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!
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