Wat betekent Tjeko in het leven van de jongvolwassenen die de Academy doen en werken op de Fun Fair? Lees de brief van Alban Mwase:
“Tjeko to me symbolises almost all that I know about work, from the good, to the challenging and even the bad aspects of the word.
Fresh out of high school I began volunteering, and one of the things that still stands out for me from the interview form was the question, if I may paraphrase, do you like doing unconventional things? Thinking outside the box? To me this meant that I would get an opportunity to be part of something that would engage my creativity, and right away I knew I was in the right place. But being pumped to go is one thing, arriving at your destination is another.
The journey has been littered with challenges here and there. First off here were people from various backgrounds brought together to form a team that was supposed to conquer new heights in a field that none of them had ever participated in. The fact that almost if not all of us were from a Christian background helped solve this problem as we already had something in common, Christ Jesus.
The work was heavy, starting from the building from scratch most of the things it being the first time, but I enjoyed every bit of it, almost every bit of it anyway. The joy of learning new things made the work fun at the same time plus having a team of some really strong and hardworking guys spread out the burden evenly.
By the time we held our first Fun Fair after all the preparations, everybody was proud being part of this budding great vision, the smiles and genuine happiness and excitement from the children who came into the Fun Fair was a tremendous reward. This didn’t make the work easier, but it sure made it worthwhile, immensely rewarding. Here we had a kids Fun Fair, built on Christian principles at that, delivering edutainment with Christ as it’s cornerstone, impacting the lives of generations to come.
It may not be fun and games all the time, that is for the staff not the kids, lol, but it’s a vision worth believing. It’s a work in progress even up to this day, but at least it’s on the road to somewhere, headed in the right direction.
For the staff, friendships were and still being forged that are gona last a lifetime, to a point, we’ve become family, relationships that go beyond the Fun Fair. To the kids, a seed has been planted that will sprout into a big tree sometime in their future, to bear good fruits as per the inspiration and invitation they receive here to explore their imagination, believe in themselves, associate with others free, and get to enjoy their childhood, no matter how short that maybe spurning the length of the Fun Fair in any particular location.”
Alban draaide deze zomer voor de derde keer mee op de Fun Fair, je ziet hem links op de foto.
