Day 4: 12 hours…nonstop
today! … “Teacher, Teacher – Look at me!!!!!!”
This morning we woke up early to play with the pre-schoolers
with their new WinGS donated play equipment – SUPER FUN!...and exhausting. We played hula hoops, football (Africa-style), basketball,
Simon-says, cartwheels, pull-ups, jumping jacks, crawl on Angie while she does
push-ups, screamed and yelled for no reason, run around in circles for no
reason, and jump because you are happy for no reason! It was an awesome, but
exhausting morning. Then we went to the
Primary School where Haley, Angie, and Ty got to see the GHFP computer lab,
library, pit latrines, and smiling kiddos.
They cooked mealies and bean soup and dished it out to 90 first graders
and 547 2nd-7th graders (Thanks Mitali/FOODOM). The kids said that they were so excited we
had arrived because it felt like an early Christmas for them to get an awesome
lunch. Afterward – and entirely
exhausted – I took the girls on a tour of our secondary school introducing them
to our GHFP agriculture plot that feeds 1259 school kids fresh vegetables in
their lunches (thanks Mitali/FOODOM), our computer lab, and our amazing sponsored
highschoolers. Ty stayed behind with the
eLangeni basketball team showing off his moves.
The hoops were so broken they had no nets! But Ty and his eLangeni
high-schooler teammate didn’t need them anyway!
Swooooosh!
Right before it got dark we found Bheki on the side of the
road and picked him and Lungelo up for dinner.
We told Lungelo tonight that he had been sponsored by a past participant
(Thanks Inboden family!!) for college.
He almost cried at Nando’s over his full chicken meal. He has been working tirelessly herding cattle
and farming neighbors’ plots for the last week since his examinations concluded
saving his rand coins wondering how he was going to be able to go to college
for accounting as he has wished in the 7 years since I’ve known him. Tonight, he realized that his dream to become
a successful accountant and use his future finances to pay for other orphans
school fees is coming true. The group fell
in love with him over dinner, of course, and everyone had a hard time saying
goodbyes even though we will see him again in 2 days. SO proud of Lungelo!! After dinner Bheki
directed us to 3 of our other orphans’ child headed homes. We went up and up the mountain in treacherous
paths all to deliver some sanitary pads, rice, beans, peanut butter, etc. Ty thought 5 times that we were going to die
but somehow Haley slept through the whole thing. Bheki said since it has rained nonstop for
the last 3 days, that the roads were bad.
I asked him when the “roads” were ever good. But we (somehow) made it. And hungry children will go to bed full
tonight (Thanks Mitali/Foodom), and for that I am eternally grateful. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I am so thankful
to God for keeping these amazing orphans empowered, hopeful, and
hardworking. I would have given up in
their positions long ago but they are so strong and will most definitely be
change agents for a brighter Swazi future.
My heart bursts with pride and love for them every second of my
life. They are my inspiration.
Ty playing hula hoop with the girls after throwing each and every one of them up in the air 17,000 times... it was heartbreak for the poor little ones when he had to leave today...
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