
Help Etjebovu Primary School Build
Donation protected
I am a Canadian volunteer writing from Eswatini, Africa, formally known as Swaziland. Six years ago I fell in love with a very rural and poor school called Etjebovu Primary School outside of Mankayane, Eswatini. The conditions at the school were and continue to be heartbreaking. The children were hungry and there was a complete failure rate in testing at the school. Over the last number of years, through fundraising in my small community in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, we have supported this school with several projects. Etjebovu has a current enrolment of 125 students, though this fluctuates slightly. The students and teachers are very motivated and we are extremely proud of their resiliency and
recent success (94% passing in standard testing this year)! Today, I have an extremely urgent request for you.
Unfortunately, the students and teachers are learning under horrendous conditions. The infrastructure has become hazardous. There are pit “toilets” that were inspected by government in 2018, and condemned due to the health risk it poses to the children and staff, though due to lack of resources, they are still being used today. (Please refer to the photos, taken on Friday, Jan. 31st). There is also inadequate housing for the teaching staff. The community has rallied around the school and there has been a great amount of effort to create positive change, though the families are very poor. Last week, we were very blessed to have been awarded approval from MicroProjects, in Eswatini, for all of the building materials necessary to build updated and accessible pit toilets (10 stalls in total)! These toilets will have the ability to be professionally emptied when necessary. Within this project, MicroProjects has also granted us the building materials to build a semi-detached, teachers’ accommodation. It is an extremely wonderful opportunity that the school desperately needs! They are prepared to deliver the materials immediately, as soon as we are able to secure a contractor, and we are thankful!
WE ARE NOW TASKED WITH THE URGENT NEED TO SECURE FUNDING OR SPONSORSHIP TO PAY FOR THE CONTRACTOR AND CONSTRUCTION of these desperately needed structures. We are reaching out for support far and wide. The local community is motivated to help with the construction but requires the direction of a contractor and their employees. There is also a deadline placed by MicroProjects for March 15, 2020; if the school accomplishes this project by that date, we will be awarded another project to build three much needed classrooms to continue to improve the learning environment for these children.
Due to the local poverty, in order for this amazing project to happen, we must secure additional funding from outside sources. My small community in Cape Breton, Canada, has just completed a fundraiser and sent a much appreciated donation of $600 to help with the contracting costs. The local parents at the school have also mutually contributed a small portion together.
We are kindly requesting that you please urgently consider supporting us in our efforts to improve the education and health of the children and teachers by contributing funding toward the cost of the contractor; please assist us in realizing our dream to build desperately needed toilets and teachers’ accommodations at Etjebovu Primary School.
We thank you in advance for your support! If you have any questions at all, please reach out. I can be reached in Eswatini until Feb. 12, 2020, when I can then be reached in Canada. We appreciate all of your help and we look forward to hearing from you. Together we are making a difference!!! ❤️
We sincerely thank you from the bottom of our hearts,
Meredith Copp (locally given the Swazi name Nokulunga Mdluli)
With Lungile Kunene
Head Teacher (Principal), Etjebovu Primary School















recent success (94% passing in standard testing this year)! Today, I have an extremely urgent request for you.
Unfortunately, the students and teachers are learning under horrendous conditions. The infrastructure has become hazardous. There are pit “toilets” that were inspected by government in 2018, and condemned due to the health risk it poses to the children and staff, though due to lack of resources, they are still being used today. (Please refer to the photos, taken on Friday, Jan. 31st). There is also inadequate housing for the teaching staff. The community has rallied around the school and there has been a great amount of effort to create positive change, though the families are very poor. Last week, we were very blessed to have been awarded approval from MicroProjects, in Eswatini, for all of the building materials necessary to build updated and accessible pit toilets (10 stalls in total)! These toilets will have the ability to be professionally emptied when necessary. Within this project, MicroProjects has also granted us the building materials to build a semi-detached, teachers’ accommodation. It is an extremely wonderful opportunity that the school desperately needs! They are prepared to deliver the materials immediately, as soon as we are able to secure a contractor, and we are thankful!
WE ARE NOW TASKED WITH THE URGENT NEED TO SECURE FUNDING OR SPONSORSHIP TO PAY FOR THE CONTRACTOR AND CONSTRUCTION of these desperately needed structures. We are reaching out for support far and wide. The local community is motivated to help with the construction but requires the direction of a contractor and their employees. There is also a deadline placed by MicroProjects for March 15, 2020; if the school accomplishes this project by that date, we will be awarded another project to build three much needed classrooms to continue to improve the learning environment for these children.
Due to the local poverty, in order for this amazing project to happen, we must secure additional funding from outside sources. My small community in Cape Breton, Canada, has just completed a fundraiser and sent a much appreciated donation of $600 to help with the contracting costs. The local parents at the school have also mutually contributed a small portion together.
We are kindly requesting that you please urgently consider supporting us in our efforts to improve the education and health of the children and teachers by contributing funding toward the cost of the contractor; please assist us in realizing our dream to build desperately needed toilets and teachers’ accommodations at Etjebovu Primary School.
We thank you in advance for your support! If you have any questions at all, please reach out. I can be reached in Eswatini until Feb. 12, 2020, when I can then be reached in Canada. We appreciate all of your help and we look forward to hearing from you. Together we are making a difference!!! ❤️
We sincerely thank you from the bottom of our hearts,
Meredith Copp (locally given the Swazi name Nokulunga Mdluli)
With Lungile Kunene
Head Teacher (Principal), Etjebovu Primary School















Organizer

Meredith Copp
Organizer
Ingonish, NS