Day 5: Happy Thanksgiving!
My husband and I just completed
our licensing program to adopt children only 3 days before we left for
Swaziland. We are doing so through the
US system as international adoption is far too expensive for us… but when we’re
here, Tyler always talks about how he wishes we could adopt Princess, Junior,
and now Mpendulo. Mpendulo’s father, as
I mentioned in the blog yesterday, is dying of AIDS and is now so sick that he
has been bedridden for over a month (his mother died of the disease almost 6
years ago). I asked Mr. Maseko today
what will happen to Mpendulo when his father dies since he has no older
siblings or any relatives (they’ve all died of AIDS as well). Mr. Maseko replied that he simply will belong
to the school. Our school. New Hope Primary School. No child should belong to a school – they
should belong to a family! Today (and
every day) I am thankful for my incredible family. And our amazing Give Hope, Fight Poverty
family – without YOU, none of this would be possible!
This morning we delivered brand
new school shoes (and socks!) to our 1st grade orphans living in
child-headed homes. As we pulled up the
children yelled “The WHITES…the WHITES”… not joking. Then the sound muffled to a hushed whisper as
I opened our trunk. They never know what
to expect about the contents. Then I
hear them (still whispering) “shoes…shoes…school shoes!” We had them take off their ragged shoes – if
they were wearing any at all – and try on their brand new pairs of school
shoes. I was thrilled that we were given
money to buy these. I understand that it
is not a sustainable program. Of course
the children will grow out of their shoes – but before then, they will fall
apart because these children walk many miles a day in them through rough
terrain to and from our school. Some of
the children had taped their old shoes on while others went bare foot. The thorny bushes in this village are painful
even when wearing shoes – I cannot imagine stepping on one without. The children will now be safe on their long journeys to school…to their future!!
After a long day (we’ve been
averaging 11 hours of work), we arrived back at the guesthouse to our
Thanksgiving dinner of cheese sandwiches and Simba potato chips (our daily diet
– healthy, I know)…and I had a heavy heart.
Kait and I do this entirely alone.
As our program (thankfully) expands, so does our responsibility here in
Swaziland. It is a never ending battle
of fundraising … if we don’t raise the money; then children do not eat. If we don’t raise the money; then children
will not go to school. Although many
people think this “job” is glamorous, I guarantee you that the stress is enough
to break even the strongest, and I am not… but then you get a message from one
of your little ones and the motivation to keep pressing on is rejuvenated:
“Hi, with regards to your support
ever since I started school to where I am today, I would like to extend my
greatest thanks and gratitude to you and everyone who made it possible for me
to be where I am today. My last but not
least words are – please continue to do so, even for others. May God bless you in great abundance. I will never forget you my entire life,
Njabuliso”.
Thank you mom for supporting his
university tuition, thank you everyone in the past 7 years who have contributed
to his previous schooling, and thank you to all of you today for your warm
thoughts and prayers. We need a miracle
to help the 120,000 orphans in Swaziland, and that miracle starts with
you.
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