When the other pupils learned that Sanggat always volunteered to sweep my room,they wanted to do the same and soon it became an almost daily ritual which ended up withmy buying more brooms to maximize participation. And Sanggat would never fail to showthem my books, each time adding a little commentary of his own about them in the Ibanlanguage.<br> I did not realize the impact my words had on him until the day I slipped into the riverand broke my neck. I was to be paralyzed from my shoulders downward for the rest of mylife.<br> I was carried into a speedboat and transported back to civilization. As I lay motionlessand exhausted, I noticed that the whole school had gathered by the riverside to bid mefarewell. A gaze at their faces told me that I was going to miss them. Then, as the engine ofthe speedboat started to roar, there was a little commotion by the river.<br> I could see Sanggat making his way to the boat. With tear-filled eyes he approachedand in between sobs he asked, "Sir, are you coming back？ Perhaps not？"<br> Then after a short pause he said, "Sir, if you cannot come back, Ill see you in the u-niversity, ya？"<br> My heart was profoundly touched and as the boat moved away, I realized an importantlesson of my own: Teachers must never fail to take time explaining positive lessons to theyoung ones. Simple and sincere gestures sometimes can have far teaching effects on themand life may never be the same again. It is the small simple pleasures we gather from lifethat ultimately bear great fruits of profound magnitude. We should watch out for every op-portunity we have to assist the young ones towards self-accomplishments.
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