Sister School in Maputaland

In 2000 the Saint Mark’s community began a partnership with eSibonisweni School and Preschool. The schools are situated in the heart of the second poorest community in South Africa, an area where there is 80 percent unemployment among the adults and the land is not fertile enough to sustain growing the food they need to survive. The students receive one meal of a day (maize porridge and beans) from the school, but only on the days school is in session. The school enrolls over 800 students, around 150 of whom are AIDS orphans. Until recently, there were only eight classrooms, each shared by three teachers.

Saint Mark's sister school students, in Maputaland, South Africa

Over the years Saint Mark’s has established an ongoing relationship with eSibonisweni. Our outreach has included several endeavors. We have collected and sent over books, learning aids, clothing, and shoes; exchanged an annual photo album; shared letters and illustrations of daily life; partnered in craft and art projects; and, most importantly, supported the 150 AIDS orphans by funding their tuition, food, uniforms, and books.

In June 2005 a delegation of 22 Saint Mark’s administrators, teachers, parents, and students spent a week at the school sharing oral histories, collaborating on projects, learning local skills (such as basket weaving and gourd painting), playing games and visiting some of the orphan homes. Motivated by their visit, the group returned and raised the funds to build four new classrooms at eSibonisweni. In July 2006 a second delegation (36 people) visited the school. The group included six Saint Mark’s graduates who visited the local high school and established new relationships between their U.S. high schools and the one in Maputaland.

The challenges we face in helping this community are huge. Nevertheless, we find we can make a significant difference to the lives of the eSibonisweni students by giving them the help they so urgently need to survive, the opportunity for education that will sustain them in the future, and the optimism that comes from knowing that they have friends in a distant country who really care about them.

In return we find ourselves much richer for the shared experience and the long-term friendships that have been forged.