COUNTRY: Southern Africa (Swaziland, Mozambique & South Africa)
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Monique Bedwell & Rebecca Young
As we have been heading into our last few weeks in Swaziland, it's beginning to hit everyone that time has been passing us by so quickly!
It's our second last official week teaching at our NCP's (neighbourhood care points) and we feel that we still have so much left to do! This week everyone has been given the opportunity to do a home-stay that involves living with a Swazi family for three nights.
Whilst there you are expected to do the same chores, eat the same food and do exactly as they would in their everyday lives. After a group meeting and discussion about who is or isn't doing the home stay, it resulted in Kirsten, Aimée, Rebecca and Natasha signing up. From Tuesday through to Friday the group was very empty with the 4 girls at their home-stay but we continued our usual routines of waking up, going to NCP's and coming home. The afternoons usually were spent chilling by the pool, watching TV or making a trip down to the local shops.
The report from the home-stay made a couple of people a bit jealous that they didn't end up going. For the three nights that the girls were away they were truly immersed into the Swazi way of life. In the mornings when they got up there was no luxury of a hot running shower, instead they were given a tub/bath, a kettle to boil some water and another large bucket full of water to use in the tub/bath.
Going to the toilet wasn't that pleasant either as it was just a giant hole in the ground. As this was all to be expected they had already mentally prepared themselves for it. We've all been living in Swaziland for a while now so there were only a couple of things that really shocked them. The first was lighting a fire in the field next to their house to clear the land, and the second was killing a chicken for dinner.
The pyromaniacs were Natasha and Rebecca as the other two girls were still on their placement. All they could tell us about it was how weird it was to go against everything they had ever been taught about an open flame and dry grass. Killing the chicken on the other hand, turned out to be a whole group event. When it came time for the kill everyone had their role organised. Kirsten was to cut off its head while Rebecca held it still, then Natasha was going to gut it and cut it up. This was all a bit too much for Amiée who couldn't even watch and had to just stand there with her back towards the scene taking photos for those who were preoccupied.
The killing was a success, minus a few tears from Kirsten, but the end result was a delicious meal.
Before we left Australia, Zoe had done some fundraising to give an extra helping hand whilst here in Swaziland. When we first got here she asked our in country partner Nosipho about it to see what she could do to help out. One of the projects that needed a bit of help was a soccer tournament that they try to hold every year with the help of a sponsor. This year Zoe was their sponsor.
She was involved in having soccer jerseys made, supplying some of the equipment and food for the 150 children involved. Everyone from our group was involved in the day. A small group of us went to help with food preparations for the children, this included Zoe, Mon, Fe, and Rebecca. The remainder of the group came down to the fields to cheer on the teams and help support Zoe by being there on the day.
Meanwhile those whom were helping with the cooking were taken to Nokuthula's house. They were able to help with the chopping and preparation of the food, and then the cooking which was in a massive cauldron over an open fire which was a great experience for the girls.
The remainder of the group that were at the fields, had returned home as the lack of shade and the long hours in the sun that had taken their toll. As the day was coming to a close we were all taken back to the fields again for the grand final presentation to the winning team and runners up. Zoe presented medals to each of the team members and then surprised the winning team with her sponsored purple and orange football jerseys. The children absolutely loved their prizes.
In our time being in Swaziland we had all became aware of the importance religion has in the community and attending church was high on most of our to-do lists. Almost everyone in the group made an effort to attend church that Sunday with Menzie. Everyone had very different expectations when heading to Mbabane. The church ended up being a large tent with people of all ages attending.
We were greeted by many people who were grateful that we'd all come along to see what their services involved. Once inside music began to play. Menzie was part of the choir on stage and the atmosphere from all the people surrounding us was unbelievable. They all joined in song and dance and it was great to see how passionate they were towards their belief in God. Many prophesies were told about various individuals including a few from our group. After 4 hours of church it was time to head back to the lodge to relax for the rest of the day.
Our last week of teaching had arrived and the thought that we would be leaving soon was very surreal to everyone. We didn't feel ready to leave at all! We all began to prepare how we were going to say our farewells to children we had grown to love.
Most of our group have decided to sponsor a child to financially support them throughout their schooling which made saying goodbye even more difficult. This last week was jam packed with trying to get everything done including meeting our sponsor child's family, preparing for our final days of teaching and beginning to pack our belongings. Fe has also taken it upon her self to speak to our in-country partners about doing possible fundraising in Swaziland. As Fe has a musical talent she decided to use her fundraising money to set up a music program to benefit the children.
This music program will provide the children from the local NCP's and older kids with the opportunity to learn how to play a traditional African instrument, the Marimbula, which is like a xylophone, and later perform as a group at local hotels.
The last week flew past and before we knew it our second last day of placement in Swaziland had arrived. Roland had come to pay us a visit to tie up the last loose ends about the Victoria Falls trip we were all going on. Everyone headed over to Malendela's and made our final payments for the extra activities we had chosen to involve ourselves in. This was very painful as it was costing us quite a lot to go to Victoria Falls and our bank accounts had suddenly become sufficiently lower. When arriving back at the lodge it was madness as everyone was wanting to bake muffins and cakes for their students. Most people were throwing parties at their NCP's as a farewell and thank you to the children and teachers whom we have all been working with throughout our time in Swaziland.
We have all had very exciting experiences throughout our time teaching in the various NCP's and here's a quick insight towards our time here:
Rebecca and Natasha
"It's so hard to believe how quickly our time at the Lobamba NCP has gone. After a trying start to our placement it's so hard to leave all of those little smiling faces behind. After such a rewarding experience we can't wait to see what our project Cape Town holds."
Madi, Tarun and Kirsten
"We had fun, the kids were nice. Although it was very difficult getting to our Milendazwea NCP, every time we went there we bonded well with the kids. Seeing their smiling faces every day was such a rewarding experience. But none of us will ever be teachers."
Zoe and Fe
"It's so difficult to try and describe our time at Ezulwini NCP in just a few sentences, but to put it simply, it was incredible. We fell in love with each and every one of the kids who we are going to miss dearly. Each day brought a new challenge but with it wonderful memories that we will cherish forever. "
Harry and Aimée
"We will always remember our time in Swaziland, and the days spent at Mahlanya NCP. We hope to have made a difference in some small way, just as "our kids" have made a difference to our lives."
Louisa and Alice
"We didn't expect to enjoy the chaos that was Bethany NCP. The last week was full of fun! The highlight was watching the kids confused and bedazzled faces at their first taste of fairy bread. We will truly miss the cheeky smiling faces of all the children. "
Matt and Mon
"Our experiences of Ekuzukekeni NCP and our expectations before arriving in Swaziland cannot be compared. To see the kids turn up every day and watch them make little improvements is going to be memorable for a long time. It might not have seemed it at the time, but our struggles made every second worth it. "
After all of our goodbyes, the afternoon was left to us to get things done as it was our last week day in Swaziland. That night there was an event being held at House on Fire next to Malandela's called the 'Reggae Rumble'. Upon our arrival we realised that this was quite a large event with many people were attending. All of us grabbed a drink at the bar and found some seats to sit down and enjoy the music. The music was very catchy and before too long a dance floor had been created and people were rising from their seats to join in on the fun. A few of us decided to hit the dance floor as well.
The night was filled with fun, laughter and a lot of dancing. Everyone headed back to Lidwala Lodge at various times in the night as the long day gradually took its toll on us. The night was a massive success that everyone enjoyed, even if reggae was not our favourite genre of music.
The weekend mainly consisted of packing our bags and organising which bags we were going to take with us to Victoria Falls. On the Saturday Zoe, with the help of Fe, Madi, Louisa and Alice, organised a girls day for 24 young girls who are financially supported through All Out Africa's sponsorship program. The girls were treated to a day of games, food, swimming and all around fun. The remaining few of the group spent their time sleeping and resting by the pool or saving baby birds which had jumped out of their nest due to the heat. The girls returned and told us how much of a success the day had been and how happy it had made the sponsored girls.
All of us have grown very close to our in country partner Nosipho and a few thought for our last weekend in Swaziland we would have a sleep over at her house. Everyone had a great girls night eating pizza, chips, sushi, pasta and lollies whilst watching various chick flicks.
The remainder of the weekend consisted of making sure everything was packed for when we returned in a weeks time to then head down the Garden Route to Cape Town.
Hopefully ill have the trip down done over the weekend and then ill have the end of the trip down here in Cape Town next week before coming home to finalise the trip.
Cheers Mon .
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