School resumed on Tuesday May 14 and the children returned on the Monday afternoon. One family of four was so eager to come back that they arrived for Mass on Sunday morning, the oldest member carrying a large suitcase with their belongings from the homestead.

On Monday afternoon the children began to arrive back at the Hostel. Sister Anna Maria ran a bush taxi, making several trips to fetch children from far-reaching homesteads. It was a sight to see her arriving with the car crammed with children and to watch them pour out when she lifted the back hatch and open the doors.

We have received funding from the Mother Cabrini League to build another hostel and hope to have another 100 beds if the money can stretch that far. We will have no trouble filling this as there are many children from the St Philips' Mission Parish district on the waiting list. At present the children range in age from four to fifteen and they all attend school on the mission.

In the hostel, the children are very self-sufficient (they would have learned this skill from an early age in the homestead). They must make their beds in the morning before school and have a meal at school at lunch time. On returning to the Hostel at 3.30pm they have various chores such as fetching wood from the surrounding bush for the kitchen ovens, washing clothes, hanging them on the line and bringing them in and sorting them neatly and picking up rubbish around the Hostel. The older children have extra responsibilities such as assisting with serving up meals and supervising the younger children with washing, fetching wood etc.

When the chores are completed there is free time to play or do homework. We are fortunate to have two volunteers from the US and a visitor from Australia at present so there is always at least one person available to play with the children and help with homework.

Around 7pm Sr Anna Maria gathers the children around her in the dormitory, tells them a Bible story and they have songs, prayers and dancing. This is a special time for the children and they snuggle up to Sr. Anna Maria. Most children are very affectionate and enjoy hugs; no different from any other children world-wide and so important for the rehabilitation of these traumatized children. Agatha's room is between the girls' and boys' dormitories and she sleeps on site with the children each night. She is a widowed woman who is gentle but firm with the children and is a great asset to the Hostel program.

Now that the weather is cooler the children have been showering around 4.30pm before their meal. Their diet consists of mainly rice, maize and beans with vegetables when available and they have one meal of meat per week. On Sundays they have a treat of an apple or hard boiled egg when they return from church. They also have milk twice a week (at other times drink tea or water).

Even though they play very well with few toys I am planning more organized activities during their free time. They love drawing and writing and I will be encouraging your child to do some special pieces for you. The children also enjoy cards, construction toys and puzzles and love reading books so we will be providing them with these activities when more resources arrive. I also will be introducing the younger children to playdough which will be interesting!

I will be obtaining more detailed information and photographs so that you can get to know more about your sponsored child. Thank you so much for your continuing support and interest - you are certainly making a big difference to someone's life.

Please click here to learn more about Sponsoring a Child in Swaziland.