Heart for Africa (Canada)

Education | Canada vs. Eswatini

I don't know about you... but I love being Canadian.

Although the winters can be harsh and some people think we ride polar bears to work (most of us don’t), we have a lot going for us in Canada. Our global stereotype is that we are “nice and polite,” which is a pretty great rep to have and our most common critique is that we say "sorry" too often... sorry, not sorry.

We excel in winter sports, have access to free health care and brought people like Drake, Justin Bieber and Ryan Reynolds into peoples lives internationally (...you are SO welcome, world).

One of my personal favourite parts is our free education system (through Grade 12). In 2020, Canada ranked 3rd for the best education system globally! A whopping 91% of adults have at least a high school diploma in Canada. Free access to education plays a huge role in that statistic and shows the importance of education in our country.

Now imagine if education was not free in Canada. That is the harsh reality for many countries around the world, but the one I’ll focus on today is Eswatini.

In our previous articles, we took you through how we are working to fight hunger, care for orphans and decrease poverty in the country of Eswatini. Education is the final pillar in our mission to bring HOPE to the Kingdom of Eswatini.

Education in Eswatini, Africa

In 2010, the government of Eswatini committed to paying the primary school (Grades 1 - 7) tuition fees for the orphans and vulnerable children across the country (who account for 58% of the population). Unfortunately, this is often not the case as the government does not have the funds to pay these fees. Secondary school (Grades 8 – 12) is not subsidized and therefore a child needs to pay their own fees to attend secondary school.

For the children that DO make it to secondary school and can pay the fees, the dropout rate is high. 41% of drop out in lower secondary (Grades 8 – 10) and 52% in senior secondary (Grades 11 & 12) is due to pregnancy. Education is not equally attainable in Eswatini and that is one of the main reasons for the continuous cycle of poverty within the country.

THAT is why it is SO important for us to provide education for the 346 orphans and vulnerable (to-date) we are committed to caring for at Project Canaan. As we have seen in Canada, education is the root of possibilities and it fuels our society.

Project Canaan Academy

We are currently building a school on our property called, Project Canaan Academy. Since our oldest children are 11-years-old, we have only built up to Grade 5, but will continue building up to Grade 12 as our children grow. Our children are bilingual (Eswatini & English), learn robotics, music, art, life skills and we use a US-based core curriculum.

We truly believe our children will be the future leaders of Eswatini and the first generation to escape this cycle of poverty, but education is vital in making that happen.

Fellow Canadians…

Would you help us educate the future leaders of Eswatini? We currently have a $150,000 CAD matching challenge to help build our Grade 6 & 7 classrooms. That means any donation made towards building our school until the end of 2022 will be DOUBLED up to $150,000. Click here to learn more.

Another way you can help is by sponsoring one of our students. It costs us $85/month ($1020/year) to educate one child at Project Canaan Academy. That includes textbooks, teacher salaries, uniforms, supplies and more. You can sponsor a student for any amount today by clicking here.

As a proud Canadian, I know we can join together to make a difference and provide education for children across the world. Until next time!