Swazi 1000

In December 2008, 350 volunteers joined in on the first Swazi 1000 mission to Bulembu. Besides painting 12 community buildings, renovating two orphan homes, erecting a 1.6km dairy fence and painting 420 houses, these young people were challenged to live in radical devotion to God when they returned to their own communities. In 2009, 220 volunteers packed their tents and work gloves once again to set up camp in Bulembu from 28 November to 11 December.

Now we are heading back again and invite you to join us a for a life-changing experience… It’s time!

Register here

Soccer games in a thunderstorm … vice-grip hugs from small children … walking through the clouds on Emlembe … praying at 03:00am … there are so many Divine moments that make up an experience like Swazi 1000.

Our two precious weeks in Bulembu flew past in a whirlwind of activity, and the Swazi 1000 team look back on fourteen days of God-given grace.

“In retrospect, we’ve done more than anticipated,” said Swazi 1000 projects manager, Gerhard Viljoen. “We were less volunteers than last year, and our daily working hours were shorter, but the amount of work that has been done is phenomenal,” he added.

The following is a summary of what was completed in the natural, but this is just the tip of the iceberg compared to what the Lord did behind the scenes in the hearts of the Bulembu people and Swazi 1000 volunteers:

Dvudvusi Orphan homes: 20 orphans homes were partially renovated, and are now ready for finishing. This included breaking down internal walls and windows, taking down old asbestos roofs to be replaced with tin roofs, scraping walls and cleaning out years of debris and rubble, as well as plastering and painting. Extensive bush clearing was done around the houses as well.

Bush clearing: Extensive cleaning and clearing was done in the village. This included cutting down alien trees and weeds, clearing bushes, removing illegal rubbish dumps, as well as cleaning trenches and roads.

Creativity centre: The entire school prepared and decorated their own glasses for sandblasting, which they could keep as Christmas gifts. A new canteen was set up, and murals were painted across town for all of the Bulembu enterprises. Creativity workshops were also held with the ladies of the community, and the Swazi 1000 volunteers helped to complete the costumes for the Bulembu Christian School annual Christmas play, which we watched on Thursday 10 December in the old Bulembu cinema.

Grass Planting: The new dairy field has been “furnished” with new Kikuyu grass.

Museum: The packaging and export area at the entrance of the cableway is now clear, clean and painted. Tons of wood and mangled steel was removed, and the area was cleaned with a high-pressure washer. It’s now ready to be transformed into a museum area.
Clinic: The building was scraped and repainted. The outside was done from the floor up to the roof, including railings, gates and windows, and the corridors and ceilings were painted on the inside.

These physical projects were supplemented by daily ministry projects, including time spent with the children at the Community Care Centre every afternoon, and ministry that focused on supporting and treating the housemothers who look after the Bulembu orphans. There was also a group of volunteers who dedicated their time to serve the housemothers and vulnerable girls in the Jacaranda Home.

“The housemothers could not stop talking about Swazi 1000 and how it amazing it was,” said Heather Davies from Bulembu Ministries. “The women said that, from watching the Swazi 1000 team, they learned a lot about love, and about showing love to one another, and they learned that showing a joyful attitude with the children goes a long way,” she added.

“They could not believe the servant hearts. That love is something they want to show the children. They were all unanimously so grateful. You cannot believe the impact you have had here,” said Davies.

“As a team we are extremely blessed for what the Lord has done through each one of us,” said Adriaan Adams, Director of Focus Team Leadership Training. “Many lives have been touched, and therefore the decision was made to return once again to Bulembu in 2010.”

Swazi 1000 2009 came and went, but the love of God that we shared with one another will remain a banner over Bulembu forever. We are looking forward to see how the journey continues.