annie in swaziland

Day 8:

Today I got a buzz from Lungelo (one of our very first sponsored boys) and he said he had to tell me something in person.  This is a first in all of my years in Swaziland.  As I am walking to the town center to meet with him, my mind starts racing with the possibilities.  Although I will always think of him as the shy little boy I met 7 years ago sitting outside of the school building wishing he could be in a desk but had no one to pay his school fees - he now towers above me at over 6 feet tall with a smile larger than the sun.  His relatives turned him away after his alcoholic father died, so he ended up living with a distant cousin (Nelly, our pre-school teacher) who is barely older than he is.  He consistently had nothing growing up but has been one of our hardest workers – both in and out of the classroom.  I always joke with him that I was once taller and smarter than he was…but now he has me beat in both categories!    

I reach the town and look for Lungelo – I see his perfect row of shiny teeth through his brilliant smile and I realize at that moment - it must be good news.  He hands me a manila envelope without talking and I reach inside only to find his OFFICIAL ACCEPTANCE LETTER TO UNIVERSITY OF SWAZILAND!!! Lungelo – Bachelor of Commerce! I am quite certain I have never been so proud in my entire life!! I hope his mother is beaming down at her only child from heaven.  I am getting choked up so I turn away and tell him we need to grab a celebratory drink.  I get a coke-light and he opts for a Minute Maid juice.  As I am gazing across the KFC table at one of the most inspirational people I know, I can do nothing but smile and tell him over and over again how ridiculously proud of him I am.  When he asked if Give Hope, Fight Poverty could continue to sponsor him and I said yes, his smile was unending.  As I stared at that smile, I couldn’t help but think with each gulp that this was the best damn diet coke I have ever had…