21 Feb, 2019A group of 60 Waterford students went to Mpaka Refugee Camp in eSwatini for their first of many Mpaka Peers project visits for 2019.
Mpaka Peers is a Waterford Kamhlaba student-led initiative aimed at helping the residents of Mpaka Refugee Camp through activities such as Mathematics, Science and English literature and language tutoring for the youth at Mpaka, playing with the children, gardening, and donating books to the camp's library.
The students were welcomed by a crowd of happily chanting children of different ages at the camp’s entrance. It was obvious that they had been impatiently awaiting the arrival.
The 60 Waterford students were split into 4 groups that did different activities: tutoring, playing with the children, gardening and arranging books in the library. There was also a promotion of Brave Girl - another student-led initiative at Waterford that advocates for and teaches high school girls about women empowerment.
At the end of the day, the children received lunch from Waterford. The smiles the children welcomed the students with faded as they sullenly bade farewell.
N.B. Article by Matlala Sefale (IB1)
