Nobody Said it Was Easy

The end of teaching. The first of the summer camps. Goodbyes. Hellos. Periods of transition are always difficult.

But I've been caught off guard.

I participated in my first Camp GLOW last week (Girls Leading Our World), and I was honored to have met so many capable and driven young students from all across the region. To have so much energy and ambition concentrated in one place, it was truly a spectacle. We quite literally NEVER stopped singing, so you know that I was content. :) We talked of health, sexual harassment, AIDS, and support networks. Of Moringa trees and Planet Earth. Hectic, exhausting, and one of the most touching weeks of my life.

But for every successful monument built there's always a shadow cast. I truly do not yet understand the Beninese manner of collaboration, compromise, and adherence to rules. As far as I can tell, anything goes, and things that were certain one day will be cast into doubt the next. The end of the school year is a time for relief for those who successfully pass onto the next grade. For those who repeat a year, however, it's a trying time. If they don't pass after the second year, they will be unable to return for a 3rd year. What this means is their schooling is over. But some professors lack a backbone, and tribalism still weighs heavily on people's decision-making processes.

I know I was warned about this, but when a girl is told she will pass into the next form one day, and she comes to school the next day to find all the scaffolding has crumbled...

God bless this country, but life really just straight up isn't fair sometimes.

Sorry for being cryptic. I don't know how better to describe this situation without making accusations that shouldn't be made. I have a heavy heart today, and am trying to keep busy.

No need to be concerned, but life can be frustrating here. Thank God I'm keeping (really) busy over the next couple months, and then I'll get to see the majority of you during my trip home in August. In the mean time, happy summer! And happy 4th of July! And, of course, congratulations to my mother for FINALLY reaching the end of her teaching. There's always plenty of kids over here that could use a dedicated educator like you!