Holistic School Sponsorship for 20+ Swati Students

This will be the final report issued before the Holistic School Sponsorship project is updated on GlobalGiving. It is time to update the project page to reflect current times. It was not already done because the pandemic left lots of room for uncertainty last year. We now have answers to many questions we had about this project last year, but there are still some things that remain uncertain even now, a year later.

Moya Centre did move forward with paying all bursary fees for our students in 2020. This was necessary to keep the teachers paid, and also to keep the schools running for Form 3 and 5 students, and also to ensure other students received lessons through distance learning. School took place almost exclusively through lessons given over the radio and television throughout 2020. For Form 3 and 5, they did return to the classroom late in the year to prepare for exams, and exams were conducted. We were pleasantly surprised with the results, considering the unprecedented difficulties students faced last year. For Form 3, all 33 of our students sat of exams and only two failed. 25 Form 5 students also sat for exams, with no failures and 13 having done exceptionally well. We are very proud of the resilience our students showed throughout 2020, and continue to show now.

As we begin March of 2021, schools are still not open for the year, as a partial lockdown remains in place. Yet school is expected to open soon and Moya is preparing for that. We have at least 25 spots open for our holistic sponsorship, as that is how many Form 5 students completed school, and therefore the program through Moya. We will also be conducting a re-application process for those going into Form 4, to assess those who are committed to the entire program, and to also replace those who failed, as Moya does not continue to sponsor students who fail unless there is a circumstance that truly warrants a second chance.

We are very happy to report that this project has raised 90% of its goal. However, this goal was for the year 2020, and those 20+ students were sponsored through GlobalGiving and additional funding. Now we are looking to Sponsor 20+ new students, which realistically puts us back at the starting point each year. We will update the project to reflect this, but with all the recurring donors, we do not want to erase this project and start new, as those of you generous enough to give monthly know exactly what you are still giving to.

As always, we thank you for your support, and hope that you will take the time to read the updated project which will be posted on GlobalGiving within the coming weeks.

Note- We will include pictures in the next pdate as students have not yet been selected. 

This report is very brief, as very little has changed since the previous report due to most students still being out of school. The only sponsored students who have returned to school are Form 5 students who have already begun sitting their external exams. However we’d like our friends and donors to know that support for our students hasn’t wavered and Moya Centre has been hard at work, changing focus a bit to help our children through this difficult year. Moya Centre is accustomed to changing with the needs of the community, both in new initiatives we start, and within ones we are already doing. The holistic sponsorship project is no exception to this rule.

Moya did pay a portion of all Sponsored Students’ tuition at the start of the year and this money was used to help sustain the property and teacher salaries while schools are closed. Full tuition has been paid for Form 5 students, as they are sitting for exams now, and returned back to school months ago to prepare to finish their general education by the end of this year. Our students being out of school has led to them needing an increase in support in other areas. Since school was, for many of the students, where they received their most substantial meal of the day, food security has become a large problem in our catchment area, like more areas within the country. Moya was able to secure funding to do several food distributions since the impact of Covid-19 started hitting our communities. Sponsored students received food parcels in May, July and September, and will receive one more before the end of the year to ensure a less-stressful holiday for them and their families. Aside from food parcels, our students have received regular psycho-social support to help with the stress and confusion of Covid-19. Masks and sanitizer were given as well, along with a solar light to help our students with little or no electricity to continue reading and studying while at home.

The holistic school sponsorship program is such an important part of our work at Moya Centre and so of course we plan to continue this fundraising campaign through 2021 as we continue to support our currents students, and with the help of friends and donors, we can begin supporting a new intake class as well. We expect schools to reopen in January as we start a new school year here in Eswatini. With this past year being so difficult for our students, this sponsorship, and the stability that comes along with it, is needed more than ever. This means that we need our friends, our supporters and our donors more than ever. December 1^st is Giving Tuesday, and we are taking part in a huge campaign within the GlobalGiving Community. We ask everyone who knows about the work we are doing and the impact we are having to not only donate, but even more importantly to spread the word, and the link to our campaigns so we can widen our network and ensure our children continue to receive this essential support.