Swaziland Charitable Trust - Working for the people of Swaziland

The SCT makes grants equalling approximately £40,000 annually. Donations made to the Trust, increase the assistance we can give. The selection of projects, recipients and partners below will give a flavour of the Trust’s programme. Further details can be found in the Trust’s newsletters.

Recent Grants
Grants are made 3-4 times annually. These are some of the applications that were approved recently.

Recipient Organisation	Purpose of Grant
Swaziland Skills Centres - N.A.S.T.C	Purchase of tools and equipment for training
Children's Cup Swaziland	Veranda & playground equipment for Madonsa Orphan Carepoint
Enjabulweni High School	School Library
McCorkindale Trust	Building materials & fittings for orphanage upgrades
St. Benedict Primary School	Building materials for kitchen roofing
Manzana Nazarene Primary School	Building materials for classroom roofing
Moya Centre	Tools and materials for school trench gardening projects
Gundvwini Primary School	Home Economics equipment - Two handy-gas stoves
Sinethemba Pre-school	Playground equipment

Orphan Sponsorship
Started in 2004, over two hundred and fifty primary school children are now being sponsored by groups and individuals. The first sponsored students have graduated to high school. The cost of education increases dramatically at High School with higher school fees and uniform costs and longer distances to travel. They are usually beyond the means of an individual sponsor and to ensure that all the sponsored children’s education can continue, a fund has been established. There are now over 20 children at high school.

Bacons College Christmas Appeals
The Swazi flag flies in Rotherhithe after a visit to Swaziland by a teacher at Bacon’s College in 2006. The school went on to raise astonishing amounts for the work of the Swaziland Charitable Trust in its Christmas Appeals. Over £10,000 was raised in 2006, £8,500 in 2007 and £12,000 in 2008.

Thanks to the extraordinary endeavours of students and teachers together, thirty two students are now being sponsored, a library has been established at St Francis High School, classrooms built at St Benedict’s, a rural primary school, and further projects are planned. Bacon’s College and St Francis Schools have now been twinned and Bacon’s students visited Swaziland in 2008 and again in 2009.dict’s, a rural primary school, and further projects are planned. Bacon’s College and St Francis Schools have now been twinned, Bacon’s students visited Swaziland in 2008 and a second trip is planned for 2009.

‘One of the most memorable experiences was meeting the children at the community centre where we helped with the painting. Despite the language barriers we were playing football together by the end of the day, but it wasn’t until we unpacked our food for lunch that the relative luxury of our lives became clear. I know that I will never be able to live my life casually ignoring the existence of those in need in Swaziland.’ - Bacon’s Head Girl following her visit to Swaziland in 2008

Accounts of the student’s Swaziland experiences in 2009 can be downloaded below.

"My Experiences..." by Georgia Stanley
"Schooling in Swaziland" by Daniel Rands
"Transport in Swaziland" by Lauren Scoltock`
"Educational Books in Swaziland" by Cevdet Karapinar

Wrington Community
A wonderful evening of African food, song and dance was organised in May 2007 by Sandy, Hazel and friends to raise funds for the SCT orphan support scheme. Hazel worked at the Swaziland adult literacy centre in 2001, returning with a love of the country and a determination to continue helping it. Over £2,000 was raised to support orphans. With the money, an orphan will be supported throughout its primary school education, a kitchen was built at St Andrew’s Primary School where he studies and the balance is helping support an orphan’s high school education. School kitchens are very important; the lunch-time school meal is commonly the only square meal that poorer children will eat.

The Luxembourg Christmas Bazaar
The SCT was chosen as one of the recipients for the money raised at the British stand of the 2007 Christmas International Bazaar. The £2,412 donation will enable Nhlanhla to complete his secondary school education. Nhlanhla is a sponsored orphan who had completed his Primary school education with flying colours.

St Philips School
The SCT was the charity chosen for the St Philips School 2007 summer appeal and over £3,000 has been raised by the school since then. The school has sponsored an orphan throughout his entire schooling and helped build a new classroom at Ekutsimleni Primary School, near Luve, where he studies.

Primary Schools
Support for primary education is central to fulfilling our aims. The SCT assistance has included classroom construction, school electrification, the provision of agricultural equipment, boreholes, libraries, domestic science equipment and orphan support.

Edinburgh Charity Fashion Show
The proceeds from the 2005 Edinburgh University Charity Fashion Show were donated to Swaziland Charitable Trust. The students raised £18,500. This money was used to construct classrooms at four schools; St. Holy Ghost, Ekutsimleni, Malkerns Valley and Hhohho AME. The extra classrooms have made an enormous difference to the learning environment for students and teachers.

The CLSA Chairman’s Trust
www.clsa.com

A U$50,000* grant from the CLSA Chairman’s Trust, in February 2009 helped six community schools build classrooms and a seventh build a school kitchen. At all the schools, the CLSA donation supplements the contributions of parents and communities helping them build a brighter future for their children. CLSA is a leading independent brokerage and investment group in Asia Pacific markets.

Projects supported by the CLSA Chairman’s Trust

• A Form V classroom at Bhunya High School.
• A block of classrooms at Ndunayithini High School.
• A library at Lamawandla High School.
• A classroom and science lab at Mnjoli High School.
• New classrooms at Faye’s Academy.
• A school kitchen at Lwandle Primary School and
• A block of classrooms at Ekutsimleni Primary School.

Most rural communities are very poor, reliant on small plots, erratic rainfall patterns and remittances from relatives working in the cities and neighbouring countries. The SCT supports the most determined of these communities and the CLSA Grant has allowed the Trust to extend its support. The SCT Chairperson, Vicky McDonaugh, is proud of its track record: "To be successful, the projects we support need vision, skills and money. When all three are matched the benefits are great. When I hear the Swazi children sing, I know that what the SCT is doing to help their schools is not only right but inspired. These children have nothing in the way of material wealth but at school they have the chance to learn and express their love of life."

Focus on Elwandle R.C. Primary School

Elwandle R.C. Primary School serves the poor communities on the outskirts of Manzini, the commercial hub of Swaziland. Since the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic the head-teacher, Busisiwe Mamba, has sought to ensure that no orphaned children are turned away. The school serves desperately poor communities, both on the outskirts of the town and in the neighbouring rural areas. The basic meal provided at school is commonly the only full meal many children will eat. Meals are funded from school fees charged to parents, supplemented by donations. The SCT supports 35 orphans at this school. Busisiwe explains the importance of the school kitchen:

“Food is the great problem at school; no food, no learning. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has left children orphaned and vulnerable and many pupils are now heads of their families. Sadly, they don’t have breakfast and come to school on an empty stomach. Some of our children are also taking ARV’s [medication for HIV/AIDS] so the teachers need to see to it that they don’t take their medication on an empty stomach. “The new kitchen will benefit all at the school but it will transform the lives of these children. It will enable us to give them all two meals a day; thin porridge, just to put something in the stomach before starting school, and then maize and beans for their lunch. It will decrease malnutrition and allow the children to concentrate on their studies. Having a special place to prepare meals and store food and utensils will also improve school hygiene and cleanliness. It will allow teachers to banish food from the classrooms further improving the learning environment.”

* The U$50,000 grant approximately equalled E485,000 (E = Emalangeni -plural), the local currency. The value of the Lilangeni (singular) is tied to and equal to that of the South African Rand.