Ceremony Season

It's been a busy month, friends! I cannot believe we're a week away from Christmas! It's sunny and sweltering here in TZ, so it doesn't really feel like Santa Clause is coming to town, to be honest. I also don't have any Christmas Day plans, as of yet, but I'm sure something new, different, and wild will come up. Here's hoping.

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of attending a Tanzanian-style graduation ceremony for a group of young men and women at WEECE (a women's education and empowerment center in town). It was, in fact, the first ever graduation ceremony the vocational school had ever had, so it was a really special occasion... complete with donated robes and a courtyard completely decked out in balloons (which I helped blow up, thanks very much), ribbons, and brightly colored fabrics. The students' handy-work -- neatly sewn dresses, skirts, bags, and pants galore -- were displayed around the school, and many of the young women had gotten their hair redone and braided especially for the occasion.


WEECE, among many other things, functions to provide these young women (and few lucky young men) with practical skills they can use to support themselves and their families out in the community, including lessons in English, computers, and sewing (in addition to they usuals, reading and math, etc.). On the morning of the ceremony, upon walking into the transformed courtyard, I saw the "stage" fashioned out of an array of vibrant fabrics, the dozens of plastic chairs lined up all over the stone patio, and the nervous, smiling faces of the graduates-to-be... and I IMMEDIATELY started getting weepy. It was truly pathetic. The amount of work that Mama Mrema (who started WEECE) and her staff went through to make these kids feel special and accomplished, after preparing them for a productive adult life outside WEECE... well, let's just say it was crazy cool and emotional.

After tons of speakers, some amazing singing and dancing (by the students themselves, as well as a guest group of Maasai singers), and the handing out of the certificates, the family of each graduate swiftly ran up out of the sea of plastic chairs to place necklaces, flower leis, and kisses/hugs onto each student... so of course I broke down and wept (for real) again.

There was once a time when I didn't cry in front of anybody. So much for that. In a country where many do not have the opportunity to complete secondary school, it was really amazing to be a part of this celebration of academic achievement.

The best part about this hot, long, and exciting day, however, was that I was asked to film all of it. That's right! I was the volunteer videographer, photographer, and keeper of cameras, and it was a welcomed (though exhausting) responsibility that I wouldn't trade for anything. Not only does WEECE now have video footage to keep as a memory of their first ever graduation ceremony, but I also have the beautiful voices of the young graduates singing on my camera card forever. Plus a new line of electronic skills that I can add to my resume. Win-Win-Win.