Miss Gundo Mmbi, the principal at Spark Soweto, took a sad learner whose friend request was rejected and asked if they could be friends instead.
Soweto, South Africa (29 October 2020) – The school playground can be a tough place for a child sometimes. This was the lesson little Fikile, a grade 1 learner at SPARK Soweto, learned recently when her best friend request was rejected.
The story of the rejection reached the principal, Miss Gundo Mmbi’s ears. According to Fikile’s teacher, the rejection was tough on her and she cried a lot. Miss Mmbi wanted to make sure that little Fikile knew she had friends no matter where she went so Miss Mmbi wrote her a letter, asking if they could be friends.
“Fikile is my Grade 1 scholar. She asked one of the kids to be her best friend and they said No cuz they already had a best friend. She was very sad and crying. So I have decided to put myself out there and ask her to be my friend. Let’s hope she will say YES!!!”
The letter was given to Fikile and it changed her whole day! She was so happy to have been asked to be someone’s friend. Fikile decided to write a letter back to Miss Mmbi, where she gave her much-anticipated answer. Because Miss Mmbi had shared the original letter online, many of her friends and followers were also excited to hear what Fikile’s answer would be.
“Most of you wanted to know how it was going to end. She said YES!!!. Lesson of the week: Put yourself out there, and trust your efforts. I love how my name was phonetically spelled.”
Miss Mmbi took a moment that was very painful for her learner and turned it into a lesson about compassion. We often forget how a simple no can be devastating for a child but how using kindness, we can turn the hurt into happiness. This can be adapted to anyone at any age. If you see someone struggling, reach out and offer them kindness. It will go a long way!
by 