Have you ever thought about what progress looks like? Maybe the term makes you think of political campaign slogans, science fiction novels or new groundbreaking developments in healthcare.
For me, progress makes me think of three little steps. Here is the story to explain why.
Oasis Balbala is located in the heart of a neighbourhood full of children. As I walk towards the building, kids peek out of windows and doorways and call out in French, English, and the local language. I am often escorted to the library by children asking:
“When will you open?”
“Is today for girls or boys?”
“Am I allowed to come in yet?”
Regularly I have to tell the children to wait 10 minutes while I set things up and wait for the other teachers to arrive. When they do I am alerted first by the children calling through the window, “Teacher, they are here, I swear. You can open the door now!”
One little boy I noticed because he would peek at me around the parked vehicles. When I waved sometimes he would wave back, but often he would run away. But then he became braver and would come up to the library and peek through the open door. The other teachers said he had never been any further. However one busy day, I noticed he was sitting on the step in front of the door. I waved to him – he smiled but did not move.
The next week he was there again. We were not too busy so I took a little book and sat on the step with him. He was small, and while I am not sure of his age, he was certainly too young to go to school. I pointed at the pictures and just narrated in the local language what I saw. “There is a cow. There is a cat. The cat is sleeping. His eyes are closed. There is a tree. A tall tree. There is a little tree (bush).” I pointed at different colours and tried to persuade him to tell me his name. The next day was similar. One of the other teachers, who is at Oasis in the evenings with the adults, would also, on occasion, sit outside with him and look at books.
Slowly he began to warm to us. He had always smiled but then he began to chatter. When we looked at the book, he would point out all the things I had pointed out the first time and would ask me to tell him the colours again. Sometimes he would come as we were closing and he would use a rag he had brought with him to help clean the door. He also often offered to sweep the floor.
Finally, last Saturday, he came inside!
His chatterbox older brother came regularly and this time my young friend came in with him, walking straight past the step he usually sat on. He took off his shoes, washed his hands, and climbed up to sit at the table. We looked at the different vowels, trying to see the difference between the a and the o. After a few minutes of reading, he played with the different puzzles. He stayed for the whole session. And when we were closing he came back, reminding me to turn the fan off and offering to pull the door closed as we left.
It was just three steps between the front step and the table where we sat to read and play games. But those three little steps accompanied by a smile and an eagerness to learn made a world of difference. Maybe he will not come to every session. Maybe next time he will return to his step out front.
Nevertheless, I am very proud of his three steps and am hopeful for the future. That is progress!
Kerith Trust 