Swaziland: Help 50 orphans become future leaders

Many of you have asked how we are faring at New Hope Centre in light of the world-wide pandemic. COVID-19 is confirmed to have reached Eswatini in March 2020 in a 33-year-old woman, who returned from the United States at the end of February and then travelled to Lesotho before returning home to Eswatini, is currently in isolation.[ Two suspected cases were identified by 11 March 2020, the first a woman returning from Denmark (or possibly Germany and the other a woman who had hosted visitors from Germany. To date there have been 159 confirmed cases with 12 recovered and 2 deaths. We thought you may be interested to know our status.

No New Hope Centre kids or staff have been affected. No one is sick but we quarantined everyone.   We extended invitation to all 18-year-olds to choose to return home for the lockdown or to stay where they are. The three from Cape Town returned, one from a Durban one from Johannesburg and four from around Eswatini so we extended our supplies by faith to sustain everyone.  We check everyone’s temperatures every day and not one has had a problem.  We are declaring daily psalm 91 over each and every life.

Thank you for your continued involvement with love, prayer and support.

Cherry Brandstater

Project Coordinator

New Hope Center

Education has always been a priority in what we offer to our children. We thought you may be interested in an update on our school activities. Some of the schools are right on our campus, while others serve the larger community. We currently run three preschools and are planning to begin a fourth preschool in the western region of Eswatini in 2021. The Happy Overcomers school, under the leadership of Ms. Nothando Ntiwane, has continued to have a strong reputation in the community. They are preparing for graduation which will include parents, pastors and politicians celebrating the achievements of these otherwise disadvantaged kids. In Hhohho, in the northern region, Ms. Florence and Ms. Nikiwe have run a school of 50 children with an outstanding reputation of excellence. In fact, the local Primary Schools promise each graduate a place in their schools. The third school is in the eastern region called Lubombo and is in a dry wilderness area that once was a refugee settlement where the level of poverty is overwhelming. Ms. Sylvia and Ms. Sindi have run an outstanding program in very tough circumstances. Often, the parents cannot even afford food, much less school fees.  This could be an opportunity for students who would like to do their practice teaching for early childhood education. If you should be interested, please let us know thru the website provided or by email.

Hope Academy highlights have included the International Student Convention (ISC) in Missouri State University.  Hepzibah was nominated last October in the All Africa Student Convention for her creative writing and her written poetry; Timothy and Izak were nominated for the 800m and 1600m track event.  Our school has less than 50 students, we only participate in alternate years, so we feel that we have been well-represented.

We want you to be aware of our educational offerings to the students of New Hope Centre since that will be one of the prime tools in their hands to become the leaders of the country of Eswatini (previously Swaziland). This time we have also included a picture of three of our 24 adult NHC kids who have now moved on into their own destinies. We were thrilled to get all of them together for a reunion. Though they no longer live on campus, they will always be members of our Abraham family.

Thank you for your contributions to this project that allow us to provide for the multi-factorial needs of these children. Without you, we could not provide what they need.

Warm wishes for 2020,

Cherry Brandstater

Project Coordinator

New Hope Centre