If you asked me to describe the spirit of Darfur, I would tell you that all you need to do is look at Fatima. She’s a veteran Little Ripples teacher—having now taught at the school for four years! Fatima personifies the spirit of Darfur: strong, intelligent, loyal, passionate, loving, and fierce.
Hundreds of children have now had the great experience of coming under her care. She treats them all with tender respect, and gives them personal attention no matter how much activity there is around her.
Fatima told us that when she first became a teacher it was only a job, but she quickly fell in love with children and everything having to do with them. She says that now she loves all children and is curious about their behavior and lives—not only the ones in her school but all the ones she sees daily in the refugee camp.
Last summer, the most painful thing imaginable as a parent happened to her. She gave birth to two beautiful baby girls—twins! She immediately fell in love with them, she told us. She was full of happiness. Not too long after, they fell ill with malaria and died. “All happiness left me,” she said.
At the end of the summer, when school started again, Fatima showed up to work. You could see the deep sadness in her eyes, but she went back to her students and treated them with love and kindness. Now, months later, she is smiling again, and it is clear that she gets her energy from all the children that she comes in contact with.
Fatima has also become essential in the scaling up of Little Ripples. She is the perfect peer-to-peer trainer. She is the first to raise her hand and volunteer to show new teachers what she has learned over the years, and she does it with such skill and joy!
I am so proud to be working next to Fatima. She shows me what it means to be a leader. She is the spirit of Darfur.
Peace, Gabriel #WithRefugees #WeAreDarfur