Henderson preschoolers hear details of parent’s Nigeria visit

“Who knows what hakuna matata means?” Tutu Ekpo asked dozens of preschool students at Henderson International School. “It’s Swahili.”

Ekpo, the mother of a student at the school, talked about the family’s visit to relatives in Nigeria. However, the trip was more than that.

Teachers at the private preschool-through-eighth-grade school recently became pen pals with a teacher in Nigeria, and Ekpo happened to be planning a trip to Lagos, not far from that teacher’s school in Akwa Ibom.

“It must have been fate,” Ekpo said.

It all started when Lizette Fiumara, who has taught for 10 years at Henderson International, joined an online group of preschool teachers.

“It’s great because you get to hear what other teachers are doing or reading about in other parts of the world,” she said.

Fiumara has talked to educators and got her classroom involved with sharing care packages from Denmark and France to Slovakia and Qatar.

She said the experience has allowed her to introduce her students to the world.

“I think we should teach children that there is more than just the U.S.,” Fiumara said. “This helps them be more aware of the world.”

This online group is how she met the teacher in Nigeria who, along with her students, was making art and selling it online to raise funds for the school.

She contacted preschool students’ parents to see if they would be interested in raising money for the school and assembling a care package.

As luck would have it, one of the students at Henderson International is from Nigeria. When she found out Ekpo was not only traveling to the country during the holidays but was going to be two hours from the pen pals’ school, she asked if she would visit the school.

“It just shows me how small this world really is,” Fiumara said.

She also sent a care package of pencil, paper and other art supplies with Ekpo.

On Jan. 25, Ekpo told the preschoolers about their trip.

“You can see a giraffe walking down the street,” Ekpo said.

“Oh my gosh,” one preschooler said loudly in excitement.

Parents of children from other countries also have spoken to the class.

“They come in and explain about a different culture,” she said. “It helps show them that these students (around the world) are just like you. It helps them keep an open mind.”

As a parent, Ekpo also loves that her child is learning about other cultures and countries.

“It helps them become curious about the world,” she said. “It also helps them understand how privileged they are.”

To reach Henderson View reporter Michael Lyle, email mlyle@viewnews.com or call 702-387-5201. Find him on Twitter: @mjlyle.