Today we visited a care point/ school for orphans in the extremely rural part of Swaziland near the border with Mozambique. The name of the place was Shewula, and when we arrived there were 58 children running after our vans, smiling broadly and waving. First, they showed off some of the games they play in a large circle. Everyone on the team sort of hung back watching them dance around, clapping and singing in siswati.
I greeted the makes who were in charge of the school there (by the way, they are paid nothing for their work), and before I knew it Babe Mhlanga had called me over and told one of them to throw me into the game. She had a child in one arm, but she threw her other over my sholder and asked me my surname so she could call it out at the appropriate time in the song. Vuyo, who had already joined the circle almost the moment we got there, was laughing and telling me that the song says I am now married to that woman. She dropped me off next to a little boy about half my size, and he threw his arm over my shoulder. I hunched down and walked around the circle with him (married again). Everyone got a big kick out of all of that, let me tell you.
Eventually the rest of the Swaziland Mission group joined the circle. We pulled out the parachute and played for a very long time. The children we've interacted with never seem to tire of the activities we do with them. Yesterday I found myself twirling a girl around and around and dancing with her for over an hour. I did the same moves every time! But she just kept giggling and wanting more. Sandile called out the instructions for the kids to run under if they were wearing a certain color. His face was a broad grin the entire time. He is a born leader. After we folded up the parachutes we broke up into different activities.
Janice handed me a bottle of ruby red fingernail polish, so I plopped down on the nearest rock and in no time there was a little one perched on the rock next to me with their grubby hand laying on my skirt. Their nails were dirty. Some were cracked and deformed, but by golly they were going to have the most beautiful nails around! Some of the children wouldn't allow me to paint their right hands, since the right hand is the one Swazis use for everything. Apparently the left hand is generally used for hygiene purposes. I enjoyed watching all of the goings on around the dusty schoolyard. John and Vuyo made balloon hats for a looong line of kids. Lauren, Molly and others taught some of the younger ones a little bit about softball. Kim found a little girl who followed her around and clung to her hand the entire afternoon. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. We got out two gigantic bags of oranges we had purchased at a little road side market that morning, and in no time the kids were gobbling them down and holding them out to us to get the peeling started. Babe Mhlanga handed me an orange and told me to peel it so we could share. I peeled slowly, wishing I had my father around to work his orange peeling magic. As I peeled, I walked around and observed some of the goings on. Chris came up to me and said he had just heard from a Make that these children had not had a meal in two weeks. I immediately felt no desire to eat that orange, and I passed it off to the nearest little boy.
I tried to imagine what it would be like to go without eating for too long. Today our group went without lunch and it was enough to make my stomach rumble and my spirits a little more on the grumpy side. We wished that we had purchased an entire feast rather than some oranges, but I know that our efforts were not in vain. We left a large bag of donations including school supplies and some of Lillie's clothes (don't worry Andrea, they've been put to good use for sure!). We sang with the children, we saw their smiles, and we gave them a day of freedom and a little bit of hope, along with a hefty donation of 1400 emalangheni. Even so, their empty stomachs cannot be filled until the teachers have the funds and support they need to make a meager meal for 58 hungry mouths. They received money from UNICEF to build the structures only, and told to do what they could to provide food and other necessary services. The primary provider of food to the Shewula care point is also responsible for providing resources to several other care point centers in the area. They are out of funds. There is no food left.
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In the van today I had the pleasure of riding in the seat next to Vuyo, and we were able to dive in on a little project we've been working on. I'm teaching him Spanish and he is teaching me some more about siswati. I feel like there's so much to learn and there's no way I'll know it all when I leave. I might not even be able to construct a grammatically correct sentence. But I will know a lot more! I really enjoy hanging out with Vuyo and I felt like today I broke through his shyness a little bit. We were laughing and joking a lot more, and he seemed to relax in some way. He has been a dear friend on both trips, but I finally feel that we can both be ourselves. I'm going to miss him a lot when I go. I want to promise myself that this time I will keep in touch with him the way he deserves. He has a huge heart and picks up the Spanish so quickly! I feel like I am so far behind in my siswati!
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I'm becoming increasingly attached to this place and these people. I'm glad I can share the joy, the sadness, and the desperation we all feel for a solution to the poverty, HIV/AIDS, and injustice that exists.
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