Preschool.

Two days a week Bailey and I have been helping out at one of the preschools/care points in Manzini.  This care point is across the street from the city dump and it is one of the roughest areas of town.  On an average day 217 children flock to this small compound for a meal of rice and beans.  Many of these kids come after school.  We only interact with the 30 kids that attend the preschool.  These thirty kids are full of energy and are always climbing and clinging to Bailey and me.  Some days are better than others but on a whole I have really struggled with enjoying my time here.  It is difficult to show affection to the children when they are climbing all over you.  I often find myself losing my patience with them.

Most days I leave preschool feeling tired and dirty but today I left with feeling hopeless.  Our days consist of two hours of class room time, an hour of free time, and one more hour in the class room.  During the free time Bailey and I sat down to chat with Treasure, the teacher.  After some small talk she began to share with us a little more of this places background.  I was aware that the folks in this specific community are living in extreme poverty and so I asked if many of the children’s parents had jobs.  Treasure shook her head no and said “they drink from sun up to sun down.”  Alcoholism has plagued this community.  These preschoolers are surrounded by family members and neighbors who do nothing else but drink.  Treasure continued by telling us some devastating stories of her students seeing sexual encounters by their drunken parents and then repeating them with their peers.  A teacher should never have to split up two of her preschool students from having sex in the bathroom.  She expressed her deep sadness in these experiences and her frustration in not knowing how to deal with the situation.  What would you do?  Do you punish these children who are only repeating what they see all around them?  Through no fault of their own they have lost their innocence.  She went on to tell us more stories of her students themselves getting drunk.  These families, who at times cannot afford food or clothes, will buy their children alcohol for holidays.  Another student once informed Treasure that if she needed more money she could look for boys at the nearest bar.  How does a preschool girl know about prostitution? 

These handful of stories were heart breaking to hear and they left me with a sense of hopelessness.  It is not fair that these children have lost their innocence.  How long has this been going on and how long will it continue?  Will this cycle ever be broken?  I know that the rest of my time at this preschool will not be easy and my same frustrations will still exist but I know have a clearer understanding as to why these children act the way that they do.  I am sad to hear about the reality here but with this knowledge I will have a new tolerance and a stronger desire to teach and care for these kids.