Serving at the carepoints in Eswatini!

One day each week, we had the privilege to experience carepoints and home visits. In our first week, we traveled to Bheveni carepoint. The shepard leading this carepoint is Nontsetselelo. She is a 4th-year shepard. When we got there, one of my leaders from the office shared the report from the grief support classes that the carepoints kids received from the shepards from February to March. The document consisted of the things that went very well, the improvements that needed to be made, growth for the shepards, testimonies and pictures of the classes. Out of 25 carepoints, 22 completed the class successfully. It was cool to read over the report and hear my leader’s heart about the grief support classes. After that, we walked to Maggie’s home for a home visit. She is a middle-aged lady who had some problems with her leg. We were there for 3 1/2 hours making her yard look very nice. We swept the yard for her, tilled the ground, and a community member cut down weeds with a weed wacker. Then later, Allie (teammate) and I helped washed dishes for Maggie. When we were done, we all prayed together-I prayed over Maggie and blessed everyone that came to help. 

The second week, we went to Thulwane carepoint. The shepard leading this carepoint is Zanele Khoza. She is a 3rd-year shepard. As soon as we got there, we met the cooks preparing breakfast for the preschool kids. We got to know them a little. Then we saw 2 other squadmates come into this carepoint. They told us this is their carepoint that they attend. My (SLA) teammates and I helped in the preschool class assisting the students with writing vowels and numbers. When it was time for break, we took the kids outside and the cooks were serving them “sour porridge”. When the preschoolers were almost done, I noticed 5 teenage girls come into the carepoint and helping themselves to some “sour porridge” as well. I immediately went up to them and got to know them. I found out the dreams they have for their lives: to travel the world, and becoming a plastic surgeon, chef, accountant and cardiologist. The girls and I played a lot of games together like musical chairs, hand games, a couple of African games, and danced. I had such a fun time with them. Before the girls left to go home, God placed it on my heart to give each one prophetic encouragement. It was a very sweet moment. The girls loved it. When the girls left, Jack (teammate) and I served lunch from “A Child’s Hope International” to the primary school kids that came to the carepoint after school let out. The food was a fortified rice and soy blend. I tried a little of it. The food was actually pretty good! It was truly an honor to serve in this way. After the students ate, we all met in a huge room. The kids sang for us then I prayed over them. After prayer, they broke off into groups to practice for a competition on June 18th between the carepoints. There was a debate group, singing group, dancing group and drama team. The drama was about prevention of teen pregnancy since that is a huge issue here. The debate team will debate on if schools should start later in the day. I found out that the debate would be in English and 2 of the teenage girls that I was with earlier are on that debate team. It was so cool to go around to each group to watch and support them practicing. It was a really good day.

The third week, we traveled to Mkhombokati carepoint. This is Zakhele Shoba’s (4th-year shepard) carepoint. He was actually the same shepard that helped us till the ground during the home visit near our first carepoint! As soon as we arrived, we got to know him more by asking him many questions about himself, the carepoint and what it was like to be a shepard. We found out that he has been at the carepoint since 2020. He used to be a carepoint kid for a little while before he moved. Zakhele’s favorite parts of being a shepard include spending time with the cooks, teaching and having fun with the kids, and enjoying visitors. He will graduate from being a shepard at the end of this year and plans to study IT and engineering. After talking with him for a bit, we worked together to clean the big hall sweeping and mopping the floor. Then we helped collect trash in the yard and put it in a huge pile to burn. We helped burn the pile and talked more with the shepard of a variety of different topics. The conversation was so good that we lost track of time. We had talked for hours until the older students came to the carepoint after they finished school. I helped the cooks serve the rice and soy blend to the students. For the last 20 min we were there, I played a question game with the girls and one of my teammates. We used a ball and passed it around while asking random questions to get to know them and then they asked us questions. Before we left, I prayed for Zakhele over his future and what the Lord has for him. I really enjoyed getting to know the shepard and serving at this carepoint. 

The fourth week was the first time we traveled  to carepoints in the city instead of carepoints in the outskirts of town. There are 4 carepoints spread throughout the city. The biggest differences we noticed between the countryside and the city carepoints were that the ones in the countryside had multiple buildings for the main hall, preschool class and storage space, whereas the ones in city only had one big building that had a lot of rooms. The city carepoints usually have more children that attend-2 preschool classes (most of the countryside carepoints only have 1 or no preschool classes) and up to 100 primary-highschool kids come in the afternoon, which is much more kids compared to the countryside carepoints. Also, we heard that the majority of the children at city carepoints are younger, so it is more difficult for the shepards to teach the curriculum since some of them can’t write or remember important information for the evaluations. The city carepoints get sponsored by other organizations as well as AIM so they receive more food that is not just the fortified rice-soy blend. The “kitchen” where the lunch is cooked looks much nicer in the city, but their playgrounds for the children are smaller in size.

The first carepoint we went to in the city is called Zakhele. Nompilo is the name of the shepard that leads it. She became a shepard last year. What inspired her to become a shepard is her love to teach kids the word of God. Once she finishes her shepard leadership training, she wants to study business administration and hopefully start a business in beauty-face care and hair. When we weren’t talking with Nompilo, my teammates and I spent time with the preschool kids. We got into a big circle outside and played some games with them. Later we were asked to lead nursery rhymes and do some songs and dances with the kids. It was hard for Jack and I to come up with a lot of songs to do right on the spot, but we thought of some things such as the abc song, twinkle twinkle, father Abraham, Deep Cries Out song, Waka Waka song, head shoulders knees and toes, Old McDonald, and the Cha Cha Slide. We also asked the children to choose their favorite songs to sing and dance to. The 2 preschool teachers led songs/dances too. After we did the songs, we all served lunch to the kids-samp (grinded corn that was boiled) and beans. We went to the other city carepoint after we ate lunch.

The 2nd carepoint in the city is called Murray Camp carepoint. The shepard leading this one is Nkululeko. Since we arrived at lunch time, the preschool kids had already left for the day and it would be awhile before the grade school kids arrived. So we spent our whole time there talking with the shepard and getting to know him better. He shared part of his testimony with us that he had a hard life growing up, but church was a part of his childhood. He made a conscious decision to lead his life for Christ and be a fisherman of men. He loves to help people find a church home. He was a carepoint kid himself and actually grew up in the same community where he leads his carepoint. He is confident in himself and seeks to find the proper way to deal with problems. He told us that the problems he faces are opportunities to learn and grow. He has an amazing heart for children, getting to know them and sharing God’s love with them. Before becoming a shepard, he was a HIV educator which he gained valuable skills and life lessons to teach and serve the children and adults within his carepoint community. He has a passion to help the community grow and counsel them. After graduating from being a shepard, his dream is to become the assistant to the major. He wants to bring change to the community. 

Wow, it was such an incredible experience to go to all these different carepoints. Hearing the shepards’ stories and playing and serving the children brought be so much joy! I love how this ministry takes great care of children physically, emotionally and spiritually. I love how they raise up leaders in the community to become shepards and cooks who have pure hearts to serve and love the children unconditionally. I am so grateful to have been a part of this ministry!