Cultural Day: A Fabric Dilemma and a Son's Radiant Smile

Today was a cultural day at my son's school, and he was so excited to wear his cultural attire and also join his schoolmates to participate in the cultural day activities.

_{Igbo Men Cultural Group}

The children had a wonderful time learning about the different cultures in their school. They were taught about the importance of respecting different cultures and celebrating diversity.

_{My Son And His Cousins}

My son's class teacher informed me that I had to pay $1 (N1000.00) in Naira for cultural attire prior to the cultural day. I was pleased to know that at least I would not need to search my house for traditional clothes since the school would provide them for him.

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On the day before the cultural day, my son returned from school with the fabric they were supposed to use for the event. The teachers had intended to make the outfit uniform for the pupils, which is why they asked the parents to pay so they could get the same fabric in bulk and share it with the pupils. However, I was disappointed by the fabric my son brought home.

_{My Lovely Son}

Initially, we were told that they would purchase a high-quality fabric for the pupils, and I thought the fabric share would be worth the amount we were asked to pay. Unfortunately, they presented us with a fabric that fashion designers describe as paper fabric, and when we discovered that it was only 1 yard of fabric that was shared, I felt cheated; it was totally unfair.

I felt so angry and had to go to my son's school that evening to complain. Why on earth will they share a low-quality fabric? Not just a low-quality fabric; the yards of the fabric were reduced as well. My sister, who is a fashion designer, confirmed that the fabric that the teachers shared with the pupils was sold for N1500 per 6 yards. Imagine that! And we were given just 1 yard for N1000.

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Had it been that the fabric was quality and it was still 1 yard they shared, I would have appreciated it to some extent, but that wasn't the case. I had also made up my mind to return it and ask for a refund. However, my mind also reminded me about the fact that I had nothing at home to replace it with, and my son wouldn't love to look different from his schoolmate.

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Having considered how my son would feel if he didn't wear the same outfit as others, how the teachers apologized and explained that they didn't check different places on the market before buying, and how they ended up buying low-quality fabrics for an expensive price, I calmed down and decided not to return the fabric and ask for a refund.

Already, my son's traditional beads were ready. Also, I had no choice but to manage the fabric we were given.

On the next day, which was this morning, the cultural day, I woke up early as usual to get my son ready for school; however, he didn't take his school bag to school and didn't wear his school uniform; all he took was his lunch bag, and he wore his cultural day costume.

I took some pictures of him behind the cultural decorations when we arrived at his school.

After I was done taking those shots, I left him in the care of the teachers, and I am sure they had fun. He was so excited and happy to be there. I'm sure he had a great day and learned a lot. I was glad to be part of it in some way.

_{All Images Are Mine}