B4

by Mark Bettle (Yebo-Hampton)

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Nontokozo Dlamini and John Lovett arrived in Hampton from our twin community of Piggs Peak, Swaziland, May 14. Since then they have enjoyed the hospitality of John and Pip Murphy, Ross and Mariya Henderson and other Hamptonians who have warmly welcomed our neighbours from Africa.

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Classes at Hampton High School have been buzzing with the involvement of Nontokozo, a recent graduate of Fundukuwela High School.

Nontokozo tells us she has been enjoying her immersion into the high school experience, especially her first high school dance! But she couldn't help but remark at her surprise to see boys and girls dancing together, something not permitted in Swaziland.

It is no surprise to learn that the biggest adjustment Nontokozo has had to make since arriving in Canada is to the overall culture and lifestyle. In Swaziland, Nontokozo lives in a house made of sticks and mud divided into two rooms one room for her mother and the other a living area where Nontokozo and her four siblings share a foam mattress on which they sleep.

Her typical day involves rising at 5 a.m. and preparing breakfast for her family when there is food. Normally food is cooked outside in a three-legged pot over an open fire but if it is raining the food is cooked inside and the room fills with smoke, making it hard on their lungs and their eyes.

As a student at Fundukuwela, Nontokozo would walk to school, attend classes until about 4 p.m. and return home to work on her homestead. All her siblings, even the very youngest, help with weeding the garden and gathering water and firewood. Nontokozo would take care of the cooking and laundry (clothes are washed on the rocks by the river) before returning to school to study because there is no electricity at her home.

There would be nights that she would stay at school until 2 a.m. before returning home and getting only a short sleep before starting her routine the next day. It is a difficult life but Nontokozo does not complain she does not mind hard work. This should serve her well as she pursues her dream of going to university and ultimately becoming a doctor so she can help her people in her native country of Swaziland.

On June 12 at 6:30 p.m. join us at the Seniors Resource Centre for a dinner by Holly's and meet our friends from Piggs Peak. Tickets are $40 per person, on sale at Holly's, Hampton Pharmasave or by Ross and Mariya Henderson at 832-5163 or Mark and Lisa Bettle at 832-0003.

Finally, the Hampton Piggs Peak Partnership would like to thank the Grade 5 Catechism class at St. Alphonsus Church in Hampton who recognized the need of the young people in Piggs Peak and wanted to help. With their bottle drive they raised over $200 that will be used to help their African counterparts.