We Were Invited… (Philippines)

November 7, 2014

By Susan Herrig

Shortly after returning from the Philippines, I had the opportunity to share with my niece Katie Maneman about George’s and my trip. Katie is a second grade teacher at Carver Elementary in Dubuque, Iowa. She is an enthusiastic teacher with a heart for her students looking for opportunities to not only teach them but also make them better individuals in the process. She immediately extended an invitation to George and I to come and talk to her students.

On Friday, May 9th at 10:00 a.m. George and I entered the second grade classroom at Carver Elementary of my niece, Miss Maneman. She, along with Miss Angela Budde and Mrs. Joyce Valentine’s second graders totaled 60 plus smiling children.

We presented a Power Point Presentation showing the children several things we were told that were of interest to them:

• How long does it take to get to the Philippines?
• How many miles is it from Dubuque to the Philippines?
• What kind of food do they eat?
• Where do they live?
• Tell us about the school . . .

During the presentation, many hands kept going up as their inquisitive minds were being stirred. The girls giggled to know that Filipino little girls like the color ‘pink’ just like them. That Filipino children play ‘tag’ or ‘duck, duck, goose’ only by different names.

They had learned about the flooding in the Philippines. We were able to show them some of the pictures Brother Allan, the school guidance counselor, had sent to us. Not only did we show the pictures of the flood but of the rebuilding of the school and the homes. We shared how excited we were about our new Computer Science Lab. They were very excited as well.

As George and I left that day, we felt so blessed by this experience. The children were so delightful and courteous to us.

However, the story doesn’t stop there. The Carver 2nd Grade Students of Miss Maneman, Miss Budde and Mrs. Valentine decided they wanted to do something to help the KMMS children. They decided to give our KMMS Library a boost by donating boxes and boxes of reading books that arrived this September for our students to enjoy.

Again, Thank-You from all of us at Reaching Beyond Words to Miss Maneman, Miss Budde, Mrs. Valentine and their wonderful students for their warm welcome to us and their generous support.