A Little Success Goes a Long Way

In Mocupe, upon being told of 20 students, 10 boys and 10 girls, that were having a particularly hard time either with behavior or with grades due to difficulties at home, I formed two self-development small groups.  The students were mandated to attend by the school director and partnering teacher.  The first day I met with the students I was so nervous.  Here were students experiencing problems I could barely fathom and they were being told they had to attend my group.  All I could think is that they would not be interested in what I had to say or spending their otherwise free time with me. 

By the end of the first day, I could not feel more differently.  The girls group began as I thought it would.  8 of the 10 girls showed up late and unenthusiastically to our set meeting time.  By some magic or miracle, the 8 girls finished the session with much more interest, even asking if they could invite other girls to join our group the next week and thanking me for my time.  The girls group grew to over 20 students.  Encouraged, I prepared for the boys group.  I think maybe 7 of the boys showed up but those who came seemed more interested. The group would later dwindle to really only 4 committed members. It wasn’t what happened then that surprised me though.  It was what happened when I returned to the school later for another event.  Another boy who hadn’t been in my group came up and asked what we were doing in those meetings.  Waiting to discover his angle in asking, I gave broad, general answers.  But he pressed on until I was really explaining the plan of the group to him with themes of self-esteem, positive communication, and planning for the future.  He then looked at me and asked (in Spanish), “And how do I do that?  How do I become a better person?  Because I know the teachers think I am a trouble maker.”  It was such a genuine request from a 14-year-old boy who was, in fact, looked at as a trouble maker.  And in front of 3 other students no less!  And with that he and I and the 3 other students sat down right there on the concrete and did the entire lesson from my group over again.  I then invited them to join the next big group meeting and walked the whole way home with a heart fuller than it may have ever been before. You come to accept you’re not going to change the world or maybe even make a real difference during your work in the Peace Corps – but I had at least made a tiny start of a difference in one student in one high school in one community.