the ground that you squat over and try to aim at, which is extremely hard to
do, so there was plenty of cleaning to do. It was gross, and it smelled bad,
but once you finish you feel extremely accomplished and you know that your work
will be deeply appreciated. Not only did the teachers and students appreciate
it but also we were helping take the load off the cleaning ladies. They get
paid 2 dollars a day and clean the entire school every weekend and help in the
kitchen on the weekdays. Knowing we were helping to lighten their load was
extremely fulfilling and to see their smiles at the end of the day made the
entire trip.
When we
finished and the teachers were done with their seminar, they all went to check
their rooms. The amount of gratitude they expressed after they saw what we had
done made the bad smells, sweat, blisters, and sore backs worth it all. Even
the headmaster sat us down and told how incredibly thankful he was for what we
had done. The sense of pride it instilled in all of us was inspiring and made
us want to come back every weekend to help clean. It really showed me how much
one little thing could do for someone. Especially here in Tanzania with the
huge sense of community, a little goes a long way.
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