Swaziland and school visits

We camped at Molotja Nature Reserve in Swaziland last week and had a great time exploring a new country. The people are very friendly and the scenery is gorgeous. It is one mountain after another. When fully loaded our van does not have a lot of "get up and go", so we chug along at 40 km/h most of the time. As the roads are not all paved and endure one logging truck after another, our ride was quite bumpy. We enjoyed our visit to the glass factory where we observed artisans blowing into long tubes to form beautiful vases, wine glasses and bowls. The kids also spent time watching the crafters carve animals from wood and rock.

Homeschooling has gotten more and more hands-on as we have found two more schools to serve through literacy and robotics. We read stories at a government school last week and made a donation of some books. There were 257 children standing at attention while we read out loud. As the kids struggle with our accents, I read the page and then a boy from the school read the page out loud to the group. The youngest children (below grade 3) don't really have a lot of experience in English so now I understand all the blank looks while reading. It wasn't until I showed the pictures that the children's faces looked engaged and showed enjoyment.

The other school we have adopted is at an orphanage. The children are all HIV positive and live at the center run by two nuns from the states and one from somewhere in eastern Europe. We built lego fans and merry-go-rounds with the oldest 9 children one morning and then spent some time read to and with each of them. It is a neat experience when I look up from the Curious George book I am reading to see each of our 6 kids sitting with one or two children reading aloud from books friends and relatives donated to give to children here. The kids LOVE the books. We hope to spend significant time there over the coming weeks. There is a boy named Victor with whom I am especially enamored. He has a quick mind and an engaging smile with manners that are heartwarming. The kids sang the World Cup theme song for us and while they were singing, "when I get older, I will be stronger, they'll call me freedom just like a wavin' flag" I got a bit teary. It is hard to think of what kind of future these kids have.


Deb