David Copperfield attends Thanksgiving with US Ambassador

I’m trying to pick up new skills while I am in Swaziland. I'm going to ask my host family brother how to plow with the oxen this week (Ivery Oregon Trail. I can carry a baby on my back with a towel and no hands. And now I can knit while I do all of those things at the same time. The scarf is electric blue. I will wear my scarf even in the dead of summer to show the people in my community. They think its amazing that I can take a bath without help, so knitting a scarf I‘d probably get a standing ovation.

I gave my friend (Jen) my rain jacket that I haven’t worn for months when she came to help me judge a debate competition for my school put on by World Vision. We saw a rash developing on Jen’s stomach as we walked back. We were worried (mostly me because I shared my bed with her the night before) that she had scabies or lice. Later as we sat at the shop, we saw that there was a cocoon inside my jacket she was wearing. Apparently the caterpillar hairs were rubbed off of the worm and were sticking into Jen’s skin! It made her stomach get a rash. It was terrible! I felt so bad! Later we found out from the Baylor doctors that those caterpillars carry neurotoxins and she was lucky with just a rash. I search my clothes now before putting them on. I’m glad she found it now instead of waiting. I would have looked like David Copperfield having butterflies fly out of my arm sleeves.

We played softball last week. Peace Corps vs. United States Embassy. Rumor had it we were playing against an ex-marine. Is that supposed to scare me? I bench press ex-marines…for breakfast. I played outfield. There was one play in particular that could have potentially stopped time. The ball was hit out towards me. Popfly. This was my ticket to acceptance. The ump yelled, "foul ball", but I continued with my arms stretched out before me ready to dive. I think it was a change of wind because the ball (as the US Ambassador watched) flipped a different direction at the last second. The ball bashed my nose in. It was a foul ball. People congratulated me on my hustle, but it was a crappy consolation prize to what could have been. I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if the US Ambassador saw me catch that ball. A secretarial position at the Oval Office? Director of International Affairs? I’ll never know what “could have been.” It just wasn’t my time I guess. I’ll get my big break soon. He must have been impressed somehow though or felt sorry for us because he invited us for Thanksgiving. It was fun. He has a pool and offered it to us. Unfortunately I gave Carmen Electra my swimming suit for the weekend and she hasn’t brought it back yet so no pool time for me. We played football though and ate. And ate again. Probably the best Thanksgiving meal I’ve ever had (no offense, mom). My stomach hurt, but I was happy. The Ambassador read an Obama speech to us before eating and we wiped our mouth with the US government emblem on our napkins. It ended up being a great Thanksgiving. US Ambassador (the only one in a tie), US Peace Corps, and US Embassy

I was taken from my site last Saturday. Apparently my hut can flood. The roads were muddy and flooded, so I had no transport and couldn’t walk anywhere because the rain had been down pouring for four days straight. My room quickly became a swimming pool and smells like a gym sock, but the last day of the week the sun came out. My friends, two kids below the age of 7, helped me clean up. Peace Corps heard that I was living in a life jacket, so they came to collect me and evacuate me from the flood.
Me and my friend (Bamaza)

My language teacher, Mrs. Gogosha, had a stroke earlier this month. She was my good friend. She was a lady in her late 70’s and had great English. She was actually supposed to be teaching me SiSwati, but we never got that far. When we would meet, it would turn into an English fest. She would tell me about her husband, her job, family issues, whatever….but it was nice to have her living close. She furnished half of my hut with her stuff. After her stroke on that Friday, her health went down fast. After arriving at the hospital she only lasted a few more days and Monday morning Mrs. Gogosha died. It was sad for my community. She was a very involved strong woman God. She will be missed, but I’m thankful I was able to be apart of her life when I had the chance. me (Sihle Sibandze) and Gogo Gogosha

I’m getting ready for a camp for the month of December. Basically I’m just going to hang out with them and hopefully teach them some dance moves. Its for teenagers who are HIV+ and we are showing them how to live after being infected. I think I’m going to learn a lot. The Paul Newman Foundation and Baylor Clinic are funding it and putting us in a workshop before it starts. I’m going to learn a lot from these kids. I’m excited to hang out with them. Lastly, the Teacher’s Housing Project in my community is going well. People at home have showed interest. If any of you would like to particiapte just a little. My sisters (Angi Kleinwolterink and Mikki Bobzein) as well as my mom (Judy Schaap) are thinking of ideas. It would be cool to work on this project with my friends and family at home. I’ve already began to make a DVD of the teachers and students who you would be effecting. I want to send one to you guys to show you what it looks like now, pictures and videos of the process, and then show you the roof and building when its completed so you can actually see where your money went. If your interested, please let my sisters, mom or dad know. All the money is going towards the roofing materials and transporting them to the village I am living in. Thanks guys!


The Kingdom of Swaziland government assigned a few more teachers to this school after seeing the need of increased enrollment due to asking the increase of the OVC population in my area (orphans and vulnerable children). Although the government will pay the minimal wages for these teachers, its up to those teachers to figure out a place to sleep when they are far from their families. Before there were 18 full time and part time teachers, now there are 21. This is better, but still leaves a problem on how to keep these teachers around. The roofing project would give them another place to sleep during the week to ensure the students have teachers available the entire school day. This clip is Babe Mamba (Pastor Jerome Mamba), the headmaster of the primary school, greeting you and giving you an idea of who he is and what you're investing in.

Teaching at my HIV outreach workshop with 65 pastors in Southern Swaziland.


GoGo Gogosha (my friend/SiSwati teacher) and me.



Peace Corps vs. United States Embassy with the US Ambassador.

Velebantfu Primary School Teachers

Hey guys! It’s your old friend Jaci down south of the equator. I've been here a year under the HIV/AIDS health educator sector. Even after all that time, I still feel like I’m figuring out what that job title means! What I do know though, is that it’s opened up a lot of doors to do really cool things in my community. I will be coming home in less than a year now. It’s unbelievable and yet I feel like there is still a lot of work to be done. It’s been great and I’ve learned a lot about the people and circumstances of the area I’m living in. Since you guys know me and are my friends and family at home, I want to share my new life with you the concerns of the Velebantfu community and the challenges we are sharing right now.

Quickly, Swaziland is a small, landlocked country inside of South Africa and also partially bordered by Mozambique. With an estimated 40% unemployment rate, Swaziland is struggling to provide a steady income for the families living within the country. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. More than one-fourth of the population needed emergency food aid in 2006-07 because of drought, and nearly two-fifths of the adult population has been infected by HIV/AIDS. Swaziland is leading the world is HIV/AIDS prevalence.

39.4% of the total population is 14 years old and under. That means a lot of the work is in the primary schools all over Swaziland. Affects of poverty begin at an early age here. The life expectancy of the total population is 31.88 years old. Meaning a little less than half of their life was spent in school. This is a sad reality, but good to acknowledge when trying to be affective. Teachers sometimes need to fulfill the needs of children who don’t have parents or adequate caregivers.



The headmaster at my local primary school, Mr. Mamba, is one of the pastors I taught at a two day HIV/AIDS Outreach Workshop I just hosted in September. We’ve talked and expressed our concerns within the community and school children and have had many great conversations. His primary school has established an EFA program (Education for All) to ensure that orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in the area are coming to school without the stresses of finding money for school fees. The government is helping pay for these children. This particular group of children makes up almost half of the schools attendees at my local school. Although minimal school fees are paid by the government for these students, the school depends on the parents, teachers, and community members to provide for their school uniforms, food, hygiene products and other special needs they come with like reading glasses and school materials. It’s not uncommon to find Mr. Mamba and the teachers using their own paycheck to purchase these things for their students after watching their conditions each day. Mr. Mamba has tried his best to cater to the growing needs of the children and teachers under him. They’ve built one teacher’s house to help a few of the teachers financially, constructed a kitchen to provide a meal for the kids (food provided by the World Food Program), and are borrowing an empty church to serve as an extra classroom for the time being. This was all implemented and built by community members, teachers, and parents. With growing attendance of the OVC population, more teachers are needed. The community began to build a four bedroom teacher’s home before the kitchen and classroom projects were presented. Due to the rapidly growing number of primary students, the teacher’s home was put on hold until they could satisfy the other needs of the school first. The teachers now commute back and forth to school every day from all over the area on a very meager salary. Thankfully the kitchen and classroom was completed. Sadly though, the community’s funds have now been exhausted on those projects. The teacher’s home is left incomplete. In order to finish they will need materials for a roof, windows and door frames. As you may know that this is some of the most expensive parts of the structure and since the location is not near a city, these materials are going to be transported into the mountain area where I live. This has been taken into the consideration and we have tried to make the cheapest routes we could without endangering the quality of the structure. The total amount includes all the materials and the transport to get it into southern Swaziland.



I’m really excited because I can see the potential this roofing project could do if funded. I know the people you would be investing in and I would be here for the entire construction period. I also would help them build unless that scares you…I can just watch. :) I can keep you updated on the process and give you pictures of where the money is going if interested. The community members will be doing all the constructing, using their own tools, and also adding what materials they have left.

Once they heard that I was going to try help them and they began clapping their hands with happiness! Up until now, the community and teaching staff have struggled to get what they have with limited outside help. They are excited to think there are people who may care about this project as much as they do. I know they would appreciate any help with this project we’ve developed. With a little less than 70% under the poverty line, you can see where the stress is for the community when trying to make improvements. Its amazing the work they’ve done to the school while their own families are fighting to get by. On the Peace Corps website www.peacecorps.gov/contribute you can find my project. The project number is 645-075. I know it is around Christmas time and it’s a difficult time to find extra cash, but even if you have an idea of how we could fundraise or who may want to partner in this project, we would greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much! This project will benefit a lot of Swazis. I'm excited to think how much hope we could install in the people here or the great ways we can invest in this project that could will affect hundreds of students, community members, and teachers here in the Velebantfu area.