As a teacher at Jordan Elementary in the mid-1990s, Libby Sibert conducted a project with her students to send Christmas cards to political leaders, heads of state and championship athletes worldwide.
She said she did the project with her students for three or four years.
One of the responses came from the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who died Dec. 26, 2021. He was 90 and known for his work fighting against apartheid in South Africa.
The note was dated March 5, 1996.
“I was happy to see that letter. We had lots of people respond that year, but his was a handwritten letter.
“That year, we had queens and the emperor of Japan; all these people, but his letter was special,” Sibert said.
The idea came about from a book she had with the addresses of famous people and she thought it would be nice if they wrote to some of them.
“We’re just Odessa, Texas, but people started getting responses back and it was amazing. I try not to do movie stars or entertainment type people. I do more political leaders and heads of state,” Sibert said.
“… I wanted my kids to know we’re from Odessa, but we’re part of this world and that was so important,” she added.
They would look at a map to see where the people they wrote to lived and researched their customs, so it was cross curricular.
“… It was an all-around great learning experience,” Sibert said.
She added that the students were excited to get the responses back.
“… We were just thankful because we didn’t expect to get something else. We just wanted our message of being nice (and) peace on earth. This was all gravy. This was all wonderful extra things,” she said.
Sometimes she said she would follow up with a snack from the country where the leaders were.
“… Not all the countries were Christian, so we had to send peace on Earth and not Merry Christmas to some people so that made them aware that we’re still part of the world,” Sibert said.
She said she was sad when she heard about Tutu’s death.
“The things that man accomplished,” she said. “He was only five foot five. He was a rather small man, but the world looked up to him and he won the Nobel Peace Prize … and he fought apartheid. …”
“… I always admire this man for how he came up in the world and what he accomplished. Wouldn’t that be amazing if somebody would help us come together right now?”
Ont of her favorite Archbishop Tutu quotes is:
“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world” and “Don’t raise your voice, improve your argument.”
She added that Tutu didn’t get the Odessa students’ note until after Christmas.
“… In fact, he said it was kind of like a happy surprise when he finally got the letter. He could have thrown it away, but he wrote and sent us a picture. That’s what I wanted our kids to know. We are from Odessa, but we can have a little part of saying in the world.”
She said students she meets now that are adults say they remember writing those cards and that it was so much fun.
She added that teachers and the school district need to let students know that they can “hang with any school district in Texas or the world.”
Sibert, who is now retired, said she has been in public schools for 28 years and taught at St. John’s before that.
“I do some odds and ends (now) and help with testing and things like that. … This was one of my favorite projects,” she said.
