Happy Friday from Literacy Connexus everyone! We hope that this blog post finds you all happy, healthy, and hopefully full of the holiday spirit!
There are only 8 days until Christmas! *Cue the excited screams!*
Today, in the holiday spirit, I want to share a great story about one of the greatest gifts we have from God – courage. The dictionary defines courage as “the ability to do something that frightens us” or “strength in the face of pain or grief”. And, many of us have had to exhibit courage many times in our lives. Starting this journey in ESL teaching and ministry for adult learners, most definitely called for a little courage and a whole lot of faith. And don’t even get me started on all the courage that has been exhibited all over the world in the last two years.
But, one of the greatest examples of courage that I find – nearly every day, in fact, is in my students. My students have picked up their entire lives to move to a new country, start new lives, and venture into a world where they don’t fully comprehend the language every single day. If that isn’t courage, I’m not sure what is.
Here, I have one story of courage to share in particular, from a Syrian refugee named Diala Brisley.
“Courage is, for me, having the fears, having all these worries, having all this trauma, and still having the energy to keep going.”
Diala Brisley
Diala Brisley is a Syrian refugee who resettled in France in 2016. While rebuilding her life in a new place, Diala became tired from constantly having to “express and explain herself over and over” to people who didn’t understand the unique challenges refugees face. So Diala turned to art as a universal language to tell refugees’ stories.
Today, Diala is thriving. She runs art therapy workshops for children who have been affected by war. She also creates art advocating for human rights for all people, like the picture above from #WorldRefugeeDay with IRC.
Watch Diala’s testimony here:
To read more about Diala Brisley, check out this article from Rescue-UK.org.
I hope that this story out a little warmth in your hearts like it did mine, and opened your eyes to the courage exhibited around you every day.
Until next time, blessings and happy teaching!
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