I was awake at 2am worried about getting everything done
before we leave. Tomorrow is NYE, the
next day New Years, and the next day a Swazi holiday. We leave the 3rd. Tomorrow is the only day the shops are open.
Somehow at 3am I drifted into a restful/stressed sleep until I heard
munching. It was Austin, the hungry
caterpillar, crunching munching on pretzels loudly at 5am. Goodmorning Team!
We went to deliver food to the pre-school and elementary
orphans child-headed homes and as soon as we leave the Dancing GoGo’s home (for
those of you who have been here, you know who I’m talking about!!) I hear a “thwap
thwap” and pull over to see a huge thorn branch in my tire. I pull it out thinking “No big deal” only to
hear “Ppppffffffff” as all of the air escapes.
I put the thorn back in the tire and said a Hail Mary we made it to the
spray painted building Maseko called a mechanic shop. $2.50 later and a sketchy looking plug, we’re
back in business!
We then bought 50kg bags of food for the New Hope Centre
where we feed over 100 children 6 days a week.
The problem is carrying these bags to the kitchen from the car that can
only be parked so close. Usually my
personal trainer husband carries the heavy bags where they need to go, but he
isn’t here. Tragic… Then, without any a moment’s
hesitation, Maddy man handles the 100+ pound bags and carries them to their
destination. And she did it with a
smile.
After we left our Centre, we met Nomfundo, our village coordinator,
and delivered 8 emergency packets of food to our high school students in
Malindza. Nonchalantly, she mentions 9
other orphaned children who have been forced to drop out of school due to the
lack of fees. She tells the intimate
stories of a young girl who just graduated from grade 7 and her father is alive
but he makes minimal money and refuses to “invest in a girl who will die before
she is able to provide for him”. Since
when are our children an investment for ourselves? How can we let her sit and rot when she is
smart and determined to thrive? We have
another girl age 16 who is HIV+ living with her grandmother. She lives too far from the school to walk and
it is unacceptable for a female to ride a bike.
Therefore, she and her grandmother are eager to weave mats out of grass
to sell for her bus fare, but they couldn’t weave enough mats in their lifetime
to pay the $450 school fees. How do you
say no to that kind of determination?
Nomfundo asked that we add 5 kids to our Orphan Education
Fund cohort. But then we met them, and
now we’ve added 9. I am very thankful to
Sube and Margaret LatchmanSingh for providing funds for their uniforms and
shoes…. And to BahFed for their tuition.
As I hugged our new student Mthokozisi goodbye, I couldn’t help but think
of how lucky I am to be the middle(wo)man who gets the best end of the
deal. I could live the rest of my life
watching these kids succeed and receiving hugs as a “paycheck”. As a teacher by trade, I have never learned
more than when I am here in Swaziland - from those who are younger and less formally
educated than I am…. Almost 10 years later, I am still learning about
determination, love, empathy, and life from my favorite people on Earth. www.ifightpoverty.org/donate.html
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