Today I also get the honor to write something for the blog. My name is Lisanne and I'm from Holland.I have been an volunteer here with Ywam for the last eight weeks and I will stay in the Reborn house for the coming four weeks.
Last week was my first week here in this house and I immediately got to join in the work of the Reborn house. On Thursday I really got the opportunity to get to know the children in the community centre and they got to know me. In the morning I went with Rodolpho and Annet to give English lessons at the community centre. There were three adorable children who wanted to learn english. We started with the usual sentences like: what is your name, where are you from and how old are you? After practicing these sentences, I got to tell something about myself and why I'm here. I told about my life, my school and about Holland. One boy was really fascinated with Holland. He asked how we people in Holland transport ourselves, what is good or bad about Holland and if our refrigerators open when we just clap our hands. This last question was really funny. I told him that in Holland we open our fridge just like them; by hand. But these kind of questions also show the perspective of these kids. For them, Holland is the other side of the world. It is a country they will probably never visit. They have certain ideas about Holland that it is fantastic and really modern, so when I tell them that most people in Holland just ride their bicycles everyday, they are pretty shocked. It was good to get these kind of questions again, so that we don't forget how small the world for these children is and that they really see things differently.
In the afternoon I did another English class together with Luciana. This group was a bit bigger and the children were around ten or eleven years old. Unfortunately these children were really shy and were afraid to practice the english out loud or practice with me. Also, when I got to tell something about myself, they didn't really ask questions. One girl asked how the weather in Holland is like but there weren't much more questions. I asked them what they want to become when they grow up. This question was easy to answer for them; firefighters, police, singer or all three together, they had big dreams. I was glad to see and hear about their dreams because I met a lot of children and teenagers who's life evolve around boyfriends, drugs, sex or hanging on the street with no prospects on the future.
One day earlier, on Wednesday, we talked to two teenage girls in the slums. Luciana already knew them and had a chat with them about how they were doing. They were really fascinated about where I came from and the blond hair of course. I told about my school again and my life in Holland and also asked them what they want to become in a few years. One girl wanted to be a singer but didn't think it would ever happen because it is to hard. I said to her that no dream is easy and that sitting in the house wasn't going to help either. The other girl wasn't going to school anymore because she rather spend time now with here boyfriend and her friends. I told her about my situation in Holland. Last summer I was about to graduate from high school. I had to study really hard for my exams because many subjects were really hard for me. But I told her that in that time of exams, two or three weeks, I rarely saw my friends or boyfriend because I really wanted to get my diploma. Without a diploma I couldn't go to university next year so I had to study. My friends understood that and I did pass my exams and will start the study to become a midwife in September. I told them that if you really want something in life, you should make the effort to reach this dream. Of course a boyfriend is nice but he should also chase his own dreams so that in a few years you both have a good job and can buy a nice house and really live a good life. They seemed to understand but I doubt that they will chase anything in their life. For these girls , the life in the slum is all there is. No dreams, no seeing the world.
I will keep telling my story, in the hope that one day, one boy or girl will break free from their old life and start a life with good prospects on a good future. This is a prayer I repeat every day.
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