The History of the Swaziland Schools Projects

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Swaziland is a beautiful country. It is landlocked with South Africa to the north, west and south and Mozambique to the east and is ruled by sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarch, King Mswati III.

It has a population of about 1 million and is roughly the size of Wales. The unemployment rate is about 40 percent (December 2010) and is expected to rise, pushing up already high poverty levels - about two-thirds of Swazis live in chronic poverty. In the last few years there have been droughts and floods to add to the problems faced by the Swazi people.

Swaziland has the world's highest HIV prevalence rate (over 26 percent) so one in four Swazis between the ages of 15 and 49 is living with the virus, and about half of those infected, or 110 000, are on antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, which can prolong a person’s life.

This short description helps to set the scene for the work of the Swaziland Schools Projects charity. But how did the connection between the UK charity and Swaziland come about?

Jack Dobson originally went to Swaziland as a draughtsman/builder over 55 years ago. He still lives there and is the Charity’s local agent. He speaks Siswati – the Swazi language – and lives near Mbabane in semi retirement.

Jack met the Charity’s Chairman, John Tibbs, during the 1960s when John was the priest of Mbabane parish.

lunchtimeIt was in 1999 that John and Jack decided to commemorate the Millennium by raising money to help schools in Swaziland and to enable some of the poorest children to receive an education.

The money raised in the UK goes a long way in Swaziland. As an example, the price of a couple of drinks in a pub would allow a school to buy food for a year for one child.

Initially, Jack and John built classrooms at Enkhaba Community Primary School and this proved the start of a very productive relationship. Next came school kitchens with secure stores to keep out predators. Jack was keen to build kitchens because the food provided by a school can sometimes be the only proper food a child will receive each day.

The Charity makes no distinction between church and other schools – the criterion is “who needs the most help?”

In 2008, John decided that the Charity needed to become more professional and he asked a group of dedicated friends and family members to help him establish the Swaziland Schools Projects Charity which became registered with the Charity Commission. The Charity operates in a totally professional way and meets all statutory requirements. All Trustees make significant contributions to the work of the Charity in a variety of ways and do not take any expenses.

For a detailed list of what has been achieved over the years please go to the “Past Projects” page.

 

 

Raising Money For

Currently we are raising money for the following:

Bursaries

So that over 200 children from the poorest communities can attend school. Only if these children receive an education will they have any chance of escaping poverty. Fees have to be paid for all children attending school (except orphans) and the bursaries help the poorest. The Swazi government pays all the teachers' salaries, so the fees are for things such as books, administration, electricity and school meals. The fees are the equivalent of about £45 a year (primary) and £300 a year (secondary). If the fees are not paid the children are not allowed to attend school. There are signs that the government is starting to put more money into the education system but the Charity will need to continue to raise money for bursaries for many more years.

Projects