Recently, my colleague David called me whilst I was away to inform me that the mother of one of our scholarship recipients had come to thank the foundation for supporting her son. The reason she felt compelled to come and express her gratitude was primarily because—for the first time since her son started school—he wasn’t sent home for unpaid school fees, and his friend had not been bullying him.
I understand that in today’s Liberia, when kids are sent home for failing to pay any school-related fees, their friends laugh at them and sing a song: “School fees dog bit you.”
When I mentioned this to one of my sisters, her reaction was, “This didn’t happen in our generation.” Which is true. My siblings and I went to St. Peter’s Lutheran School from kindergarten to 9th grade, and then I went on to B.W. Harris High School. My entire educational journey was one where we were a community. If someone was sent home, we would form a delegation to speak with Mrs. Jorkey (at Lutheran School), or harass our individual parents when we got home. But also, kids were rarely sent home; schools and parents had a social compact. It wasn’t always about the money—it was about nurturing and mentoring well-rounded individuals.
My heart broke into a million pieces when my students recounted some of their woes, including the chanting of “School fees dog bit you.”
Where is the compassion? Who is raising these young children to lack empathy and compassion? When did school become only about the money?
Our teachers, parents, and we—the students—were a community. Okay, someone might say “the war” or “poverty.” I beg to differ. The war ended almost 22 years ago. That excuse holds very little water, as many of these children were not even born until after the last gun was fired. There must be a transference of this lack of compassion from the adults.
Compassion is urgently needed in our nation and in our world. We must all unite to join the Global Movement of Compassion. My Nobel brother, Kailash, sees this as a major ingredient to solving some of the world’s problems. I agree wholeheartedly—compassion is urgently needed.
As for my young student, no one will sing “School fees dog bit him” to him again until he finishes college, by God’s grace.
Spread compassion today!