SFS Contest: Picture of the Day Week 42

I can’t be a killjoy! I’ve got to be playful too… Gotta match their energy so the joy keeps going. If only you could hear them in this moment... These kids, I swear, they’re something else... I’ve gotten used to their playfulness, you know, always smiling, carefree, like any young person without much to worry about. But today, their smiles feel different. It feels like they’re celebrating.

^{With my Grade-10 students}

In this photo, the kids just gathered around to get their free school supplies from the city. The distribution was still ongoing at that time. So while some kids were still waiting, as usual, they found ways to have fun first. Once you’re with them, you can’t help but have fun too. That plastic envelope the other kid is holding, that’s what they’ll be getting, too. Maybe for others, it seems like a small thing. But for those who received it.. Kids who haven’t even bought their school supplies yet, it means so much. It’s a big help to them.

If only you knew, some of these students may always be smiling. But they’re carrying a weight inside. At their age (grade 10), they usually keep things to themselves. Shy to talk about family problems. The kind they can’t easily share unless they really trust you.

Some of them still walk to school because they have no money for fare. Others borrow pens from classmates. Some of them pretend they’re not hungry during snack time. But because they have a dream, they keep going to school even if their situation isn’t easy. Some of them are working students too. Their bodies may be tired, but they still choose to come to school. They really seem like they don’t have any problems, always laughing. I feel like school is the one place where they get to relax a bit from life.

To most, it might seem like a routine outreach. But to these kids, it was more than materials. A quiet kind of dignity, sealed in a plastic envelope. It was a reminder that they mattered. That someone saw them.

We were gathered in the gym, no program, no speech... just raw, unfiltered joy. Totally unexpected, a surprise none of us saw coming. I was right in the middle of teaching when suddenly, they told the students to head downstairs. Turns out, there was a surprise distribution waiting. They waved those plastic folders like victory flags. They weren’t just holding supplies. They were holding proof that life, sometimes, gives back.

I chose this picture because it’s a portrait of hope, joyfully brought together by an unexpected surprise. This wasn’t just a photo of students with their teacher. This picture says more than it shows. In it are kids who keep going to school despite struggles at home. Their smiles say it all. Just how truly grateful they are to everyone who’s been there to help.

It’s a moment that means something to me. A little piece of joy and hope I’ll never forget.

I am inviting @kyrie1234, @jes88, and @tonyoi23 to join this contest initiated by @ashkhan

Author

@bisdako A Public School Teacher

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