Sanibonani Friends of Eswatini members,
As we enter this season of gratitude, we want to take a moment to reflect on what we’ve accomplished together and to thank you for the strength, partnership, and purpose that define our work in Eswatini.
This year marks a pivotal and profoundly challenging moment for the international community – a time defined by a distressingly shifting landscape in international aid and an urgent need for resilience like never before. It reminded us that service is a collective commitment, rooted in our shared humanity and our enduring responsibility to one another.
In 2025, FOE provided financial support to:
- Three PCV-led Peace Corps Partnership Projects:
- Strengthening youth life skills,
- Creating a community library and safe space, and
- Building a community garden and promoting food education
- SHE Power via TheCause.org, hosting the SHE Power Conference
- Young Heroes Foundation, Cabrini Ministries, and The Luke Foundation, all supporting orphaned and vulnerable children
- Sight of Hope, a safe home providing care and refuge for girls who are victims of sexual abuse and human trafficking
2025 limited the resources and support available to the programs and communities we care about. In the face of these challenges, we supported partners. We celebrate every step forward and the progress each of you contributed to while recognizing the sobering reality ahead.
With every partnership, we demonstrate that meaningful change is possible when we stand together and remain committed to improving the well-being of the people of Eswatini. We look forward to continuing our support for the Eswatini Peace Corps team and their initiatives, and the many leaders and organizations dedicated to strengthening communities in 2026.
How you can make a difference:
- Donate: Your financial support, no matter the size, directly contributes to these projects and the well-being of Eswatini’s people. Now more than ever, this support matters, given the reduction in critical resources for vulnerable populations. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Friends of Eswatini via our secure Zeffy account or by check.
- For credit or debit card donations via Zeffy:
- https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/friends-of-eswatini-general-fund
- Zeffy will ask for a donation, but it is optional. This is how Zeffy provides no-cost financial services to non-profit organizations like ours.
- For donations by check, please make your check payable to Friends of Eswatini. Please mail checks to:
- Friends of Eswatini c/o Michael Burke (109 Kentucky Ave SE, Washington, DC 20003)
- For those who are members of several NPCA-affiliated groups and wish to donate via the NPCA website, please do so here via NPCA website
- For credit or debit card donations via Zeffy:
- Spread the word: Help us raise awareness by sharing our mission with your network. The more people who know about our work, the greater the potential for positive change.
- Please join our Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/5704700829
- Please see our website here: https://friendsofeswatini.org/
- Friends of Eswatini is also on the new National Peace Corps Association Connect+ site. We encourage you to sign up to Connect+ and enjoy social networking built specifically for Peace Corps communities: https://community.peacecorpsconnect.org/topics/42662
- Join the Board: There’s much to do and we can use your ideas and expertise to further our goals. The current board is in need of new members. If interested, please contact Jack Conrad at [email protected].
Our community has always been resilient. More than that, it is relentlessly hopeful. In a world that needs both courage and compassion, hope remains our greatest strength.
Looking ahead, we have the opportunity to shape what is possible, guided by our unwavering support and dedication to continuing the work that strengthens Eswatini’s communities and reaffirms our shared resilience. Thank you for everything we’ve done, and everything we will continue to do.
Your Friends of Eswatini Board,
Laura Reynolds Jack Conrad Scott Lewis
Michael Burke Michael Radmann Rita Kamazima
Melissa Horton Brandon Bobisink Brian Deyo
