Thursday, October 17th
It was an exhausting day but probably one of the best days that we will have on our mission. We spent the day with the English Class from Liahona High School. We took 20 students and their teacher to visit 4 primary schools and do a puppet show for the students. The puppet show was all about how important it is to wash your hands before you eat and only eat food that has been washed and prepared properly. The kids in Tonga have never seen a puppet show. Even the high school kids had never seen one before I took them the puppets. They are the top students at Liahona and they did an amazing job putting the whole thing together. They built their own stage, decorated it and drew pictures of the inside of the stomach and what germs look like under a microscope. The students at each school, the teachers and administrators and the guests that came to watch it, all LOVED IT!! It was a huge success and the students who put it on had a great experience. There is a song about washing your hands at the end of each part of the show. They all came out and mingled with the audience and sang the song with them. By the time we left the kids all knew the song and they were showing us how to wash our hands.
We had some interesting experiences. One was sad. The principal of the first school we went to called me over when we were through and asked if she could talk to me. We were in a hurry to get to the next school but I stayed for a minute. She told me that our program was so important to the safety and health of her students, but that they don’t have a sink with running water at that school. I wasn’t shocked, we have seen so much here in Tonga, but I was heart sick. I told her we would be back and we will see what we can do to help. 167 children with no way to wash their hands after they go to the bathroom or before they eat. How can they possibly stay healthy?
At the next school the principal talked to the kids when we were through. He told them that he had set a terrible example for them. He never washes his hands before he eats. He told them that that would change as of that minute. He loves them and he wants them to be healthy and to grow up and lead productive lives. Then he thanked us over and over for coming and sharing such important information with his students.
At the last school we finished up the show and the principal once again got up to speak. He told us, and everyone there, that his students might see things on TV about good hygiene and that their parents may even talk to them about it, but that they would never forget what they had seen that day. “They have never seen a puppet show before and they will remember this message you brought to them until the day they die.” As we left, the kids all gathered around and started saying that they wanted to go to Liahona to school. It ended up being a great PR trip for the school as well as for the church. All in all, I don’t think it could have turned out any better. What a wonderful day!!!
