Stories of Kindness from Around the World

She sat in my class. A teenage girl. All the girls had grouped their desks but hers sat in isolation. I reformed groups and ensured that she never sat alone. I encouraged group ethos and it worked well.

In this country, girls love to bring flowers and gifts for each other. Not Amani though. She had no friends to either give to or receive from. She has special needs and her communication level is low especially in English (I am teaching in the Middle East).

Watching her face and it's lack of emotion pulled so hard at my heartstrings. Seeing her walk about alone during recreation was painful for me.

What could I do?

I couldn't be her classmate, I was her teacher. Despite this, I had to reach out. On the last day before school broke up at the end of term I brought a gift for Amani.

It was a very generous gift and I hoped it would make up for all the lack of gifts. You see I decided Amani was going to leave school at least one day of her education with a massive bag of goodies. I bought her a Minnie Mouse cuddly toy, a box of chocolates, a special trinket box that girls would love and a beautiful cup to drink her coffee from. I bought gold coloured tissue paper and individually wrapped each gift and lovingly placed them in the special gift bag. I was doing this in my staff room and looked up to see all the Emiratis curiously watching me. Of course I had to explain what I was doing.

Beautiful Alya came into the recreation ground with me, her job to translate into Arabic for Amani. Amani was walking about on her own as usual. We called her to sit with us.

I told her that I noticed her. I noticed she came to class every day. I noticed she was always on time for all her classes. I told her that I was giving a gift to only one girl in the whole school and that girl was her. The face I had only ever seen as expressionless beamed the biggest,  hugest, most magnificent smile possible. What a treat for me!!!

Amani needed to be prompted to say thank you but her smile was embedded in my very soul and it said a million thank yous.

As Amani walked off looking for a corner to open her gift bag and see all the goodies it held, Alya and I walked back to the staff room. Alya gave me a big hug.

My friends, being alone and lonely makes for a very long day especially for a school girl. I hope there was much joy in Amani's heart and in her home that day. As a parent, I know the joy Amani's parents would have felt to see their little girl come home with a bag of goodies and hear her joy that she was singled out and noticed out of all the girls in the school.

Amani smiles in school now. She feels noticed and if I didn't notice her before I sure do now.

Loving and serving others, isn't that what we are all here to do my friends. X