On February 24 the 2020 intake members and some fellow members of Hands made the trip out to Eswatini (Swaziland). It is about a two hour drive to the border of Eswatini and then another two hour drive to the Shoka house where we were staying. On our way to the Shoka house we did stop into one of the communities called Msengeni A. One of the kids there asked me where I was from and when I said I was from Canada she immediately asked me if I knew Devon, after I told her Devon was my next door neighbour she was so excited.
After arriving to Shoka house we started to get all settled in, all the girls in one room together and the boys in another, sleeping on mattresses on the floor.
On Feb, 25 we went to Bhandeni for the day. This was one of my favourite community visits of the week. We went to a Gogo's home and sat with her outside with some fellow hands members who had previously been there for a community stay. She then proceeded to tell us that she was in the process of making lunch at that time, so we helped her pick from her garden to help prepare what is called Inkaka. What came to out surprise was that she ended up cooking for all of us who were there. At first I felt really bad eating her food knowing that she needs this way more than we did. On the other hand it brought her such joy to cook for someone and eat with people other than herself. Eating a meal with her was such a blessing for me to experience and the smile on her face was a reward in itself.
Shoka House where we stayed for the week
