Scholarships for needy children

The education system here in Swaziland is very interesting.  Recently, the government had made the lower levels of school free. However, we came to find out that 'free' just includes the actual classroom experience and doesn't account for any of the supplies or the uniforms; the costs varying at each school level. Also, the higher grades do have a tuition fee implimented. 

The costs for the supplies and uniforms along are enough to prevent a rural family from being able to send their child(ren) to school. Additionally, if the children are orphans or in a vulnerable situation school isn't an option when faced with the struggle of simple survival.

It is our desire to use some of the 'Orphan Fund' monies to be able to sponsor some of the most needy children and help put them through school. Without education it is hard to overcome all of the issues relating to extreme poverty.

As you read in some of our more recent posts, we were able to get Popodvo into school with some monies in the fund. At his grade level, the books, tuition, and supplies are all free but we had to pay $80 for a uniform which included new shoes.

Newman, our gardener, wanted his son Colani, to be able to go to school but couldn't afford the costs. We were able to talk to Pastor Dlamini who is overseeing the Hope School students and found out that one student wasn't attending school. Fortunately, we were able to transfer the support over to Colani. Since Colani is in grade 5 his fees were $100 and his uniform was $100 for the year. (All of our Hope School students that we had worked with before moving to Vulvulane have been receiving generous sponsorship for them to attend school).

Newman and Colani

The costs will continue to increase up to $1,000 for the last year high school (high school form 5). Between January and the end of February is the only time that new students are allowed to enroll into school.  Then we will continue to ask for sponsorships that can be collected through the year so that at the next enrollement period we have the money to pay the fees for additional children to go to school.

We are sharing this need because there are many more children like Popodvo and Colani in the settlements that we serve who would greatly benefit from receiving a sponsorship to go to school. We've estimated the average cost to attend a lower grade is $200/year/student.

If God lays it on your heart to help, we would greatly appreciate it. You can click on this secured link to donate to TEAM and
Either sign in if you have an account or click on the 'Give Now' button on the left.


Open the drop down menu under 'Missionaries and Projects'

select 'Missionaries and Staff'
then on the next drop down menu select 'Stephens, Ian and Jenny'


Contributions can also be sent to:
TEAM

PO Box 969
Wheaton, IL 60187-0969

Memo line of check: Stephens Orphan Fund Swaziland