IN THE SPIRIT: Heart for
the hurting
Naomi Dunavan Grand
Forks Herald
Naomi Dunavan is a
Herald columnist and
writes her 'In the
Spirit' column for
Saturday's Faith and
Religion section.
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THIEF RIVER FALLS - In August of 2005, Bonnie Van
Schaick, a retired registered nurse, went on a
mission trip to Swaziland in Africa.
Southern California was Bonnie's home
at the time. As an active member of the Crystal
Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif., she was among 350
from the United States and Canada who traveled to
Swaziland.
Bonnie, who's last name is pronounced "Van Skoyk,"
was deeply moved when she visited an "orphan point"
a place where homeless AIDS orphans congregate
in poverty-stricken Ngculwini, in central Swaziland.
The official language in Swaziland is English.
"There are no orphanages as we know them," Bonnie
said. "Children spend the day in an abandoned
building, out in the open or in a chicken house. If
food is available rice or beans
local women cook a meal for the children. There are
9- and 10-year-olds trying to raise their siblings.
This is hard to believe, but it is reality."
Orphan point'
This "orphan point," is one of 900 in Swaziland,
which has 80,000 orphans who have lost parents to
AIDS.
"Swaziland has the third-highest percentage of
AIDS behind India and South Africa," Bonnie said.
"The country has a population of about 1 million and
is the size of New Jersey. Can you imagine 80,000
orphans dropped off in New Jersey?"
At 76, Bonnie is not a grandmother who is content
exchanging recipes. She is a woman of action with a
heart for the hurting.
At the "orphan point," Bonnie met Walter Malaza,
a young man with Bible school training who is
serving these children and their community as pastor
and provider.
"I knew I had to do something to help Walter give
these kids a chance to live, learn and dream of a
life,'" Bonnie said. "There may be another Nelson
Mandela or Abe Lincoln in the group."
Soon, Bonnie had arranged a meeting with John
Weatherson, Swaziland's agricultural development
consultant. With him, she laid out plans to get
water and power to the area.
"But Mr. Weatherson pointed out that we first had
to provide the children with food to keep them alive
until other tasks could be accomplished."
And so began The Walter Project, the first phase
of Bonnie's "Action4Africa" endeavor.
Bonnie grew up in South Dakota and southwest
Minnesota. Before she moved to California, she lived
in Thief River Falls from 1965 to 1989. She moved
back two years ago, bringing her brainchild with
her.
In December 2005, friends of the project donated
$2,000 for food that was used for a special
Christmas meal for the orphans. There was enough
money left over to purchase nourishing food for six
weeks.
"We then began by planning the use of the 100
acres assigned to Walter by the local chief to be
used for this project," Bonnie said. "We started by
plowing the uncultivated land and planting a garden
of 5,000 seedlings, a variety of vegetable seeds and
fruit trees. Later, a large crop of beans and corn
were planted for the future winter."
A fence was put around the property to keep out
the cows and goats, a well was dug and electric
power brought to the site in 2006.
Next, Bonnie met with Themba Msibi, minister for
education in Swaziland, telling him of her desire to
build a school for the orphans. Then, she learned
Constance Similane, then minister for education and
now deputy prime minister, wanted to meet with her.
"Our meeting in 2006 was at her request, as she
had heard about this American building a school,"
Bonnie said. "She wanted to know how she could help
us help the children in her country."
God's help
As things moved along, God sent more of the right
people to Bonnie, including a builder by the name of
John Marrengane.
"John is honest and hard-working, leading his
crew to build the structures we decided to build,"
Bonnie said. "This man teaches Bible classes and
preaches in churches. John has the heart for the
children, as does John Weatherson. They ask little
for themselves but give a full 100 percent-plus to
others."
Marrengane has completed the school; the desks
and chairs are now in place.
"This is a primary school, grades one through six
for orphans only," Bonnie said. "This is the only
school in all of this land built for orphans only.
They now are recruiting teachers and as soon as they
find teachers, they will start because these
children have never been to school."
When I spoke with Bonnie on Tuesday, she just had
spoken by telephone with Marrengane.
"He told me they would be starting this week on a
duplex for two single teachers who will be hired.
You have to have a place for these teachers to live.
And when we finish the teachers' home, then the
money raised will go into wells. I have to complete
one project before I start another, and I can go
only as fast as the donations come in. You use money
to help people, and these people are putting effort
into helping themselves. The money goes a long way
over there."
Three trips and counting
Bonnie has been to Swaziland three times for a
total of 13 weeks. She just got back from her last
trip on May 24.
"I will continue to go back as often as I can,"
she said. "My next trip will be in September for an
extended time. I make it a point to visit with and
get to know teenagers. These young people have a
tremendous challenge in changing to adapt to the
times of AIDS, escalating TB and malaria and
learning to make a change in a society that is
struggling to achieve a higher status for its
citizens."
There is no question that this is a battle worth
fighting, Bonnie said.
"The sooner we Americans realize the needs of the
world and take action, the sooner our entire world
will be better off," she said. "I see results at
every turn. There are fewer starving kids in
Ngculwini. On earlier trips, they couldn't play much
since they were starving. Now, there are fewer
protruding abdomens (from starvation), and there is
hope. More folks will have hope for the future when
water is available so gardens can grow and people
can be clean and eat clean food.
"I cannot offer hope verbally if I don't follow
through with action, and I cannot turn my head away
as though it is not real. We cannot do this without
donations from people like you and me.
"Tragedy is less than 24 hours away from us in
the Red River Valley. This is not someone else's
problem; this is our problem. We are all created by
God to be our brother's keeper."
Bonnie welcomes questions. E-mail her at
bonnievs@gmail.com. Tax-deductible Donations may
be sent to The Walter Project, c/o United Methodist
Church, Box 595, Thief River Falls MN 56701.
Dunavan is a Herald columnist.
Reach her at (218) 773-9521 or
naomiinthespirit@aol.com.