Thank You

This is the letter I wrote to the Principal, Staff, Students and Community of Masana Primary School, where RandomKid recently funded a PlayPump so that their community may have access to a safe water supply. I hope it conveys just how much this community went out of it's way to celebrate this life-giving gift, that many of us in other parts of the world take for granted: Water.

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(addressed to the principal, his staff and students)

On my long journey home from South Africa, I had many hours to reflect on that magical day: August 8th, when we celebrated the power of children to make the world a better place—and the teachers and community that supports them—and of course, the PlayPump, and it’s life-giving water. I tried many times to craft the perfect thank you letter in my head, but the truth is, there are no words that will do justice to convey how incredibly humbled and grateful I am to you, your staff, and your students for putting on nothing short of a spectacular day to celebrate RandomKid and the PlayPump.

In the joy and the magnitude of that great day, I was not able to learn everyone’s names, but I’d like to pass on my thanks:

To you and your staff that planned this magical day. You have left an indelible mark in my heart that will forever drive me to share your story, and implore others to get involved in helping their global community.

To the choir director and her choir—for the beautiful music they sang. I was particularly moved by the song she recently wrote about water. It was transforming.

To the gentleman who stood by the tables—helping organize the children to leave their thumbprints and signatures behind: He was so incredibly helpful. Those keepsakes will be treasured for many, many years to come!

To the lovely woman who introduced us to all the wonderful South African games—they were a joy to watch, and I know our students will love learning them!

To the woman in the beautiful traditional blanket, who made RandomKid the beaded banner—it is breathtaking. We will carefully display this treasure in a place of great honor.

To the gentleman who introduced everyone at the event, and had the children cheering, “Viva, RandomKid, Viva!” His enthusiasm was absolutely contagious. He is a gifted speaker and the children obviously love and respect him.

To the women who prepared the children’s food that day, as they do every day: You are a gift. That is a tremendous amount of work you do every day to make sure the children receive some nourishment.

And to the teachers—you wonderful teachers I have great admiration and respect for you. The children I met were bright, happy, respectful students. It was interesting to learn that some of the challenges you face are the very same that our American teachers face. Teaching can be a tough job—but the rewards in seeing your students go on to be productive citizens are priceless.

To the custodial staff, and all that helped set up for the presentation: Your school was sparkling. You had so many nice touches: From the tent for your guests, to the flowers on either side of the table, to the little garden in front of where the speakers spoke, and all the chairs that were needed for the event. It was clearly a lot of work—and all those extra touches made us feel SO special!

To all of the adults: I can’t thank you enough for taking a big part of your day for this celebration. I know you have a lot of work to do, and I was so humbled that you would go to such lengths for your guests. I can only hope that Masana’s students learned something on that day, and that they’ll continue to learn from a growing relationship with their new American friends.

And to all of your students: From the moment your marching band met our car in the street, and when some of you made room for me to spin on the RoundAbout PlayPump, I was yours! Thank you for helping with every part of this wonderful day. I saw you moving chairs and tables around, I listened to your beautiful music, I was impressed with your attentiveness and eagerness to play an important part of this day. Most of all—I loved the sheer joy you brought to this day. Your smiles and voices are engraved in my heart forever. I will never forget any one of you. Each one of you is unique and special. I hope you always remember that, and that you’ll work hard in school and make the most of your ideas, skills, and talents.

I want you to know that I am working hard to edit the video and photos together, to send to you, and also to share with the world. It is my hope that when people see just how much you celebrate the gift of water, and when they see the effort your students put in to playing on the pump, and the effort the American children put into selling bottled water to make more pumps possible—they will be DRIVEN by a force bigger than themselves to join in to eradicate the world’s water crisis. I believe Masana Primary may play a major part in inspiring its global community to join together to help one another. There are no words to properly thank you for that.

I was moved when I noticed that our celebration took place on 08/08. The number eight, when turned on its side, is the symbol for infinity. I believe the goodness of that day will resonate throughout infinity.

Humbly and gratefully yours,



Anne Ginther
President
RandomKid