Manzini

Manzini is the largest city in Swaziland, and we spent quite a bit of time there. First we visited some carepoints in the area that were sponsored by US churches and the kids we amazing. There were lots of kids at all of these carepoints. It was explained that these carepoints grow (in number of children) after they begin receiving outside support (sponsorship) because the kids learn that there is always food there. We witnessed Hopechest’s local disciplers in action. Playing, singing, and praying with the kids. These guys are really amazing.

After we had seen sponsorship in action we started visiting some unsponsored carepoints in and around Manzini. Ludlati was the first unsponsored carepoint we visited on the trip. It has a great story. One woman started feeding kids out of her home. Of course the group of kids got bigger and bigger. Now they are meeting under a tree in the middle of nowhere. She kept this up for over a year on her own – asking for help twice before she received any assistance from outsiders. And if that is not enough, she also makes clothes for some of the children to wear to school. This may not sound that amazing – but we are talking about a woman living alone in poverty, in a remote rugged area outside of Manzini in a country where most struggle just to eat (70% of the people in Swaziland live below the “bread line” – they don’t make enough money to feed themselves). You can learn more Ludlati at "knowntome".

Of course we visited a few other unsponsored carepoints in the Manzini area. At Mpholi we watched kids collect a meal in the plastic containers we throw in the trash everyday and take a bowl full of rice home for themselves and whoever else may be there for them. We saw kids no older than 8 carrying their baby brothers/sisters for what could have been miles on their backs to get food. At Themba’s carepoint I watched as a child sat with me for what seemed like hours, seemingly dead to the world, come to life after about the second handful of food got to her mouth. There I also saw my own son in the face of a child as his sister watched over him.

I really can't paint the picture of what life in Swaziland looks like, and the pictures I brought back really do no justice to the beauty we saw in these people. (Some others in our group have better pictures - see some here).

The brightest points of this trip were meeting the people who were all about making a difference in the lives of Swazi children. Like Pastor Sam, who has started the Mankayane carepoint and built a school to train kids and workers, the wife of the pastor at Mpaka who's mission is to get medical care for the kids there, and Pastor Gift in Nsoko who is touching every aspect of his community.

I'll leave you with this tune from the kids at Mpaka.