Saturday morning approximately 450-500 children showed up for our Christmas party. Some of them were dressed in their Sunday bests. Some of them walked for miles to get to this exciting event. It’s not every day that they get to go to a Christmas party! And we wanted this day to be really special; the highlight of their year.
So to make this day special we bought a whole cow which the gogo’s slaughtered on Friday night. And then on Saturday they cooked the meat in huge black pots on the fire.
While the food was cooking we had fun with the children. We had a little soccer tournament going on for the older boys. The care points played against each other. We also had some spectators (the older girls) singing and cheering the teams on. With the younger children we did some arts and crafts. They colored and made some decorations. After a while all that you could see were children with masks and stickers. (Was kind of fun seeing how excited they were about getting the stickers. They were sticking them everywhere; on their faces, clothes and even on their shoes.) We also had two silly clowns who entertained the children. Poor clowns had to run for their lives.
We also gave each child a little bag with candy and cookies. They were so excited about this. Some were clutching their little bags under the arms, saving it for later. Some couldn’t wait for later, they ripped the bags open with their teeth and started digging in.
The highlight, even for us, was the eating of the meat, rice and cabbage. It was so deserving to see those little faces light up when they got their plates, full of food. Not pap and beans like everyday, but some good meat.
We realized that we will have to start our planning next year much earlier. Next Christmas we want to give each child a little gift!
Thank you so much for everyone that gave to make this day special and a success. Know that you have brought joy in a couple of children’s lives here in
Swaziland.
