Out of the Silence

Yesterday we made another trip out to Aruligo, to the Deaf School. They were having a Father's Day celebration, and all the student's families were invited to come along. It was a long day - we left at 7:30 in the morning, and returned home late in the afternoon, but it was well worth it.

We piled on the big blue truck for the one hour drive, comfortably sitting on chairs and benches, but after making several stops to pick up people along the way, we ended up squashed in, fitting about 30 people on the back!

Driving through White River

We travelled along a combination of well sealed roads and dirt roads, through villages, jungle, rivers and along the coast.

Some of the bridges were quite narrow ...

...and some were completely washed away! You can see remnants of the bridge washed away in the last wet season floods.

When we arrived we were given a surprise welcome by some of the students! It was very exciting (and slightly scary - Elora ended up quite freaked out!) as they yelled and hollered, waving their spears around, dressed in their 'kustom' gear.


The sun was blazing hot, so we walked down to the chapel/classroom to sit in the shade before the service started. The students had gone to a great deal of effort to beautifully decorate the hall, with signs welcoming all the different people, and especially the fathers. We waited for quite a while for everyone to arrive, singing many choruses before the service started. At one point Millie asked me if church was finished yet, to which I had to reply that it hadn't actually started!

Eventually things kicked off, and once again I found the whole experience very moving. The students were so proud to have their families there to see what wonderful things they had been accomplishing, and I felt privileged to just be there. Speeches were given, a sermon was preached and items and songs were sung, but the most meaningful part of the service was when the parents were called to the front to receive a letter and flower garland from their son/daughter. As the students filed out the front to hug their parents we all sung 'I Love You With The Love Of The Lord'. There were tears everywhere (especially in my row!) Some students had no parents or family members there - coming from a remote island or village makes getting there very hard, but those students proudly gave their flower garlands to George, who loves the students like they are his own children.

Parent receiving their letters and flower garlands from the students.

Giving the parents three cheers after singing Happy Father's Day to You

After the service was finished, the hall was cleared and lunch was set out on tables. The students started bringing food out from every house - they must have spent such a long time preparing food for that many people - close to 200 we think. The team of students and teachers from QLD were invited to go first, followed by the fathers. (As a side note, the team from QLD is made up of yr 11 and 12 students and teachers from Westside Christian College who have come to build, paint and help however they can. They were organised through SWIM, and have built up an amazing rapport with the deaf students in such a short time.) I was amazed to see how the LONG line of people were all fed abundantly - everybody just patiently waited - the local students going last.

As soon as everyone had eaten, the tables were cleared away and the festivities continued! The boys and girls both danced, and everyone really enjoyed all their performances.

At the end of some of the dances, the boys would yell fiercely into someone's face - Sophie handled it quite well when they yelled into her face!

Even the locals work up quite a sweat!

It was easy to see what an impact being at this school has had on the students. There was a big banner out the front of the hall saying "Out Of The Silence', and these students have all been given a voice here. Brother George pleaded with the parents to help change the culture in the Solomon Islands of putting someone down if they have a disability. He encouraged them to lead by example and help their son or daughter become an integral part of their community.

A lady from the national newspaper was there, and her article can be read online at: http://www.solomonstarnews.com/ It is a shorter version of the double page spread that was in the paper today.