introduction
The end of the road – well for me at least. What started in August of 2023 as an ambitious revitalization project for the remnants of the US PeaceCorps Service Group has turned into much more that I could’ve imagined. My team of amazing leaders, Aran, Zach, Malaika and Alessandro, and all of our devote service members coupled with the unwavering support of Mrs. Martina & Mrs. Nathalie turned a once frowned upon service group into one that is respected widely.
Closing ceremony
On the 25th of April, the Cultural Exchange Program commemorated the final session for the first cycle of children who attended our program to improve their English proficiency and immerse themselves in other cultures – something of which we have in abundance at OSC. Each of the 40 children, from four different religious backgrounds and schools, received a certificate of completion of the program, which commenced in October. After over 20 sessions with the children, countless games and activities, touching memories, and a lot of talking (isn’t that the whole purpose?), it was irrevocably sad to let them go for good.
The closing ceremony consisted of a celebration of the English skills that the children have accumulated thus far. The children grouped themselves according to their religion, and presented a significant religious/cultural event to the room, aided by a poster that they made in the previous sessions. Each of them answered basic questions relating to the event, such as what their favorite food/games are or what does the event signify for them. I was quite impressed with their progress and especially their openness to converse in English – they were so shy in the beginning!
Finally, Dr. Mechum initiated the award ceremony with a short speech, and proceeded to hand out the awards individually to each child, with a souvenir OSC t-shirt. And after loads of photos and talking, and a bit of internal sadness, we bid them adieu as they left the OSC gates for one last time.
I am so grateful for the journey we have gone through – and I rest easy knowing that the service lies in the good hands of Aran, Alessandro and Malaika. I hope they pick up from where Zach & Myself left off, and expand our service projects to do more outreach, especially like HFK has done in the OSC community.
What a ride it has been!
