The Long Awaited Letter
In tenth grade I was introduced to the WREN Pen-Friend program. My Science teacher approached me and told me how he was part of an organization called RESPECT. He let me know what RESPECT was and the mission they were trying to achieve — to match children from all parts of the world, including Africa, the Middle East, and the Far East, to people like me in Canada. We would then exchange letters to talk about life in our own countries and traditions. When I first learned about RESPECT, I immediately thought it would be a great experience to participate in. I then volunteered to write a letter to one of the refugees.
I received the letter of a boy named Luseni, who is a refugee from Liberia. In his letter he spoke of his family, school, and the war his country was involved in. I responded with much of the same information. I told him about a typical day for me. I replied and then waited to hear from my new pen friend.
After finishing 10th grade and moving onto graduation, I had not received a letter from my far away friend. After graduating from high school, I had all but forgotten about the letter I had so patiently awaited just a few years back. I was then absorbed in decisions about careers and furthering my own education.
In December of 2004, my former Science teacher contacted me. My teacher had the long awaited letter from Luseni in Liberia. When I got it, I was so excited to learn that I had actually received a reply. When I read the letter from Luseni, I was saddened to see that the letter was dated June of 2002. That was the same year I had written my pen friend. I was afraid that Luseni would think I just had not written back to him, when in fact I had not even gotten the letter. I wrote back to him, filling him in on all of the new details of my life. As the letter is on the way to Luseni, I have much hope that we can resume our pen-friendship!
I think it is a very rewarding experience to write letters to someone from an entirely different country, and to have them call you their friend. It makes me glad to think that I can make a difference in someone else’s day. I found that some of the refugee pen friends do not have much else to look forward to. My experience with RESPECT has been a good one and I hope it will continue to be! I am looking forward to hearing from my far away friend Luseni.