My name is Jayne Cawthon and I am an intern in Lesotho, Africa for the Beautiful Dream Society. I wake up most days in awe of how amazing this opportunity is. I write down every event and detail my mind could possibly remember at the end of the day because taking it all in, down to the last sight of the sun as it sets, to the early mornings being awakened by children laughing, singing, and running on their way to school, is usually overwhelming and wonderful.
I also am the one in our house of staff members who loves to write. So I am going to share with you all some of the incredible things that are happening here in this city and this country, and to these Americans and volunteers from other parts of the world as we join with BDS. We want to see Jesus in the lives we encounter here, and we want to know Him more as we do it.
This blog in particular is going to expound on the education we provide for our 12 amazing kiddos at the Love House, our home for orphans. I have the unbelievable privilege to teach our six older children English, so I get to see them day in and day out. The other six little ones go to the other side of the classroom (a quaint, cement building with dividing walls), to sing, learn their alphabet, and how to read and write from “Teacha Jo”. I am “Teacha Jayne”. And yes, when they call me that, I melt.
Lesotho’s public schools need a lot of development. At BDS, we have taken our kids out of the public school system and decided to create our own education program to increase their progress and chances at a higher education. We want them to have the best and not fall behind. In accordance with this, we are seeking out the best possible curriculum and have hired a lovely teacher for their math and social studies portion of their education.
What is beautiful about the things I see every day is the thirst for learning that our children have. They want to read better, they want to write well, they want to be fluent in English, and, if you can believe it, they want homework! They are as capable and as smart as any other child with normal learning capabilities and progressive capacities. (In all honesty, I’d like to think they’re even more brilliant than the average child because they odds or so stacked against them yet their memory and quiz scores in English amaze me.) These kids want to study and learn, even if it’s right outside of their home, next to their bedrooms.
Coming up in Part II: The story of an 11-year-old girl flourishing in our Lesotho education program!