Graduation
We had quite the weekend here at KEMPS and we are all feeling the effects of it this Monday.
Saturday was the graduation celebration for our seventh grade students. In Tanzania, the students have their graduation ceremony before they take their final exams and actually finish school. They do this so that in the days leading up to their exams they can give all of their effort and concentration to their studies, rather than anticipating their special day.
Preparations for the ceremony started over a month ago, and each grade level began practicing songs or dances for their part of the event. Invitations were sent to all the parents of the graduates and to special honored guests from the community and from the Lutheran church. By this time last week, you could feel the excitement buzzing around the campus. Kids were knocking on our door constantly asking to borrow a phone or a speaker to practice. My fifth grade class piled onto our porch every evening after dinner, practicing their dance over and over again to be sure it was perfect.
On Thursday afternoon we had a full school rehearsal where each class presented what they had prepared, including special entrances and exits. The seventh graders were supposed to stay on the other side of campus so that the performances would be a surprise, but they couldn’t help but pass by the dining hall, peeking in the windows with sneaky smiles on their faces.
After the rehearsal the seventh grade girls asked if they could come the next day so I could paint their nails like I did for the girls last year (kids remember everything). So Friday evening, as soon as they had finished bathing, the 27 girls piled onto our guest room beds to have their toes done. I gave them some special lotion to put on their feet as they waited for their turn and they all got to pick out their own color. They watched, “ooing” and “aahing” as I painted the first girl’s tiny toes. They could hardly contain their excitement as they discussed what the following day would be like.
The celebration began at 9 in the morning with worship. Our campus pastor lead the service and gave a short message to the graduates who sat in the front rows. They were all dressed in clean uniforms with yellow sashes draped across their chests. Their white socks were spotless and their shoes freshly polished. Someone had given the girls glitter which they had dotted across their cheeks and noses. They were beaming with joy and pride. After worship, parents slowly began to arrive, and we began the rest of the celebration. The school choir sang, and my fifth graders performed their dance, followed by all of the other classes. There was a basket on stage so that the students could give candy and the guests could give money to show their enjoyment for each performance. My class got a full basket of candy and 24,000 shillings! (Approximately 12 USD) They were so proud of themselves and could not wait to dig into their sweets.
Once every class had performed, the younger students went outside to have their lunch while the guests of honor gave speeches to the seventh graders. It wasn’t long before the students had finished eating and filed back into the dining hall with their sodas and candy. They were in heaven.
Finally, at around 2 PM, it was time for the graduates to receive their certificates. They proudly processed forward, one by one, to shake the hands of the guests of honor and receive the recognition they had been so anxiously waiting for. The parents rushed to the stage at the sound of their students’ name to adorn them with special necklaces, cards, and flowers, and take as many photos as they could before the announcer asked them to sit back down. Once all the certificates had been distributed, there was a special time for the parents and students to give gifts or words of appreciation for the teachers. The whole class sang a special song, thanking them for their hard work and for caring for them so well over the years. Some parents even teared up as they thanked the staff for raising their children – many of whom had been boarding students at KEMPS since they were in preschool.
By 3:00 the campus pastor closed the ceremony with a prayer, and everyone made their way outside to get in line for lunch. The younger students, having already eaten, ran around the compound with their friends, trying to scout out which graduate’s family might give them a piece of cake. The families spread out all over the campus. Some brought blankets, others tables and chairs, but all of them brought cake. Cake was what every student had been waiting for since last year’s graduation. Each graduate, after eating lunch with their family, got to cut into their cake and feed a small piece to everyone who had come to celebrate them. Once the family had gotten their share, the students took their cakes around the campus, offering pieces to all the teachers and the younger students.
This year, two staff members – Madam Peace and Madam Evodia - had children graduating, and they invited the rest of the staff to stop by their celebrations after lunch. Joseph and I, already full from the delicious catered meal, went to Madam Peace’s celebration first, planning to just stay for a few minutes. We were immediately ushered inside the dorm where we were given soda and a plate full of chicken, beef and potatoes, and told to sit down and make ourselves comfortable. We stayed for close to a half hour and watched as Peace’s daughter Oprah cut her cake and fed each of us. We couldn’t leave without taking a dozen pictures, both with Oprah, and the whole family.
After much protesting from Madam Peace, we made our way to Madam Evodia’s celebration in a nearby classroom. Again we were given sodas and a plate of food – this time chips and BBQ beef - and told to sit and stay for a while. Madam Evodia’s son, Jovan, sat at the front of the class smiling with his massive cake on the table in front of him. After giving Jovan his gifts, we were, once again, all given cake before we made a quick exit. It was nearly 6:00 when we finally headed home after visiting with several other families. We both immediately crashed and slept until 8:00 when there was a knock on the door. The knock was none other than the seventh graders, hands full with plates of cake and bags of candy, coming to make sure that Mr. Joseph and I got a piece from each one of them.
Knowing that in just 100 days I will be moving back to the US, leaving the country that has been my home for the past three years, I’ve found myself reflecting a lot on what made me fall in love with Tanzania, and what I will miss most. Saturday’s events encapsulated all of those things. The children who have such genuine spirits and wisdom beyond their years. The overwhelming joy found even in the smallest pieces of cake. The celebrations of life and love and thanksgiving to God. And the endless generosity, even from those who have so little to give. What a blessing to know that no matter where I go, I can always call this incredible place “home”.
Mungu akubariki,
Allee
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