Popodvo

Here is Popodvo  in his new school uniform one day after school. Doesn't he look dapper? He very much enjoys going to school every day. This is thanks to our faithful supporters who have contributed to our Scholarships for Needy Children fund. If you would like to earmark a donation to our Orphan Care Fund or Scholarships for Needy Children, please just send us an email telling of your intentions.

Remember, if you want to support our ministry, the fastest way is an Online Donation via www.worldoutreach.org. Go to Donate and select our name, Stephens, Ian and Jenn- Swaziland. The system can process USA and International cards.

Or simply mail your check to World Outreach Ministries, PO Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 and designate the check for Ian and Jenn, Fund Code #97

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

Small but encouraging

Sometimes it's hard to see God working through us or in the hearts of the people we work with. Recently we were encouraged and excited by a couple of  'God-things'.

While we were still in Mbabane we had met Pamela, who is originally from this area where we are now. She works in a small shop that we had gone to in order to stock up on some things before moving to Vulvulane. Pamela asked about what we did so we explained the ministry that God has placed in our hearts and that we were relocating to Vulvulane to continue working with the children. She called us the other night saying she had a financial gift for the children down here. Amazing!

Another 'God-thing' is the hope we see in the lives around us. Often we hear that before CHIPS came into the area that there was no hope and many people died. Now, the Swazi people have hope and there are fewer deaths due to the medical treatment offered by CHIPS.

8 kids+ATM with no $=ICECREAM!

A generous donor just gave money to our Orphan's Fund and we were able to provide 8 children from Vuvulane with shoes. Thank you so much!

First we pile all 8 kids into the church van along with us, then make the drive into town and head to the bank. Oh no! It closed before 3:30pm, what do we do now? Try the ATM, it always works in the US. Well, Toto, this isn't the US and the ATM had no money in it. Well since we can't bring all the children with us again another day we went to the shoe store and had them all try on shoes until they found a pair that fit. After putting 16 shoes on lay-a-way and looking at 8 sad faces, we came up with a brilliant idea to make everyone feel better, Icecream! That always makes everyone happy!

The next day we went back to town alone, paid for the shoes and had fun handing them out to the children.

Just a small amount given to our Orphan Fund can make a big difference, would you consider donating the cost of a coffee today?

http://tinyurl.com/ProjectingHope-Contribute