Teachers are the best gifts God can offer each one of us. They occupy a significant part of our growing years. This is more beautiful for anyone who likes the school environment. Such people find being in the school more comforting than many other places. As a lad, apart from my family, the school was one of the few areas I found solace. But then, the severest punishment one could inflict on me was asking me not to go to school. So, from my nursery school years, the holidays were my worst moments. I always missed my classmates and teachers. The days were very long and sometimes dull.
And if I liked school, it was because of these men and women. They are some of the teachers who groomed me from nursery to secondary school. They made my school days enjoyable. So, I always longed to see them, as I knew I would learn new things. And though I might not remember the details of my personal experiences with them, I still remember them vividly. They challenged, pushed, punished, forced me to enlarge my tent, and, more significantly, loved me.
And even though I was a timid lad, I often made calculated troubles. I still remember that very young I wanted to be a lawyer, and so, with a friend, we went around looking for problems intending to defend ourselves before the teachers or the headteachers. We used to anticipate the questions they would ask us before we went to answer for some of our childish mischievousness.
And these women and men put up with us. They kept nurturing our curiosity and feeding us with the correct information to progress to greatness.
Today, nine years ago, I prayed over them during my first holy mass in my village. There they were before the whole community, receiving a blessing from a child they collectively brought up. I thank God again for them and all those who work to make men and women out of young lads.
