The closing ceremony and house dedication were just about to start when Francis, Habitat’s local coordinator, approached me.
“What will your team do as their cultural performance?” he asked.
Umm, what? Our “portion” of the program? “Oh sure,” I said, my mind quickly running through each student’s presentation skills. “Coming right up.”
In the end—wedged between Sri Lankan dances performed by a quartet of young girls and some very touching speeches and gift-giving—our students performed their Jai Ho dance from last year (pictured above). Bradley perfectly introduced it as exactly the sort of thing we do at an international school. The music started and the crowd loved it.
This was a perfect finish to our time here. All the families gathered and a representative from each said a few words as many other people from the village looked on. The gratitude was so genuine it was impossible not to be moved, especially when the families passed out small gifts as tokens of their thanks. Our kids really did themselves proud with their demeanor and reciprocal gratitude.
Finally there was the house dedication. Ten days ago Mr. Provencher and Himesh got the work started there by spending seven back-breaking hours smashing away old cement. Now there stands a dining room. Mr. P. cut the tape with the homeowner to signal the completion of the work. It was a great moment.
Our flight back to Oman leaves in three hours and there’s a satisfied buzz amongst the team as we say goodbye to Francis, our loveable little guest house, and Negombo. I couldn’t be more proud of the work our team did over the last ten days. A week before we left, I reminded the students that they would be representing not only themselves, but also ABIS, their countries, and Habitat For Humanity.
They did everyone proud.
Heinrich says goodbye to the homeowner he helped out all week
Clarissa, too
Anna Clara and Bryan take in the ceremony with the kids
Mr. P makes it official