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Letter from the Founder |
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Dear Friend,
Long before the idea of S.A.F.E. surfaced, it was impossible for me not to be aware of the suffering around me in Swaziland on a daily, even hourly basis through my service with the Peace Corps. Students would come to my door pleading for assistance; I had nothing to give them. I was friends with people who weren’t in school and should have been. I was friends with mothers who had no means to provide for their children. Everyone asked me for things; food, money, school fees, candy, literally the clothes off my back sometimes. Much of the time I felt helpless to do anything. I could only offer them myself, and that could not appease a hungry stomach, pay the annual school fees, provide much needed medicine or give whatever else was needed. I worked a lot in the school and it seemed in many ways kids left behind their sorrow when they came to school. They laughed and spent time with their friends. They played sports. They dreamed. They know education is the gateway to a better life. Business, education and the news are all conducted in English in Swaziland. Without an education, children don’t learn English. Without learning English they cannot fully participate in their own society. The per capita income in Swaziland is US$2,280 and school fees range from $150 to $350 per child a year. I began to comprehend the mountain these families must climb and I desperately wanted all children in school.
When I wasn’t at the schools, I traveled around my community visiting homesteads. Time and time again, I visited homesteads barren of the most basic needs like food, clothes and a place to sleep; even the walls were falling apart. Often there would be school-age children who were not in school. They did chores or piddled around with a heartbreaking monotony. Their voices didn’t have the energy like children’s should. Many spoke with monosyllables and empty gazes. Poverty and need exist everywhere in Swaziland. It is common for school children to come to school hungry or in tattered uniforms. But families do whatever they can to keep their kids in school. In a lot of ways the presence of school-age children sitting at home symbolized the complete loss of hope for a family--it was the inheritance of despair by the next generation. I decided I wanted to find a way to keep kids in school.
I have always loved art. Going to the marketplace and seeing all the vivid colors and designs that were uniquely African always excited me. The market is also a place full of suffering. The vendors are desperate and although their work was beautiful, the competition and limited market force them to lower their prices to appease bargaining tourists trying to save a buck. I thought people at home would like the batiks as much as I did--as much as the other tourists did. The batiks were lightweight and easy to enclose in an envelope to friends at home. My mind ventured to wonder, “what if…” These ideas were drifting around in my head for awhile until they collided in a dream one night. I believe it was God who put the idea in my head because I woke up wide-awake in the middle of the night and it was just there, front and center in my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about it from then on. I would never have had the courage or desire to even try this non-profit if I didn’t believe it was what God wanted. I began by saving up money from my Peace Corps stipend to purchase as many batiks from the market as I could with the little money I had. I mailed them home and asked my family to see if anyone would buy the batiks which would then allow us to support education in Swaziland.
Since then, God keeps working in the most incredible ways. My wonderful family has rallied around the cause and made it their own. My dad is our attorney and the reason we were able to become a 501(c)(3) and gain the amazing support of the Leawood Rotary club, among countless other things. My brother-in-law is the reason we received a grant from the Netsuite Giving program and gained access to top-of-the-line software and consulting free of charge; he is the brains behind all of the IT and business of S.A.F.E. My brother is an architect and has committed his time and creativity to design our website, newsletter, logo and everything else creative. My sister has pulled everything together and kept us organized and on track. Her experience in the advertising world has helped us figure out how to approach marketing and provides the insight I depend on to make decisions. My mom has been vital in spreading the word, rallying support and making big decisions. My friends have offered their homes and their time to promote our cause and to sell artwork from Swaziland. Without any one of these people or entities we wouldn't be able to move forward as we have. I didn’t beg. Most of the time I didn’t even ask. They were just there ready to join me. I sit back in awe and wonder, “what has He gotten us into?” It is no longer just me. It never was. He might tap you on the shoulder to join in the fun. We just don’t know what will happen next, because God is at work and He’s doing something amazing here. He’s bringing people together. He’s teaching us to serve. And I feel thankful.
God bless,
Kristin
Click here to see photos from Kristin's Peace Corps adventures in Swaziland |
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