Bally Of Willan

Hi folks! We are back in Hawane again and it's weird how quickly it has become like a second home here. I can never wait to get back every time we are away... Anyway, it was an early start this morning in Bulembu. We had breakfast before heading out to Bulembu's high school to join in their assembly in which another missionary group from America also participated in. It was during this service in which we were announced as being "Bally of Willan" which we found pretty funny.

As soon as we finished with the assembly we were shown around the area and what the future of the high school will hopefully look like. We learnt about how the kids there did not get any money but instead earned merits which they got for doing jobs and doing well grade wise and for good behaviour. They also raised chickens to earn money.

 It was shortly after this that I began to feel unwell and so headed back to the lodge with my mum where I finished last nights blog and read a book.

 Meanwhile the rest of the group continued the tour. I don't know exactly what they did as I was busy getting some TLC, but I believe they went to see the primary school. Oh and the Highschool also has a computer room (pretty big deal considering it's one of the first schools in Eswatini to have one).  I'm also told that there is a vision for the schools too, that if they could get a hold of old smart phones, that they could remove the SIM cards and disable the camera so that the children could use them as tablets to access learning courses online. They're really into make-doing with what they've got.

By the time the team came back for coffee it was around 11am but they left, taking my mother with them, to see how the Bulembu honey was made and the dairy farm and the glass factory. I read, like, thirteen chapters of my book. During this time there was also a huge storm in which we got hail stones and thunder and lightening!

I joined them after lunch despite feeling slightly nauseous from the quiche that everyone seemed to have loved. It was then we got to head to my favourite place. The baby home. It was there we enjoyed some time with the much younger residents of Bulembu and I was honoured to be the first and only person outside of Bulembu to be allowed to hold the youngest baby that was only one week old! Not going to lie if I'd had a bigger pocket I would have taken her home. 

Anyway, after that we visited the kitchen, where over 1200 meals are made a day (and they use 132 loaves a day) to feed all the children. The women also cook outside with massive pots over a fire to save electricity! 

Then we got to go and see the home in which the children stayed in. They're all very small but also very, very tidy as all the children are taught from a young age how to look after themselves by folding their clothes and cooking meals. All in all, Bulembu is quite self-sufficient town and it is run so well. I do not think we could ever cope the way they do back home with over 350 children.

We ended up having to leave early, during the tour of the clinic, because Bongani was worried that with the storm we would not be able to get back along the road which apparently turned into a mudslide when wet. So we hurried along and despite the rain we all made it safely back home in Hawane. 

Also, Stephen found Geoff's camera in one of the vans, rescuing many picture from not only this trip but also his previous pictures from Uganda! And so we didn't need to stop at the dam viewpoint again! 

Basically, the entire trip was for us to see how they used all their donations and how we could better support them.  The experience was also pretty humbling for all of us. Anyways, I'll end here before I go and lather myself in Jungle Formula. God bless!

"But if you are as humble as this child, you are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:4 

PICTURES TO COME LATER