In college, when you’re living on campus in a dorm, there are countless “drives” going on at any given time…clothing drives, can drives, book drives, you name it. Seeing drop boxes in the lobby of your dorm or in the Student Union were quite common and nothing out of the ordinary.
But one day a box showed up in the lobby that turned our heads.
“Shoes for Swaziland” was emblazoned across the front of the shoddy cardboard box. My roommate and I never got tired of making jokes about this one. “Swaziland? Is that even a country?” We joked that someone was probably just getting a little low, and decided to make up a fake cause… “Preferably size 7’s, cute ballet flats or boots.”
The Lord has a serious sense of humor.
Five years and some geography skills later, I am here to tell you that Swaziland is in fact a real country and for the month of September, it’s also home.
Team APEX has nested in the capital city of Manzini. We’re working directly with Adventures in Missions this month and we are staying at their team house. Living the high life! We have real beds (bunked, of course), running water (sometimes even hot!), a temperamental stove and a George Forman grill, and electricity.
But while we’re enjoying some amenities that give the feel of home, the reality right outside our door is anything but comforting.
Swaziland is a small country, entirely contained by South Africa. The population is nearly 50% HIV positive, many find their income by digging through the local garbage dump, and countless children go hungry every day.
Things are so bad that many organizations such as UNICEF and Children Against Hunger have stepped in to bring aid. They developed this concept of Care Points, a community center that offers free pre-school and one meal a day for any hungry children in the area. The organizations were unable to sustain all of these Care Points by themselves, so they sought out others to come in and sponsor. This is how AIM came to inherit four Care Points in the Manzini area.
Our first week here, school was on holiday, so we spent time creating some materials for the classrooms. I was going to town stamping and laminating the alphabet and numbers 1-20 on little squares of construction paper. As I sat there, totally in my element, the end of the song “Bones” by Hillsong United rang out, “that they may be called oaks of righteousness” and I just smiled, knowing that everything we do- right down to organizing crayons and sharpening pencils- is ultimately that these children may become those mighty oaks, rooted and established in Christ.
Now that school has resumed, we are spending time at the Care Points. Getting there is an adventure, as is every minute of time spent there.
We walk 40 minutes to the bus rank, find a van that has the right location stickered onto the back of it, keep our eyes peeled for the orange paint indicating the Care Point.
At the Care Points themselves, we assist the teachers in the classrooms, lead Bible club, run around and make up games, and then help serve the meal to the droves of children lined up with their makeshift “bowls”. They bring just about anything they can find- pencil boxes, old butter containers, etc. For many of these children, the two scoops of porridge and beans is the only meal they’ll eat all day.
They practically trample you as they “line up”, pushing one another dangerously close to the hot cauldron and the fire smoldering beneath. If you don’t burn yourself this way, the bean juice is sure to get you. That stuff is like lava.
After I’ve done all I can to get all the residual out, children jump on that “empty” bowl and just lick and scrape like it’s brownie batter. I went to wash my hands after I finished serving today because they were covered in dirt, ash, and beans. But when I came back, my teammates just shook their heads and sympathetically said, “Hannah…” as they continued to wipe the beans out of my hair and off of my clothing. I’m telling you, meal time is serious business. Bean serving is not for the faint of heart.
This month we are the “smaller part of a bigger picture”, providing cutting skills and creativity to the people dedicating their lives to this ministry.
So allow me to set up my “drop box” with it’s poorly decorated poster board in the lobby of your heart. Swaziland is in need. And not just of shoes.
This place is in need of your prayers.
These children who are better acquainted with hunger, HIV and orphan hood than Bert and Ernie- they need you.
Proverbs 24:11-12
“Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die; save them as they stagger to their death. Don’t excuse yourself by saying, ‘Look, we didn’t know.’ For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve.”
