本校は,ユネスコスクールのネットワークを通じ,昨年度からマレーシアのボルネオ島,サバ州にあるSMKA Kota Kinabaluとの交流をしていくことになっていました。しかし,その交流開始式がコロナの影響により延期され,希望者同士のメールのやり取りは既に始まっていましたが,ようやく11月30日(火)に交流開始式が行われました。校長式辞の後,それぞれの学校の生徒代表挨拶,両校からそれぞれ花笠踊りとコーランの朗誦の披露があり,生徒同士の質疑応答を行なって,約1時間のオンライン交流を行いました。日本のマンガとアニメがマレーシアでも人気であったり,宗教について質問されるなど,生徒にとって意義深い交流を行えました。近い将来には,本校の研修旅行先にもなる予定であり,イスラム教の全寮制の学校という大きな文化的差異を超えた生徒同士の交流が楽しみです。
Thank you for sending us a heartfelt message through the video and letters. Sorry for my delay due to the Covid-19 situation we are facing and it’s the Ramadhan period at the moment. I can confidently say we are very touched.
Right now, it has been almost a month since we have been up against a great amount of Covid-19 cases appearing in our school, affecting not only our students and teachers but also our families as a whole. We are feeling very lost and upset, so every day, we try to console ourselves by reminding each other that things will get better and pray to Allah (God). Additionally, we keep in mind that every effort we do, even the smallest efforts will be rewarded one day eventually.
However, knowing we have help from outside the school has constantly been a great motivation to always lift our spirits even more. So, no words can fully express our gratitude to you for the warm words and effort put into the video you have given us, but we will keep everyone in your school in our hearts and prayers, so maybe we can finally meet and be friends one day.
We really miss meeting our families and friends. Please take care and relay to your students, teachers and principal that we are thankful. We are also looking forward to hearing more from you and hope the situation will remedy itself so we can visit each other in the future.
Until next time…
Sincerely,
Ainul Aiman MOHD NOR AZMAN (SMK Agama Kota Kinabalu, Sabah)