- December 4, 2025
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Lakewood Ranch resident Themba Hillary described going to schools in his home country of Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, as a safe haven.
“It's where the kids get fed, where the kids get clothed,” Hillary said of the schools. “The clothes that you see the kids wearing, the uniforms, that's probably the only thing the kid has that's new. Everything they wear at home is falling apart.”
Hillary, along with his son, Out-of-Door Academy student Themba Hillary II, spend two months of each summer in Eswatini, which shares most of its border with South Africa. The elder Hillary has been volunteering in Eswatini every summer since 2016 — minus the 2020 COVID-19 year — visiting Mhlume Primary School. That is where the elder Hillary grew up and went to school himself. He always has brought along his son, who became a volunteer as well.
The elder Hillary reflected on his experience going to the school and how not much has changed.
“When I was growing up, I would have been considered the more privileged kid,” the elder Hillary said. “My mom made sure I had school uniforms, but what made it awkward was that I was the only kid who had a full uniform.”
Hillary said he would purposely lose his shoes in order to fit in with his classmates. This summer, the Hillarys donated candy, bracelets, stationary and a laptop to Mhlume. Last year, they donated four laptops.
Although they have been volunteering at Mlume since 2016, the elder Hillary said he wanted to step it up a notch this year and visit more than one school. Eswatini is divided into four regions: Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, and Shiselweni. The Hillarys visited schools within the Lubombo and Shiselweni regions — Emhlabeni, Embosi, Magojela Sphondo, Maphiveni and Mhlume. They picked schools they liked for return visits.
At Magojela Primary School, the Hillarys noticed a girl who wore an old track suit as a school uniform.
“My dad and I ordered a uniform for her, and we were happy to receive a picture of her about a week later in her new school uniform,” the younger Hillary said. “It was heartwarming to see the smile on her face.”
At Embosi Primary School, they led the students in activities including soccer, ring toss, Simon Says, and an egg hunt. The younger Hillary said the rural students were orphaned and vulnerable.
They donated stationary for seventh graders, and bracelets, candy, drinks, and bread for each child.
They gave a group of those students a loaf of freshly baked bread to bring home for their siblings or family members,
“It’s something that is not readily available for them because they live far out in the rural areas and the nearest bakeries are far away,” Hillary II said.
The Hillarys gave bracelets to students at two schools: Mlume and Embosi. Hillary said Mlume students were able to recite words on the bracelets while Embosi students lacked the academic confidence to do so.
“It showed a gap when it comes to reading, which means they probably don't even have the books for reading,” the elder Hillary said. “In my head, I'm thinking the next time we go there, we have to focus on getting them reading material so that the kids, by the time they reach that level (seventh grade) can read.”
At Maphiveni Primary School, there are currently only first and second grade students. The elder Hillary said they were low on food, but they grew their own produce, including lettuce and spinach.
“It's a very good initiative, and we found those kids were watering, using old paint buckets,” the elder Hillary said. “The one thing they wish they could have was watering cans.”
The Hillarys provided the school with watering cans, a printer and laptops. Prior to their donation, the teachers had to go to a town to do their printing. The elder Hillary described their computer labs as “museums” with old keyboards and old monitors.
“I was like, ‘That's just wrong,’” Hillary said. “You need to have a computer that actually works.”
On top of the donations, the Hillarys played soccer with the students and did an easter egg hunt. Afterward they gave the students snacks and drinks including Ring Pops. The younger Hillary said the students do not have Ring Pops locally, so they were intrigued by them.
“The kids were very happy and the teachers were very appreciative of the tools that we provided to help run the school a little bit more efficiently,” the younger Hillary said.
Hillary emphasized that none of the schools had flushing toilets. Although toothbrushes and toothpaste were donated to the students, they often didn't have clean water at home.
Despite all the children's difficulties, the Hillarys said they all seemed very happy.
“When you look at those kids, there's an endless excitement and joy,” the elder Hillary said.
Through showing his son less fortunate children, Hillary said he hopes his son will take charge in his own community and beyond to help those less fortunate.
“What I'm praying for is that he gets to a point where he he wants to take it to another level,” the elder Hillary said. “I want him to be the one that says, ‘OK dad, this year this is what I want us to do, and this is how I want us to do it.”
Aimee Murphy is the advisor for the younger Hillary.
“He’s the first one to ask if I need help and he is the kid that does the right thing,” Murphy said. “He's very humble, even when he volunteers to do all of these things. He's an incredibly talented athlete as well, so he does very well at all these competitions. He never, ever takes any credit for any of it.”
The younger Hillary is looking into starting a club at ODA to further his volunteering and assisting in Eswatini. There is currently a similar club called Far Away Friends that helps a village in Uganda.
