annie in swaziland

Day 2:

Benlugo! As we are driving around, we hear shouts and waves from random street kids and we wonder what they mean. The translation (although I am sure the spelling is wrong…Fiks??) is WHITE PEOPLE!! I hate that the color of our skin dictates so much.  It’s hard to be seen as such a savior when we see ourselves as only loving friends with VERY limited resources.  I would be happy to never again see children get excited that I’ve arrived just due to my complexion…that pressure is far too difficult for my extremely emotional heart. 

My good buddy Mike Atkinson is a middle school teacher and soccer coach in Springfield, IL.  He so generously donated the old jerseys from his team for our orphans at eLangeni Primary School.  This morning the head teacher called in the little boys who want to form a soccer team.  Usually, being called to the principal’s office is NOT an exciting thing.  The boys filed in slowly with their heads hung low until they saw the jerseys lying on the chairs near the door… immediately they start excitedly looking at each other whispering “JERSEYS” in an excited hush under their breaths.  When they were told to pick a number and try it on, the excitement was uncontrollable.  I wish Mikey was here to see it – THANK YOU Mike for this very special morning.  It’s amazing what exactly something as small as a used soccer jersey will be for these kids.  I guarantee they are all sleeping in them tonight and will be dreaming of goals and trophies – exactly what young kids should be thinking about rather than their parents dying, lack of food, and their struggle just to survive.

I am so thankful for our preschool teacher Nelly. We are proud to announce that she is actually our newest GHFP sponsored student.  We learned last year that she was never able to finish high school and wanted to go back in her late 20s.  This is one of the sweetest huge hearted positive girls I have ever met.  She has been volunteering at our eLangeni pre-school for 10 YEARS with no pay…and her response after we paid her form 5 school fees was: “Now I will be able to be someone someday, because I will be educated.” It breaks my heart that they do not see their worth to us, and their community and to God without a silly diploma.  Each year 55 orphaned pre-schoolers pass through her school and every year she makes them feel loved and important – worthy of a future that seems so absolutely not guaranteed.  Yet somehow I see it easily…

So we heard a story today that was rather alarming.  One of our original beautifully stunning recent graduates told us a hairy story I fail to believe.  I repeated it to the chief of the village today who reiterated my concern.  Bheki yelled that he smelled stinky human trafficking and the chief told me to report the situation to the police deputy.  Our beautiful Nosipho was told by some men she has never met that distant relatives that she’s only met once at a funeral were offering her a one-way bus ticket to South Africa to go to university and hold a lucrative job.  She left us the other day to fetch the money that was promised to her by these strangers and came back excited that they pulled through.  I asked her detailed questions about where the money came from and what was expected of her in return.  She said these nice men sent by these distant relatives only wanted her to come to JoBurg and go to university and work hard.  I am terrified.  Bheki is worried and the Chief is ready to call the police.  I realized today (and every day in Swaziland) how hard it is to be a parent.  You see things as reality that these precious hopeful children see as a dream come true.  You’d better bet your bottom dollar that Kait and I will be there when these so called friends try to pick up our precious Nosipho and take her away from us…

On a lighter note, we saw Njabuliso today and he explained about the program he has extensively investigated in our two month absence.  He wants to be an automotive engineer.  There is a 12 month training program that is only a little more than $1,200 that will enable him to join a lucrative automotive team or be an automotive entrepreneur on his own accord.  I ALMOST DIED at the initiative he took to detail the cost of the program, when to apply, and what it will entail.  He is the first of his family to ever finish high school let alone ever think of post-secondary education or training.  He has also had a very tough life with no parents for a long time and is one of the hardest working boys I know.  As one of our first GHFP kiddos from 7 years ago and the sweetest little boy who still calls me ma’am and cried today when I told him we would sponsor his automotive training school program, I am freaking proud as heck of him and all of our sponsored boys.  I replied to Njabuliso “I could not be more proud of you, Sir.”…and then I hugged him as his tears of joy slid down his face and onto my hand-me-down t-shirt from Joey.