1.1 million people total
- 500,000 children 18 years or younger
- 140,000 of which are orphaned, vulnerable children
28% HIV infection rate among adults – highest in the world
Life expectancy of 49 years ranks 219 out of 222 worldwide
40% unemployment rate – 13 people for every 1 salary
70% of the country does not have at least 1 meal to eat each day
95% of small business owners do not make it because of a funeral – they are expected to pay funeral costs of anyone who dies in their extended family
In spite of all these facts that are quite easily some of the hardest things to fathom, Swaziland is a hopeful place. My teammate Kacie and I get to be a part of it every day. Each morning we leave our cozy house in the “rich” neighborhood of Madonsa at 7:45am to walk roughly 30 minutes up and down rolling hills into “town.” Along the way we must cross an old rickety, half-broken wooden bridge, pass through a few robots (traffic lights), and fend off marriage proposals and dowries of 50 cows. Once in town, we make our way through hundreds of people to find our kombi, an old 15 passenger van that serves as a taxi. We know we’re almost there when we see and hear our little conductor, and at least 5 others, shouting at us in SiSwati and flailing their arms trying to convince us to get in their kombis marked “Trust No Body,” “Conqueror,” or “Big Pimpin.”
Alas, we get to just the right kombi at about 8:20am and find one of two things: 1) there are only 2 other people on it so we’ll have to 15 minutes to an hour until every single tiny seat is filled (16 people minimum) or 2) we are among the last to arrive and the conductor and I will share a seat and the driver will try to pull out. That’s usually really fun! (Hear sarcasm.) Our kombi has to maneuver through maybe 20 others in a space as wide as a 3 car garage (with other kombis on either side) and as long as maybe 10 Walmart check-out lanes. But hey, it only costs us 6 Lilangeni each which is less than 50?! Once we finally reach the road it takes 15-30 minutes to reach our final destination – Zakhele Soup Kitchen and Care Point.
If we get there a little early then we visit our Indian friends Ramon and Thomas. They moved here from India 2 years ago and run a little mini market across the dirt road from our care point. We usually talk about our desire for rain, memories from India, what we have planned for the weekend, our mission trip, or whatever else comes to mind. Ramon and Thomas practice Islam so we are hoping for an opportunity to talk with them about our love for God and His love and plan for us all. After chatting with them and waiting for the clock to strike 9am we walk across the road to go see our babies, 40 4-6 year olds screaming “TEACHA, TEACHA!!!”
They’ve already been there for an hour reciting the Swazi pledge of allegiance as well as the pledges to the Christian flag and the Bible, the alphabet, numbers, and their names and gender. My class of 20 5-6 year olds is learning to sit quietly and listen attentively to their head teacher, Ms. Cindy, working on writing and utilizing the letter ‘t’, coloring inside the lines, and playing respectfully with one another. We’re working on that one… respect. J
At 10am it’s time to break for lunch and recess. Most of the kids bring a lunch of bread, paloney (processed meat that’s super pink and worse than baloney), chips/fruit, and something to drink. Unfortunately, not all of them are able to bring lunch with them. Those children are given “thin porridge” prepared by the ladies that cook for the neighborhood kitchen in the afternoon. The porridge looks like an incredibly sweet version of cream of wheat.
After lunch and recess, it’s back to work we go until about 11:40am when we clean up, sing songs, and play games until 12 noon when the kids are released to go home. Some of them walk in groups of 3 or 4, others walk alone, and a few get picked up by their grandmother or mom. Kacie and I walk back across the road to wait, usually 30 minutes to an hour, for a kombi to pick us up and take us back to town. In that time we talk about what happened in our classes, go buy a chocolate milk from our Indian friends, and then sit on a crumbling 2ft tall cinder block wall under a tree next to a lady’s produce stand to wait. When we arrive at the bus rink, the place where you catch a kombi, we have to decide whether or not we’re going to walk home in the blazing sun.
And there you have it, a day in the life of a couple care point ministry workers. Some days are incredibly fun and others are downright tough. Sometimes we see kids get put in a store room closet for continually misbehaving and other days they’re rewarded with suckers and Supa Nax (a weird version of Cheetos flavored in spicy tomato or beef braai). Sometimes I want to hug and kiss all over them and other days I wish they would get away from me with their grubby little hands covered in snot, dirt, and food. Sometimes I don’t want to leave and other times I can’t get out of there soon enough. But each day I’m grateful to have the opportunity to see life through their little eyes, to teach them something new, and to help build the Kingdom alongside my cool friend Kacie.
Flying Home: The World Race has booked a flight for us to land in Miami, FL on Friday, May 20th. I am responsible for getting home from there. If you would like to make a donation to help cover the cost of a flight to Nashville and any other immediate expenditures I may have, please click this link: paypal.me/ShondaF . Thanks in advance!
