Happy New Year everyone. Our New Year’s Eve celebrating was pretty quiet. Mike was in Johannesburg seeing our kids off on their return flight to the US, and I stayed here. We had quite a thunderstorm that evening, so even the scheduled fireworks were cancelled. Actually, since Mike & I rarely celebrate New Year’s, it seemed pretty normal. Swazi’s generally celebrate in the usual ways – lots of food and alcohol for those who drink. I saw a lot of fireworks being purchased, and heard quite a few going off. Alcohol consumption for most of the population is very limited; but those who do drink, often drink to excess. There’s a lot of drunk driving during the holidays, so I was glad we weren’t on the roads in the evening.
The children have been off school since Nov. 22. I have taken some of the free time to sort/catalogue books as seen in photo. School was scheduled to end Dec. 2, but the schools closed early – probably due to budget. They won’t go back til Jan. 24. So, even though that’s like our summer break in the US, this break has seemed quite long for us. We have scheduled activities every day, but it’s clear the kids need more structure. Last week we started the process of school prep. – that means having each child try on his uniform so we can inspect it and see if it fits, needs repair, etc. Each boy must have proper khaki shirt and pants, black oxford shoes and socks, and a knit track suit (jacket and pants) for cold days. Each girl must have a dress, black oxford shoes & socks and track suit. Then, once we determined who needs what, it meant trips to town for each group of 8 kids to be measured and order uniforms, purchase shoes & socks, etc. Quite an ordeal, and quite an expense. It’s no wonder more and more children are not attending school, either because the parents can’t afford the school fees or uniform. With an unemployment rate of around 40%, and an avg. wage of less than $2.00 US per day, I’m actually surprised as many children attend as do. Then, if one can afford the school fees, it’s another ordeal to pay them. The schools won’t accept a check; instead one must go to the bank and withdraw money from your account and then physically pay with cash to the bank established for that particular school. You can imagine the lines.
The kids do get proper report cards. Actually they are very detailed – with a percentage and letter grade for each of about 7 subject areas from English, SiSwati, Math, Social studies, science, religious ed. etc. Then they are ranked within their class (usually between 50 – 60 pupils) and within their grade. Even the first graders are ranked. We had several of our students do quite well and receive a high ranking. Others are near the bottom. Many start out behind, because there is no formal kindergarten, and there are few preschools in the rural areas. Quite a few of our kids arrive having never been to school, despite being of school-age. So, they start in my preschool until the next term starts and then begin in grade 1. This year, we’ll have a 6 yr, a 9 yr. and a 10 yr. old start grade 1. Thankfully, there will be others like them, so the stigma won’t be too bad. Our 4 new girls are adjusting quite well and seem happy to be here where it is safe, and there’s lots of food and love. More importantly, all the kids here have a difficult past, so the new ones don’t feel isolated.
Looks like sewing lessons are on the horizon for me for the first quarter of this year in several areas. Our housemothers want to learn to sew, so I’ve begun lessons with them on Saturdays. It’s such a joy to teach adults something they want to learn. We had 3 machines (hand crank) donated to us, so they are getting additional use now. (I taught the 3 oldest girls last year & they’ve continued to sew various things) Most importantly, with these skills, the housemothers can do better repairs on the kids’ clothing – from patching holes in knees, to replacing zippers to altering sizes for hand-me-downs. They also want to learn to make a housecoat to wear over their clothing when they work around the children’s home. Later we’ll learn to make some personal clothing.
Our Bambanani groups had an extremely successful year, thanks to all the support from so many of you in purchasing our products. Thankfully, the members are forward thinking in how they wish to utilize the additional funds that were generated. Both groups want to invest in the future and learn sewing skills. Those lessons are more than I have time for, but we’ll be meeting with the regional head of an organization called Women In Development who do teach sewing, amongst other things. I’m looking forward to hearing what their program is all about, and how they can help us. It turns out quite a few ladies have sewing machines. Unfortunately, most are in disrepair. So, the first thing will be to find a repairman to assess the machines. I looked at several, and all desperately needed oil, as well as repairs that were beyond my capabilities. Yet, I can think of no better way to utilize our additional funds than to get these machines up and running, and then improving skills. Looks like these programs will keep me busy when I’m not teaching preschool and tutoring. Actually it does provide a nice balance to my active life here. Thankfully, Mike helps with the business side of Bambanani, so together, we’re making it work for us. Most other volunteers can’t believe how busy we both are, yet we couldn’t be happier. Hope you have had a good start to 2012. Bye for now. Gail
The children have been off school since Nov. 22. I have taken some of the free time to sort/catalogue books as seen in photo. School was scheduled to end Dec. 2, but the schools closed early – probably due to budget. They won’t go back til Jan. 24. So, even though that’s like our summer break in the US, this break has seemed quite long for us. We have scheduled activities every day, but it’s clear the kids need more structure. Last week we started the process of school prep. – that means having each child try on his uniform so we can inspect it and see if it fits, needs repair, etc. Each boy must have proper khaki shirt and pants, black oxford shoes and socks, and a knit track suit (jacket and pants) for cold days. Each girl must have a dress, black oxford shoes & socks and track suit. Then, once we determined who needs what, it meant trips to town for each group of 8 kids to be measured and order uniforms, purchase shoes & socks, etc. Quite an ordeal, and quite an expense. It’s no wonder more and more children are not attending school, either because the parents can’t afford the school fees or uniform. With an unemployment rate of around 40%, and an avg. wage of less than $2.00 US per day, I’m actually surprised as many children attend as do. Then, if one can afford the school fees, it’s another ordeal to pay them. The schools won’t accept a check; instead one must go to the bank and withdraw money from your account and then physically pay with cash to the bank established for that particular school. You can imagine the lines.
The kids do get proper report cards. Actually they are very detailed – with a percentage and letter grade for each of about 7 subject areas from English, SiSwati, Math, Social studies, science, religious ed. etc. Then they are ranked within their class (usually between 50 – 60 pupils) and within their grade. Even the first graders are ranked. We had several of our students do quite well and receive a high ranking. Others are near the bottom. Many start out behind, because there is no formal kindergarten, and there are few preschools in the rural areas. Quite a few of our kids arrive having never been to school, despite being of school-age. So, they start in my preschool until the next term starts and then begin in grade 1. This year, we’ll have a 6 yr, a 9 yr. and a 10 yr. old start grade 1. Thankfully, there will be others like them, so the stigma won’t be too bad. Our 4 new girls are adjusting quite well and seem happy to be here where it is safe, and there’s lots of food and love. More importantly, all the kids here have a difficult past, so the new ones don’t feel isolated.
Looks like sewing lessons are on the horizon for me for the first quarter of this year in several areas. Our housemothers want to learn to sew, so I’ve begun lessons with them on Saturdays. It’s such a joy to teach adults something they want to learn. We had 3 machines (hand crank) donated to us, so they are getting additional use now. (I taught the 3 oldest girls last year & they’ve continued to sew various things) Most importantly, with these skills, the housemothers can do better repairs on the kids’ clothing – from patching holes in knees, to replacing zippers to altering sizes for hand-me-downs. They also want to learn to make a housecoat to wear over their clothing when they work around the children’s home. Later we’ll learn to make some personal clothing.
Our Bambanani groups had an extremely successful year, thanks to all the support from so many of you in purchasing our products. Thankfully, the members are forward thinking in how they wish to utilize the additional funds that were generated. Both groups want to invest in the future and learn sewing skills. Those lessons are more than I have time for, but we’ll be meeting with the regional head of an organization called Women In Development who do teach sewing, amongst other things. I’m looking forward to hearing what their program is all about, and how they can help us. It turns out quite a few ladies have sewing machines. Unfortunately, most are in disrepair. So, the first thing will be to find a repairman to assess the machines. I looked at several, and all desperately needed oil, as well as repairs that were beyond my capabilities. Yet, I can think of no better way to utilize our additional funds than to get these machines up and running, and then improving skills. Looks like these programs will keep me busy when I’m not teaching preschool and tutoring. Actually it does provide a nice balance to my active life here. Thankfully, Mike helps with the business side of Bambanani, so together, we’re making it work for us. Most other volunteers can’t believe how busy we both are, yet we couldn’t be happier. Hope you have had a good start to 2012. Bye for now. Gail
