How is it already October? I cannot believe another school year has begun and all the fun fall things are approaching. I am grateful for my trips to Eswatini. My last stay was fun but busy. I did lots of things around Project Canaan and visited a home for teenage girls who have suffered from some form of abuse. You have probably heard me quote my friend John Woodall when talking about the work that I get to do. He has said on many occasions that “good and hard run on parallel tracks, and they often arrive at the same time.” This quote has become an anthem for how I describe the work that I get to be a part of, but let’s be honest, it is so fitting for life for all of us.
There are so many moments from my time on Project Canaan I want to share, so I will try to keep it short. One of my roles at Heart for Africa is to engage with our current child sponsors and recruit new friends to join in our efforts to keep saying YEBO (that means “yes” in siSwati) to the kids who need our help. One of the things we do for our child sponsors is send them annual updates on the child they have chosen to receive updates for. This past stay in Eswatini, I worked with our team here on Project Canaan and in the US to get those ready to go out. Part of the update includes a recent photo of the child. Taking pictures of over 420 children is not a task that can be done in a day. The older kids are used to having their photo taken (as we do this yearly for each child’s file and to update our website), but the little ones are somewhat afraid of the camera, or maybe me, so it can be a bit more challenging. As the kids are getting older, they are asking a lot of questions about why we are taking their photo every year. We also do this around Christmas time. We put both of these photos in the child’s file so they will have at least two photos of themselves throughout their childhood.
As I was getting ready to start taking the photos this time, one of the kids came up to me and asked if he could help. I was hesitant to say yes because earlier that week he had gotten into some trouble at school. However, something in me prompted me to say yes. Then, Titus offered to help also. So for the next hour, these two boys helped me take photos of 176 children. We did this by house and traveled to each house to take the photos. These two boys took immediate ownership of their roles in helping me. They would line up the children in alphabetical order, call them to the photo spot, check their names off the list, and help align them perfectly for the shot. After the third house, I realized something. I have been helping take these photos twice a year for the last three years, and the kids have been watching.
Children are like sponges, constantly absorbing the world around them. They watch our every move, listen to our words, and notice how we interact with others. Through this daunting task, I got to see a glimpse into the future here. Maybe in a few years, these boys will be taking the photos of all the kids here instead of me. One thing I have gotten to witness up close this past visit is the number of things that happen here on a daily basis. What I have watched Ian and Janine navigate day-to-day is something I have never really noticed before. I knew it was a lot, but I had never grasped the vastness of all of it. But while watching these boys help me, I saw a brighter future for these kids, our staff, and this country. The kids here are being raised to be kind, responsible, respectful, helpful, and amazing humans. They are watching the staff, their teachers, visitors, and Ian and Janine, and in my opinion, they have some pretty incredible role models around here. If I am being honest with you all, taking these photos is something that I don’t really look forward to because it can be a lot. Taking the photos, uploading them to my computer, editing them, naming them all, and then uploading them to our shared space. I look forward to finishing the project. The boys who joined me asked if they could help again the next day, and they were not asking to help for something in return; they asked because they genuinely wanted to help. I am always humbled by how God wants to use a mundane assignment to remind me of how important it is to just be present.
The days I get to spend in Eswatini are full of joy, and I am so grateful for it. There is a spot here on the property on top of a building we call O2. It overlooks all of the children’s campus, which includes the park and all of the houses and playgrounds. You can also see some of the farm off in the distance. I call this spot “my happy place.” When I am anxious or overwhelmed in life, I think about being there and all of the sounds I hear and the stunning views I see. I often find myself walking by in a hurry to get to the next place and will stop and just look out and take in the moment. It is pretty overwhelming and something that is hard to put into words. One afternoon, I was playing with some kids at the spot, and one of the boys said, “Auntie Hannah, how come you are always happy?” and I just froze. The reality is, I am not always happy, and I was about to turn our playful moment into a lesson about how life comes with its ups and downs. As I was carefully choosing my words, I was overtaken when one of the girls responded and said, “It’s because she is here with us. This is her happy place.” Now, I don’t think I have really ever said those words out loud to many people, and definitely not the kids. But she was paying attention, and maybe, just maybe, she can see the joy expressed outwardly from me. For someone who has struggled with the highs and lows of life, this was a sweet reminder that we can always find something around us to be grateful for or to put a smile on our face. And when I get to be in “my happy place,” there is always a reason to smile because there are 427 lives that have been rescued because a city on the side of a mountain in Eswatini exists.
Hannah Gaddis, Heart for Africa Relationship Manager