Swaziland - School Visit

I had arranged to visit an elementary school in Swaziland. When I arrived it was lunch time. The children were all lined up to receive their food. First the youngest children lined up with a bowl in hand. Next came the older children. The large burlap sacks of food were stamped in big letters --> UNICEF.

After the children received their food, I was offered the same food to try. The food looked like a big blob of white stuff. All eyes were on me. The children wanted to know if I liked it. I remember silently telling myself, "No matter how bad it tastes, I will keep a smile on my face." The food wasn't bad at all. It was a big dish of carbohydrates. It seemed to include pasta, white beans, and a little peanut butter for flavor. I along with all the kids ate directly out of the bowl with our hands.

After lunch I greeted the children in their classrooms. I started with the younger grades. Each student stood up and stated his or her age. Not everyone was the same age. I heard "I'm 7. I'm 7. I'm 10. I'm 7. I'm 7. I'm 8. I'm 9. I'm 7." In other words, I think the children were placed in the classes based on ability and not necessarily age. There were a few tall, older children in the classroom with the younger children.

In one of the younger classrooms I was asked to teach a math lesson for about 25 minutes. I was not prepared for this and I had no idea what the students were learning. I went around the room and asked each student how long it takes them to walk to school. Some of the answers were shocking. It was very common for the students to say 45 minutes, 60 minutes, or even 90 minutes. Some of these children walked 4 or 5 miles to school each day. We then added all the times up and divided by 60. It turned out to be something like 20 hours in total.

When I got to the oldest grade, I stood in the front of the room and took questions. The first question I got in June 2003 was, "Why did America go to war with Iraq?" I did not know how to answer this. As a representative of the United States, do I give the American political line or do I give my personal opinion? I gave both. Other questions I received were, "Why are there 50 stars on the American flag? Who is the President? Is America a Republic or a Kingdom? Is there a parliament? Are the jobs the same as the jobs in Swaziland?"

About 3 months later my mother joined me for 3 weeks of travel in Africa, and I returned to this school with her. This time we were asked to help what seemed like the 5th grade class with their reading. As soon as their teacher left the room, the students wanted to read different material. My group turned to pages in their book on safe sex and AIDS. I was both surprised and happy to see this in their textbook. Their English textbook was made up of short English readings on good health, hygiene, and citizenship.

When my mother and I went to the oldest students we took questions at the front of the room. The first question was, "How old are you?" I told them my age and then my mother told them hers, which at the time was 65 years old. Many of the children gasped. They could not believe her age. The average life expectancy in Swaziland for females is around 39 years old. Not only was she 65 but she looked to be in excellent shape.

After the age question we were asked, "Who was America named after?" We had no idea and had to ask the students if they knew? Of course they did. It was Amerigo Vespucci. It turns out they were preparing for their junior high entrance exam.

My mother and I visited one other school that day. We were asked to sing our national anthem. This was not pretty. Neither my mother nor I have a good singing voice. We were so off key. It was very embarrassing. Our voices did not represent the United States well. The nice part of this was that the children then sang their national anthem to us.

Unfortunately at the second school the teacher was very depressing. In front of the students she said that they were poor. Even though they would take their junior high school entrance exam and pass, most could not afford to continue with school. In other words, this teacher quashed their dreams right in front of them. This is definitely not the way to handle a request for money.

Before we left Swaziland my mother left a large suitcase worth of children's clothing to help the children stay warm during their long walks to school.