We have all lost loved ones or experienced some significant life changing circumstances. And for us here in Swaziland it is becoming a bigger reality every day! After loosing Mamba last year, we realized that none of us was really equipped to help the kids at his carepoint deal with their emotions. (Or maybe even ourselves!)

Of course it didn't stop with Mamba. In January a little girl at one of our other carepoints was shot dead at night in her own home. And two weeks ago another little girl was run over by a car on her way to school and she (and her dad) died on the scene. Two days ago we read in the local newspaper of two teenage girls whose bodies were found somewhere in a field; only discovering later that one of the girls was the daughter of a lady cooking at one of our city carepoints. We are also seeing the wide-ranging impact and effect of AIDS more and more.

There are many heartbreaking stories like these that I can tell you about, but the ongoing question is: How do we handle all these deaths and the related emotions that go with loss, without being overwhelmed, and feeling almost paralyzed by the vastness of the issue.  Can we pretend like nothing has happened - too scared to feel, because if I do I might just lie on the floor, curl up in a little ball, start crying, and not get up again.... How do the kids handle this?

Swazi's do not show a lot of emotion, but that doesn't mean that they don't feel it, nor that they aren't hurting, or are somehow resistant to the things that has happened in their lives. They have all lost loved ones and have experienced some form of neglect, abandonment and rejection. In fact, more that 70% of our carepoint kids have been rejected or abandoned in some way at some stage in their short little lives. How do we help them deal with all their cropped up emotions and feelings of worthlessness?

Well, we trust that we have been able to start this process of 'dealing with pain' through our project we started this week. I am excited to say that yesterday we started our first day of grief training with the help of an old friend of mine! Actually, JoE (Ettienne) used to be my team leader in 1998 and now he trains local community volunteers in South Africa to present the Lost&Found courses in their own communities. Lost&Found is an emotional support program, presented in small groups, focusing on enabling young people to identify and work through feelings and emotions related to grief and loss and to help them cope with the life changing events related to loss.   Lost&Found is run by a non-profit called facingUP. Not only do we have JoE here with us, but we also have a couple from England. Pete and Many English present the Lost&Found courses in England (UK) and are visiting us to assist with the presentation of the groups.

During the next three weeks we will be presenting L&F groups to four staff groups and four carepoint groups. In total 72 people will be enabled to grow in the their own understanding of their loss, they will be equipped to have a better understanding for other people in their communities, and gain insight into what others are experiencing. Already - even though we have barely started - there have been many stories from those attending that have struck the emotional cords of all in attendance. We believe that, as we continue to meet together, over the next 5 sessions, that everyone involved will grow through their respective experiences of loss, and emerge from dealing with their pain stronger and more resilient.