Swaziland: Help 50 orphans become future leaders

Our project is all about providing the infrastructure to give 50 children who started their lives without hope all that they need to overcome their impossible circumstances and not only survive but become strong, outstanding citizens of Swaziland. We believe that these children who have been rescued from certain poverty and failure can not only live productive lives, but lead others toward progressive and positive changes in this nation.

In order to accomplish those goals a careful matrix of nurture, education and training has been established. The nurture takes the form of on-site care-takers who stay with the children in homelike settings on the grounds of New Hope Centre. We have sponsors from other countries who take interest in specific children and send them letters and gifts of clothing, toys and items for hygiene. The children improve their communication skills by writing letters back to the sponsors, sharing stories from their lives. Our director, Dr. Elizabeth Hynd, who was born and raised in Swaziland, has insight into what these children have endured which has prepared her to work with these children who struggle with the aftermaths of trauma. Her compassion and wisdom have been invaluable in the forward movement from victimization to success. The children receive personal attention which is individualized to their specific needs. Since New Hope Centre is a live-in community there is continuity of care that allows for monitoring and responsive modification in the approach to care.

The children’s education is conducted on the campus of New Hope Centre by highly qualified teachers who are well versed in the care of orphaned children. They are patient, encouraging and inspiring. Rather than having the children in sharply delineated grades, they progress according to their capacities. Positive reinforcement plays a pivotal role in motivating each child to rise to his or her highest ability. Of course, part of our responsibility is to provide uniforms, books and school supplies for their education. In order for them to learn properly they must have good nutrition, hygiene, clothing and healthy bodies. Your donations have gone a long ways to help in this endeavor and once again, we thank you for your forward-looking benevolence to invest in the future of Swaziland.

Training the children goes beyond formal education. We have added the enrichment of competitive swimming instruction and have used our own students, trained as coaches for the younger students. Several of our kids have been in dance classes and have performed in programs and recitals. Many of the students take voice and instrument lessons and put their skills to use frequently, both on campus and as far away as South Africa and even Israel and America. They are tutored in speaking and travel widely within Swaziland and elsewhere leading out in speaking engagements, mentoring over 1,000 other orphans and sharing their stories with those who need to be aware of what is happening in Swaziland.

There is much more that goes into bringing an abandoned, orphaned child into a place of restoration and leadership, but we wanted to share the information above in order to encourage you that your contributions are making a difference worth the sacrifice. We applaud your generosity and continue to do everything in our ability to make you proud of your choice to support these precious children.

Of course, our children are at the heart of our project. It is for them we expend our efforts and make our plans. We would like to share with you the story of three of our girls, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. They are triplets.

We met the girls when they were only 5 weeks old. Their mother came with these precious little bundles of life to New Hope Centre begging us to take them, as she could not care for them or feed them. We are a children’s home for those without parents or relatives so we make every effort to find a way to support the children in their families and with their own relatives. We had visitors at the time who offered to provide disposable diapers and baby formula for the next six months of their lives. So we visited them regularly and made sure they were progressing. A nursing team from Niagara, Canada came and helped us with provisions and corrections in care.

Later that year we had their first birthday celebration giving thanks to God finding provisions for them during the first year of their lives. The girls did well until they started crawling, when one of them, in their own home, mistakenly picked up a pot of boiling hot water that was left on the floor and poured it over her head and body as if she was bathing herself only to be scolded with the boiling water. She was severely burned and had to be hospitalized in Mankayane. This was the beginning of overwhelming circumstances for the mum and grandmother.

We approached the Social Welfare offices in Manzini for their assistance to process the children to be assigned to New Hope Centre until their 18^th birthdays. On the weekend of our national Independence celebrations Ms. Rachael and Sister Tandzi went to their home and collected the three darlings and all their earthly belongings. They have now started primary school in grade one and are learning the fundamentals in preparation for reading. They lead worship, are learning ballet and were so excited to be taken to town to buy school clothes, school bags and supplies with money they received from donors like you. In addition, your funds have helped to provide education for one of our teachers to receive special training to help them with the basics of their education. You can view a portion of the recent Spring Ballet Concert in which the triplets participated here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6HRUzdYmkI.

This is the story of three of our 52 children. Each one has a history of heartbreak and restoration that we love to share with you. This past three months since we last updated you our children continue to enjoy a secure home, food, clothing, education, nurturing and enrichment. This is possible thru your on-going gifts. They thank you continuously and are well aware of your contributions to their lives. We thank you because we now that without your support these stories would have been far different. We look forward to sharing more of the specific stories of the children of New Hope Centre. Along with their tragedies, they have also learned resilience that has brought them thru the storms and out into the light.

We would love to hear from you. What can we do in these reports to give you a better picture of what your donations are doing at New Hope Centre? Do you enjoy hearing the individual stories of our children? How can we reach out to more people with kind and generous hearts to assure the health, emotional stability and strong leadership and educational skills needed in the future leaders of Swaziland?

You give us the courage to continue.