As Will has mentioned we are busy sorting the house out ready to rent it out and as is often the way when you start painting one wall the next looks like it needs a good lick of paint too. So after a few visits to the DIY store we have begun the task. Will is better with the roller and I with a paint brush but in all honesty I don't think anyone would employ us!
I realise that we are in a process of transition and as the time goes by it is interesting to experience a growing sense of removal from our daily work-lives. Parts of my responsibility are already being handed on to others and there are moments when I feel quite detached as meetings are held at my school to discuss the appointment of the next headteacher. Meetings to which I am not to play a part. I am however praying for a great replacement as is Will for his role at SIM.
I am conscious that many of the young people with whom we will come in contact in Liberia have been through very difficult times. They have experienced 14 years of civil war and for many this will have been the majority of their life. Many were used as child soldiers and saw things happen in their lives that no-one should ever have to see! The murder of family members or the abduction of siblings. This must have lead to many young lives being traumatised. In a small effort to try to understand and be prepared, I have signed up for a set of seminars on Resilience which deal with how emotions effect learning and personality and how to deal with young people who have been traumatised.
Here is a video from YouTube that gives an insight into the lives of girl soldiers from Liberia. It breaks your heart!
