| Walter Project Founder and Volunteer Director Bonnie Van Schaick was recently in Swaziland working with the Project. Below is her online journal of the trip. |
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Bonnie's Summary of her first 2 weeks in Swaziland
October 2007 9 October the trip started with delay as mechanical problems in Minneapolis prevented the plane arriving in Thief River Falls. Mark Haugen made reservations for me to fly out of Grand Forks 60 miles away. My son, Jim made a hurried trip through heavy rain to deliver me and 3 bags there where I then flew to Minneapolis, then flew on overnight to Amsterdam, continuing on to Johannesburg South Africa arriving at 11 pm the 10 th. The next afternoon, 11 October I flew on to Swaziland arriving tired but knowing it was well worth it in view of the task to be addressed in Swazi. Our Action4Africa.com Walter project is looking very good as we close in on finishing the teacher's duplex. This project infrastructure is then built and functioning. The duplex will be ready to occupy when the next school term begins. Remaining funds to be paid to complete the project are $47,000. We have been very blessed by the generosity of our builder, John Marrengane. We have paid him faithfully for his work in the past. John trusts us and God to guide us to pay the total cost, thus maintain our integrity as in the past. We have paid John $8000, minus bank money exchange costs, on the duplex, leaving the $47,000 balance. When he and I discussed this in the beginning, knowing funds were not yet secured, John stated "we must build this duplex now, so the children will have teachers----they cannot wait any longer for schooling". He has put out the up front costs to accomplish this. We must be diligent in seeking donations to bring our obligation to conclusion. Please pray we may complete this work with donations from people who believe in helping orphan children. The Ministry for Education is securing teachers. The children will be tested in order to place them in the proper grade (1-6). The government will supply doctors and their assistants to evaluate the health of each student. They will receive their first inoculations, be tested for HIV, TB and Malaria and receive treatment according to results. There will be 90 children placed in grades 1-6. About 35 to 40 preschool children will be cared for in the church building (built by another mission group who will supervise the care of the children, according to the pastor, Walter Malaza). I met with Prince Chief Ngebsceni Dlamini on my last trip here. The Chief and REO (Regional Education Officer) Elliot Nkambule from Manzini, Bill Thompson visiting from San Diego, and the pastor, Walter Malaza and I met in one of the school rooms to begin planning for the future of the school and overall operation of the project. My suggestion was to always look to the future, not how "it has always been done". After a short preliminary meeting we toured the project. The toilet/shower building was of great interest. The Chief and REO checked the water and were very pleased to see clear, clean water. The showers were well constructed with tile finish and the faucets placed so an adult will assist the children with showering. There is space for clothes changing. We went on from there to view the fence enclosed large garden area, and the water supply placed for the garden. The borehole (water well) head is enclosed in a small pump house that is secured from outside damage. They asked me to describe what we saw, a jet pump placed on the 240 foot (80meter) deep borehole (well) sending the water up to the 4 water bins of 5000 liters each, then out by gravity through the piping system to all area needs. Both Chief Dlamini and REO Mr. Nkambule were very pleased and excited about the future of this project for the orphan children and the people of Ngculwini. After consultation, Chief Dlamini and Mr. Nkambule asked if I am agreeable to postponing the "grand opening" of the school planned for November 2007 to March or April 2008. I am most agreeable for this is now their school to administer, the "grand opening" to be the official hand over. The children will be in school prior to that date. This future date will give more time to plan. They wish to invite King Mswati III to open this first school for orphan children in Swaziland. His Majesty will soon be in lengthy seclusion according to tribal custom. He will more likely be available for such activity as this school opening in early 2008. Chief Dlamini and Mr. Nkambule stated they want me to be in attendance at this event, and I will plan to be here at that time. You can see I have been busy as described along with meeting the volunteer women who cook for the children and do garden work, and those who have begun a "cottage" industry making handbags for sale. On a previous trip I spoke with Mr. John Littler, an attorney in Mbabane regarding setting up a non profit organization for administering the Action4Africa.com, of which the Walter Project was my first venture in Swaziland. We met again this week, along with Bill Thompson, in regards to the business of accomplishing this goal. Mr. Littler and I will continue to pursue this goal to completion. I look forward to sharing our goals with institutions who may offer their financial assistance to continue to impact the needs of so many in Swaziland, particularly those who have no water supply due to over 4 years of drought. Thank you all for your donations, prayers, and words of encouragement that have brought us this far. I will continue with the work I see that I (we) can do in Swaziland, with direction from God in all aspects of this "people to people" venture. I will send another report later in November before I go on to Australia. There I will be visiting friends and speaking to groups of folks whom I met last year and who were so generous in supporting our school project. Bonnie M. Van Schaick |
| Bonnie's report of week 3 through week 6
(Oct/Nov 2007) During the past 4 weeks we have had many rains, as we have in the US during spring. Here we usually lose electric power for a period of time, but that is a minor detail when the drought has lasted so long. I notice in the stores that there is one section with about 3 brands of candles----they are the mainstay with power outages. One night the power was off all night so it was a first for me not having use of the CPAP machine for my sleep apnea challenge. The rains have made it possible for the folks to plow the land, especially that which has never been cultivated. Many had gardens planted in May at the beginning of winter. Now there is ample supply of fresh garden vegetables, and I am enjoying the wide variety we have in John's garden. Green beans are my favorite, and I have learned to like spinach cooked fresh. The maize is nearly 10 feet high with ears filling out. This seed came from Zimbabwe and is a good producer. About 50-60 percent of maize farmers have their fields planted. Here you do not see fields as we see in the north central US. These are small farms but so vital to the food chain here. The only large fields I have seen are for sugar cane and pineapple. The banana trees are producing the small finger bananas as you see in the subtropics. Our Chief, Ngebsceni Dlamini, has formed a committee who will oversee managing our project as well as any others which may be formed in the future in this Chiefdom. On 10 November there was a large group of people gathered at the Chief's complex with meetings of different groups. The Chief asked me to speak to the women and the several young men who are most interested in working in the gardens. We did so off the complex as there was a lady who had a family member die that week. The custom is that anyone in mourning does not enter Royal ground. All the 355 Chiefdoms as well as the King's residences are considered Royal ground. We met under a large tree off the main compound with about 45-50 people. One lady, Iris Mamba, was the translator for me as many do not follow the American English. Iris is the only woman on the Chief's Council. There were many questions and comments about the way the gardens would be handled, how food would be dispersed etc. I gave information as the Chief and I and his leaders had agreed would be the working plan. I passed along my own thoughts on who should be working in the gardens and other facets of the project. That is, that at the end of the day the entire family eats the food prepared and to eat means each person must be a part of the work force in some way. The Chief joined us after the meeting for his comments and encouragement to the people to work together. He thanked me and those who have donated to the project so the people in Ngculwini can become independent from handouts of food. I then presented the keys to the borehole to the Chief, a symbol of handing over the infrastructure of the project to the people whom he leads as Chief. This includes the fencing around the project, the borehole (water well), the plumbing and pipes from the borehole pumping water to the 4 water bins (5000 liters each), the building built to hold the water bins and for storage of tools and supplies, the gardens (plowing and providing seed, fertilizer), the 3 room primary school, the toilet/shower building, and finally the duplex for teachers which is near completion today. It is remarkable that we ordinary folks could accomplish so much in just over 2 years. It is a mark of God leading us to do His work and to do it well. This school is the first school built in Swaziland for orphan children only. The Chief is now doing a survey in his Chiefdom of the 9 communities. This will determine the status of all orphan children. The order of selection for entrance to the school is threefold. Double orphans will be chosen first. Next will be the orphan children with one parent living but who is in poor health or dying of AIDS. Lastly will be the orphan children of one parent who is able to parent to some degree. The children will be re-evaluated each year prior to the beginning of the term in January to establish priority. A friend of mine from California, Bill Thompson, visited here for 5 days to reconnect with some of the children who remembered him and to meet the new younger children. There was no building or gardens or anything at the time Bill was first here, so he was able to see the fruits of his and others efforts. Bill and I met at this orphan point and later, when the project began, Bill and many of his friends have become supporters with their donations. He was able to meet Chief Ngebsceni Dlamini and the REO, Regional Education Officer, Elliot Nkambule and their families socially as well as during meetings as we were planning the handover of the project and opening of the school. It was very pleasing for me to be Bill's guide and chauffeur while he was here. The last major work of this time period was completing the legal work for the non profit Section 21. Mr. Littler and his staff have been very cooperative fitting in their time to accommodate me in my short stay in Swaziland. The paperwork is complete and it is now submitted to the government facility for review and completion of the registration. Following Mr. Littler's suggestions, we set this up with the bare essentials with the required 2 directors, myself and John Weatherson, who has been my consultant and guide throughout the project. I will report further on this as the legalities are completed. I will be leaving Swaziland Sunday, 25 November with a 2 day visit with friends in Johannesburg, RSA, then on to Brisbane Australia arriving at 11 pm on 27 November. I will send on another report from there before my return to America. I send my thanks for your prayers, donations and good wishes for my safe travel and that I may carry on in doing the work God gave you and me to carry out. Bonnie M. Van Schaick Tax Deductible Donations may be made to:
United Methodist Church Attn: Action4Africa.com Box 595 Thief River Falls, MN 56701 |