GRANDPARENTS !!

3 OCT 2010
GAIL AND MIKE ARE NOW GRANDPARENTS!!! Mary delivered a healthy boy and girl on Sat. Sept. 25 around noon. Yes, they were 6 weeks premature, but weighed in at 4 lbs. And 4 lb. 10 oz., and all reports are that they are progressing nicely in the NIC Unit. Welcome Lavinia McDowell and Hatcher Canfield.

Greetings from Swaziland. I apologize for the delay in blog postings lately – our computer was out of commission & the internet café is usually closed when I go to town. So, now that we’re settled into our community I can describe our living arrangements and working conditions. We now live on a farm in the SW part of Swaziland. Several years ago, the owners decided to begin caring for some of the orphans and vulnerable children in their area. Now, they have 23 children living in 2 separate children’s homes on the farm. They range in ages from 3 to 16 yrs., both boys and girls. Each home has a house mother who cares for the day to day needs of the kids, while the owners operate their farm – about 50 head of dairy cows and a large plant nursery. The money generated from the farm helps pay for the operations of the children’s homes. They asked for Peace Corps help to help them better care for the kids as well as to help with the farm operations and the many outreach programs they are involved in around the community.

We have a separate dwelling, which is quite nicer than a typical hut. We’re not complaining. We have electricity, running water, a bathroom and a kitchen with stove and refrigerator. We do share our space with the many short term volunteers who come on mission trips to help at the children’s home. So far we’ve had a girl from England, who was here 2 months, and a couple from Tulsa who was here for 5 days. It’s been eye opening to be on the other end of the mission trip paradigm. We’ve enjoyed it all so far.

My job is more hands on with the kids – I teach preschool to the 5 younger kids each day from 8:30 to 12:30 (with a ½ hr. break). Then I tutor 6 first graders from 2:30 to 3:30. Then I tutor 3 third graders from 5 – 6 pm. In the meantime, I help with basic computer skills for those who need help. That’s my day to day stuff, but I’m also starting some sewing projects, and other community outreach things which I’ll detail at a later blog. We do accompany the kids to church on Sundays – they attend an Anglican church in town. We’re fortunate in that this church feels more like a traditional western church and only lasts 2 hrs. (many others go for 3 – 4 hrs.) Again, I’ll give you more details on church later.

Mike’s jobs are more administrative – helping with the operations of the farm – and actually learning some farm skills. Yes, these suburban raised adults are getting into the lifestyle here. He’s also helping with the record keeping for the kids – imagine keeping the medical, dental, eye, and school records straight for 23! I could barely keep track of our 4.

We life in the high plains area – so we’ve had mostly cool nights and are sleeping under blankets still, even though it’s “spring” and the days are warming up. We have lots of sunny days, and it’s still dry season. We’ve only seen a few days of light sprinkles since we’ve arrived. Yet, the trees are coming into leaf and some have bloomed. I certainly don’t miss the gray skies of Columbus, Ohio. Because of the extreme dry conditions, we’re on the lookout for fires – our owners have helped others fight some in the area since we’ve arrived. We hear it is absolutely gorgeous once the rains begin and everything turns green, but the price to pay is lots of mud.

We couldn’t be healthier or happier, although we sure to miss everyone at home.
Gotta go get ready for church. Love to all of you. Gail & Mike