Work Hard, Play Hard

        It really has been Swazi time since I last posted on my blog.  Lots have been happening with school being in session, and they are actually coming to a close of the first term already.  The schools are run quite differently than back in the states and working on community projects is much more challenging than anticipated.  Peace Corps is a demanding job sometimes however extremely rewarding in the end.  We have to have some time to play as well and our motto seems to be work hard and play hard here.  It is all about enjoying life; enjoying work and enjoying the people we come in contact with.  I have learned more about patience, understanding, forgiveness, self-control and love while being here in Swaziland, not only with Swazi people but even interacting with other Peace Corps Volunteers.  We as volunteers are from all different backgrounds, walks of life, cultures, beliefs, and all have our own baggage as well.  40 volunteers placed in a foreign land to work and make a change while staying sane with one another.  We are one another’s new family whether we like it or not for the next 2 years.  Let the journey begin.

         The school system is run by the government here in Swaziland and includes a Ministry of Education to oversee pretty much all aspects of the schools from Primary school up to Secondary and High Schools.  They are starting to even take more control over Preschools and support them as well.  The Primary School starts at Grade 1 and goes up to Grade 7 before they can move on the secondary school.  It is pretty similar to schools in the states.  Most kids start at age 6, some 5 if they don’t have a preschool they are able to attend.  Currently at the primary school I work at there are about 300 students.  I am working with a few of the teachers to develop a library for the school.  We have a small room with shelving already put up but that is about all.  Our goal is to have over 1000 books, at least 1 computer, and tables and chairs for students to study and read in.  Our dream is to have more than 1 computer for other students and teachers to do work and even research on if we can obtain internet, have a television for students to view, and have all classes visiting the library once a week.  We would like to have it open by the beginning of next year and have books arriving from Books for Africa in May right before I will be closing my service here.  Our tasks consist of organizing a committee, setting up rules and guidelines for the library, writing a grant for the renovation, supplies and furniture, and finally training teachers and introducing the library into the school.

         At the high school I work with a boys club and girls club once a week.  We call them BRO (Boys reaching out) and GLOW (Girls leading our world).  There is an annual camp for a few of the boys and girls from each club to attend in Swaziland where they get to meet other students from all over Swaziland and discuss issues to bring back to their own clubs.  It is a great thing for the students as many of them have never been able to leave their community and get to interact with other students.  It is such a rewarding thing for them and to see the students slowly open up more and see the smiles grow larger each day.  We are gearing up for our BRO camp here in Swaziland in April for about 30 boys from all over Swaziland to attend.  I will be bringing 3 boys from my club to attend this weeklong camp.  The BRO camp is being hosted at our favorite backpackers here in Swaziland called Sundowners.  (I like to call it “downers”, some call it “sunnies”, but than again I like to be different)  In both of these clubs at the school we address issues such as gender equality, self-esteem, and leadership while touching on HIV/AIDS and how they can prevent the spread of the disease.

         The high schools can be somewhat different from our perception of high school back in the states.  Once you complete grade 7 you can continue on to secondary school, which is form 1 to 3.  The High Schools have form 1 up to form 5.  In order to get into a university in Swaziland you have to have completed form 5 and have passing marks in English.  You can repeat forms in order to obtain higher marks but each school requires school fees for the students.  They can be as high as E3500 per term if you do not qualify for OVC (Orphaned and Vulnerable Child) stipend.  Students will travel many kilometers each day to attend a school or even move in order to get into better schools.  The age range I work with is 14-years-old in form 1 up to 24-years-old in form 5 at my high school.  The form 1 class has almost 60 students while form 5 has only 9 students.  Students will drop out because they cannot afford school anymore; have to take care of their families or just loose interest and motivation to continue.  The OVC stipend allows students to attend school and the government will pay a certain amount to the school for them to attend.  (Orphaned and Vulnerable Child – A child who has lost 1 or both parents)  The difficult situation for these students can be that they have to take care of their family and can be as young as 14 years old, trying to provide food and shelter for their brothers and sisters.  The school can struggle since the OVC stipend they receive is not sufficient to cover the full amount for the student and what the school has budgeted for fees per student.  It then has trouble providing high quality education, materials and programs for the students.  If the student body is made up of 50% OVC children the school budget will suffer since they don’t have enough money to cover the remaining fees.  It is against the law for the school to ask these children to pay the difference because they are under the OVC fund and most cannot afford to pay the remaining fees.  It becomes a catch-22 for many schools.

         As if these things don’t keep me busy enough I am also working on developing a Preschool for the community.  We started with 4 walls and somewhat of a roof.  The building is located across from the primary school and has been there for over 20 years being used as teacher’s quarters at first and tried to be a preschool once.  We have been blessed to be working closely with a Christian Organization in the town of Nhlangano, my shopping town for me, although it still takes me about 2.5 hours by bus to travel there.  They have brought multiple groups in to help us with the development of the school and training teachers.  The building currently has fresh paint, some murals inside and out, and new doors and windows being put in.  We are working on getting a new roof and some repairs in the next few weeks.  The preschool also has small tables and chairs for the students, toys, art supplies, cleaning supplies and a great ABC board on the wall.  The community has been hard at work with forming a committee and providing labor for clean-up projects and repairs needed.  The remaining things to be done is to build a latrine, finish the fencing around the school, clear the yard of those thorny bushes, and obtain a water tank and food for the children.  Lots of work still to be done yet we have come a long way from where we started.  The community and parents are extremely excited about the school and the benefit it can provide.  There were over 40 kids who registered for the preschool the first time.  It will be an enormous asset to the community and the schools since the younger children will be able to start schooling at age 3 before heading to the primary school.  Our goal is to have students able to attend in May when term 2 starts and have it fully functioning and sustainable by the beginning of next year.

         Playing hard in the meantime.  Planning a trip up to Hlalne Big Game Park here in Swaziland next weekend to hopefully see 4 of the big 5.  (The African Lion, African elephant, Cape buffalo, White/Black rhinoceros, and the African leopard)  A group of 9 volunteers will be camping for one night and taking an early morning game drive through Hlalne Game Park.  After the boys camp in April I will be planning a trip to St. Lucia in South Africa which is on the coast of the Indian Ocean about 2 hours north of Durban.  It is a small coastal town on the edge of a large wetland park home to crocs, hippos, dolphins and whales.  Finally at the end of May is the weekend long music and art festival in Swaziland called Bushfire.  There are thousands of people who attend to see handmade local art and crafts with musical artists performing all weekend coming from as far away as Europe to local South African and Swazi musicians.  A few short weeks after Bushfire the new group of volunteers will be arriving to the Kingdom of Swaziland. (G13)  We all look forward to that since it is always nice to see new faces, especially Americans…and get the new season of Game of Thrones, Walking Dead and Orange is the New Black.

         Everyday I continue to thank God for how blessed I am to have this opportunity.  Even the hard days when I am missing friends and family back home, my power is out, haven’t had a shower for over a week, and the bats will not shut up in my hut.  It is such a blessing to be able to experience another culture and see the joy on their faces when your Make (host mom) laughs at you when you still are washing your clothes wrong and brings you food after a long day of traveling back to site.  The younger children’s smile when they see you at the school cause your white and hearing the debate going on in the high school between students about HIV/AIDS and taking up leadership positions.  Even those community members yelling your name across the field when you’re outside just to say hi and how are you.  It has only been 6 months, and sometimes I feel like I have been here a year, other times like I just arrived.  It will be such a mix of emotions when this journey is over and I will have to say goodbye to my family and friends in Swaziland who have made this an amazing experience already.