Congratulations Graduates!!!!!

We had the honor of graduating children from their second year at our Oasis @ Swaziland classes. Children's Cup CarePoints offer 2 years of free education to orphan and vulnerable children. The school year in Africa is from the end of January to the beginning of December. Christmas falls in the "summer break". These graduates are now ready to go into Grade 3 at the public school next year. Public schools cost around $75-$100/year and sometimes these children cannot afford that. We try to help as we have funds available.
There were 16 graduates from Mangwaneni, Mbabane and 10 from Fonteyn.
Children's Cup provided caps and gowns for the occassion and it was a special time at each CarePoint. I was honored to be the "guest speaker" at the Mangwaneni CarePoint. I dressed in my Swazi outfit, complete with head scarf for the special day. I spoke to the children and told them how proud we were of their hard work. I encouraged them in that this was only the beginning of what God has planned for each of their lives and for them to continue to grow.
Several of the children at Mangwaneni were older, including Lungile (pictured with me below) who is 12. Without Oasis @ Swaziland and Children's Cup, she would probably have never had the opportunity to learn to read and write. She has done so well we are sure that at the beginning of the school year next year she will get to advance even further than grade 3.