Preschool Close to Completion!

So much has happened in the Cetjwayo community since we last reported on the progress of the preschool construction in September.  I (Keri) had the privilege of going back to visit the Cetjwayo community for their preschool graduation on November 14 and to see the construction progress of the preschool, and I was AMAZED at how much work has been done.  I'm sure you will be too as you look at the pictures below.

Two of the boys who participated in the car wash visited the community with me to see how their hard work has paid off and also to show the community that even young people can make a difference.

A big thanks goes to Vusumnotfo and Global Giving for allowing us to partner with them to make an impact in a rural community.  The preschool is almost to its final fundraising goal, and the hope is to be finished with all the fundraising in the next few weeks.  If you are interested in still giving to the preschool, you can contact any of us directly, or go to the Global Giving site, linked above, to donate directly to Vusumnotfo.  We have talked to the director at Vusumnotfo, and we learned that there will be additional needs for furnishing and equipping the preschool once the structure is complete.

We look forward to having Alex visit Swaziland in December to see the preschool completely finished and meet the community members who will benefit for years thanks to her hard work and effort.

The bumpy dirt road leading to the community

Community members put stones here to build up the road so construction trucks can pass by

Our first view of the preschool structure

Inside the building - there are lots of windows for natural light, and there is a permanent bench built into the wall that can serve many purposes for the preschool children

Sakhile and Thembinkosi, my travel buddies for the day, loving the beautiful new space

Side view of the building

View from the back

The little ones who will be learning in a beautiful building rather than under a tree starting in January

The community leaders who are extremely grateful for this gift to their community

The 'gogos' or grandmothers enjoying the preschool graduation

The graduates!  They look so official in their gowns.

The children sang lots of songs for their ceremony, and they were able to answer many questions about themselves to prove that they are ready to go on to First Grade in January.

The tires are marking the space where the playground will stand.  It should be constructed by the end of December.

As a sign of completion, hope, and partnership together, the chief and I are planting a tree on the preschool grounds.  Hopefully this tree will grow for many years and serve as a reminder of the work that had to take place to build the preschool.

Confirmed preschool location and progress report

Let me begin this post by introducing myself.  My name is Keri, and I am Alex's sister-in-law.  Her brother, Eric and I live in Swaziland, and I have officially joined the Project 23.3 blogging team to update you on what is happening.

It has been some time since we have updated you all on the progress of Project 23.3, but that does not mean we have not been hard at work investigating ways to provide quality preschool education for children in Swaziland who otherwise would not have access to formal learning opportunities.

One very interesting and important lesson we have learned throughout this experience of trying to build something to help others is that sometimes you need to go to where there is already movement rather than trying to start movement on your own.  We thought we had found this movement at Ntjanini, but unfortunately the community has its sights on building a large multi-purpose community center rather than a smaller community preschool, and it seemed to be beyond the capability of Project 23.3.  We met with the leader of the community who had originally advised us on the site, and he felt bad that the community had deviated from their original thoughts for the preschool and gave us his blessing to look somewhere else for an opportunity to help children in need.

So, now we are onto Plan C, which is very exciting, already has some tremendous momentum, and will meet all of the goals of Project 23.3.  We have partnered with Vusumnotfo, an organization in Swaziland that specializes in community mobilization and sustainability projects. Early childhood care and education is a large part of their community building campaign, and they have a long-standing training program for community preschool teachers.

I was able to go up to visit Vusumnotfo, meet with their leadership team, and visit the site of the preschool that is already in the process of being built in the rural community of Cetwayo.  The fundraising goal for the project is $14,000, and with the money already raised through Project 23.3, there is less that $2,000 left to raise!  Please spread the word about this exciting project that will help the youngest children in this country receive quality preschool education.

Donors who want to give more to the completion of this project can contact Alex, Eric, or myself for more information.  Remember that any donations given directly to Project 23.3 are 100% directed towards helping these young children.

Here are some pictures I took during my visit:

This is the current classroom where the children at Cetwayo learn.  Four boards under a tree.  When it rains they aren't able to have school because there is no shelter.

Here are the children posing by their 'classroom' with their teacher.  They stayed extra late the day I visited just to show me around.

Another picture of the children with the teacher, teacher assistant and me.

The kids are SO PROUD of their new school site.  They happily led the way and walked me to where the school is going to be built.  You can see that progress has already been made to collect the building materials.

This picture shows how big the building will be once completed.  There are four children standing at each of the four corners of the structure.  The building will have one large classroom, an entryway, and a space for a kitchen so the children can eat.

You can also check out the official project site at http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/preschool-in-swaziland/

Thank you for your continued support towards the children of Swaziland!
-Keri

Fundraising ... in Swaziland too!

This Saturday was a special day for Project 23.3. Fundraising efforts are just starting to get rolling in America as the word is spreading. But this weekend was unique because funds were being raised IN Swaziland for the preschool too! And not just by Americans living there ...

Seven Swazi teenagers gave up their whole Saturday and held a car wash in Mbabane (Swaziland's capital). They know Alex's brother Eric through some after-school mentoring and sports activities. They heard about Project 23.3 and came up with a way to help.

They held a car wash at Eric's house from 10am-3pm. Lots of co-workers, church members, and other Americans in Swaziland were told about it. Some of the money was given to the teens: they themselves are vulnerable youth who all come from very impoverished neighborhoods. They each ended up taking home 95 emalangeni (about $14) and that was more than any of them had ever made in a day -- even though some of them have worked full-time before!

The rest went directly to Project 23.3. Besides the money that was raised, a bigger accomplishment of the day was the unity that was created. Swazi teens from a struggling city neighborhood in the capital city joined together with a teenager in Michigan to build a desperately needed preschool in a village none of them has ever seen. What could be greater than that?

After the car wash was complete, everybody got on Skype together to talk with Alex in Michigan. It was an exciting moment in technology for most of them who had never seen anything like Skype before! They got to share with her the amount that was raised. She was able to share her appreciation for their help, plans for Project 23.3's next steps, and some fun discussions. By the boys' request she even went outside and fetched some Michigan snow to show them through the camera. It was a big hit; none of them had ever seen snow before!

Big thanks to Thando, Menzie, Mduduzi, Bhabha, Sakhile, Samanga, and Celumusa for all their hard work and for joining our efforts for Ntjanini's children. Thanks to everyone who came out to get their cars washed, and for those who contributed even if they we're getting a wash. Project 23.3 is now about 10% of the way to the total fundraising goal. With great partnerships like this, we're confident that we'll make it all the way!

We have a new site for the preschool!

Big news, everybody!

That's right, we have changed the site for our preschool. In a way, it is a little sad. We wanted to work in Vuvulane and help the children there. Unfortunately, the government officials there were not fully committed to a good partnership with us and were creating a lot of obstacles. This is often a problem when working in developing countries.

We always had a Plan B in mind, knowing that this was a potential outcome. We think it is a strength of our project that we are flexible enough to change course when it is best for the work we are doing. We are also very conscious of being wise with the money which our generous donors have been giving us. It will NOT go to waste!

That's what brings us now to ... Ntjanini!

This is Ntjanini. (The "T" is silent, and the "N" is just a quick sound at the beginning of the word.) It is a village in the Shiselweni Region of Swaziland.

-- Quick geography lesson! Swaziland is divided into 4 regions. Shiselweni is the one in the South. It is the poorest of Swaziland's regions and is mostly very rural. Some parts are mountainous and other parts are low and flat. Ntjanini is between the mountains and the low plains.

OK, back to our village. It has about 3600 people, it is very rural, and they have needed and wanted a preschool for a long time. They are SO excited about this project!

Except for these newborn kittens found in Ntjanini yesterday. They are only excited about milk.

Anyway, we'll be talking a lot about Ntjanini in the coming weeks. They have hopeful and longstanding plans for a preschool and we are happy to be partnering with them. Of course, if something happens during the planning time where we don't feel like our work can be completed effectively in that village, we will move on -- the work being done for the children is too important to get stuck in a situation where the efforts will be wasted.

Speaking of the kids ... here are a few in Ntjanini. See how they are making a toy car out of old wire. That's a common thing to do here; it's often the only toy that kids will have. These boys are all orphans.

Best of all, we have a site for the preschool where the land is already secured. This is a big step in Swaziland, and would save a lot of time. Here it is!

It doesn't look like much now, but imagine seeing a picture of this field in 9-10 months with a newly-finished preschool ... the first one this community will ever have had.

Those are the updates in Swaziland. Meanwhile, back in America, donations are continuing to come in. Thank you for being partners with us in this exciting effort. We hope more people will continue to contribute so we can reach our goal and bring some real goodness to a part of the world with so many needs.

Thanks for reading!