Child Resiliency Program Graduation

So here's what I love about children; especially badly behaved children, give them an audience and they become superstars!  That's just what happened at the graduation ceremony last night.  It was truly a night filled with promise because it not only shows the adults what is really in these children, the children see what's really in them too.  The video above is Dr. Kim Scott who is the director of the program who serves these children with the patience of Job and the love of God.  This program is run by Hope United Church with the support of the Japanese Embassy, a branch of the Jamaican government (Child Welfare or some such ting), and a few local businesses.  What I love about Jamaica and its government is that they have no problem including God in what they do.  (Of course with the crime rate, corruption, and murder rate one would have to wonder how much of it they believe, but the fact that God is included suggests that there's hope.)

At any rate, here are some of my favorite moments of the program:

This is the Japanese Ambassador giving a speech.   I don't think many of us understood a word he said but we certainly felt the sincerity of heart!   (Imagine the challenge of learning English in the midst of so many Jamaican patois'!)

These students were given an opportunity to share what the program meant to them and what they learned in the past two years.  It was heart warming to hear them talk about learning honesty, truth, and justice.  Each child wrote their own speech and gave honor to all of those teachers who supported them throughout their two year journey.

Adolescent boys dancing... hilarious!  But they were as earnest as they we uncoordinated!

This was the highlight of the program for me!  "I'm A Star"  I love the lyrics of the chorus:  I'm that star up in the sky, I'm that mountain peak so high, and I've made it.  I'm the world's greatest.  I'm that little bit of hope when my backs against the ropes, but I've made it.  I'm the world greatest.  I hope as that confront the challenges that life will bring their way these lyrics will remind them of their true identity.

Finally, I'd like to formally (ok, not so formally) introduce you to the woman who leads the Hope United Church and is the Executive Director of the Theodora Project, the Rev. Dr. Margaret Fowler.

 

Rev. Dr. Margaret Fowler

Well, that's all folks!