The construction of the first building of our future secondary school is nearing its completion. Every morning the first thing I do is go to the construction site and discuss with the workers what to do next.

And so I did several days ago. I was the first one at the construction site and I was quite surprised to see several kids running away with our bricks in their hands. My blood pressure immediately went up, because I thought perhaps some grown-ups had talked them into stealing the bricks. Something like that is very common here.

I started to approach them fast, determined to find out whom they were taking the bricks for. And then… I stopped as swiftly as I started to walk! They were stacking the bricks into a small wall. I smiled, realizing that they were just playing. “Hey! What are you up to?” I asked as I approached them. They just smiled and invited me to come closer. When I stood next to them, I heard one of the most beautiful things I could imagine, “We are building the school, too! We are helping the craftsmen!” they all shouted at the same time with huge smiles on their faces.

And that is exactly what I have been waiting years for; for the residents of Kivumu to realize how important education really is for their children. The whole village has been talking about our new school for months now; everyone seems excited and impatient to see it open. Parents come, go around, watch, offer help. The youngest residents of Kivumu have also noticed it, and so they too have joined the construction efforts in their own special way. Their small wall, a product of playfulness, to me is a great victory! A victory because just few years ago no one in Kivumu understood why their children should go to school at all… And today the whole village – both the old and the young ones – are overjoyed to bear witness to the construction of another school! Isn’t that amazing?!

Translated by Branimir Mlakić
Edited by Valerie Kae Ken

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