Christmas Eve at SISP

28th December, 2009

The afternoon of Christmas Eve was a time of happy emotions. The children were extremely excited and looking forward to a week off. They had just had an excellent lunch and knew that presents awaited them. They also knew there was going to be a short "cultural event" of dancing and comedy sketches, and some sweet snacks to finish it off. But it was also a time to say farewell to Salim, our Hindi teacher of seven years, and to Antje, Angela and Christian, volunteers who had been working at SISP for the last few months, all of whom were much loved by the children.

Thankfully, the children were irrepressible in their excitement and no one had time to dwell on sad thoughts, least of all the leavers. It was a real party atmosphere!

The programme kicked off with energetic dance routines from the children but what followed was, to my mind, the highlight of the afternoon: Headteacher George performed a farewell dance routine. Luckily I managed to capture it on film (coming soon). It's at times like these that you realise what a multi-talented guy George is and how lucky SISP are to have him to head the school. Not only is he an excellent teacher and head teacher with the demands and responsibilities that those duties entail, not only is he an enthusiastic, skilled, judicious and fit sportsman, but also his ability to perform with such unselfconscious humour, perfectly in tune with the children, is overwhelming! An incredible performance! See what you think!

The sketch by Mr George and four of the upper school boys was uproariously received by children and adults alike. It was followed by Paul's words of thanks and presentation of small gifts to Salim, Antje, Angela and Christian. No time or mood for speeches, it was straight on to the handing out of presents to the children - the clothing outfits that they had chosen a few days earlier. Despite knowing exactly what they were getting, their excitement was palpable and a pleasure to witness.

The afternoon continued with another sketch from Mr George - this time a comedy routine. It was in Malayalam, of course, but judging by the reaction everyone found it hilariously funny! The children then put on a little performance involving what looked like Father Christmas, a witch doctor, a priest and a baby. I'm not sure what that was all about but there was a lot of laughter and applause!

Finally, the day was rounded off with some tasty goodies to eat. All in all a very successful event and, most importantly, a lot of very happy children!

Clive, volunteer at SISP, Kovalam.