Missionary couple serve children of Swaziland

When Mark and Kay Bojovic heard about the children in Swaziland who were living off less than a dollar a day, they made it a point to give these children not only suitable living conditions, but a purpose for living.

“We wanted to let them know what they are living for — that they’re not just waiting to die, but that they have a purpose in life,” said Mark Bojovic, a 2003 MSU alumnus.

“We want to show them what it means to set a godly example living for Jesus.”

After spending eight months in Swaziland, the Bojovics have returned to the United States and are making stops at Bible studies and churches across the Great Lakes area to share their experiences.

The Bojovics spent time in East Lansing this week and are scheduled to leave for another city to spread their message on Sunday.

The Bojovics’ message has been focused on informing people about the situation in Swaziland, and putting a face to some of the children who would otherwise be just a statistic.

“It is very eye-opening just to see what they live with and what they have with the small amount of money that they live off of,” said Kay Bojovic, who plans to return to Swaziland with her husband in about two months. “A lot of these kids just need guidance, they need direction, they need to be loved. We wanted to really pour into a generation of orphans in Swaziland.”

After Mark and Kay Bojovic were married in 2005, they set a goal to engage in some kind of mission trip — and it didn’t matter where.

Kay Bojovic’s parents went on a trip to Swaziland, and after hearing about what they had experienced, the Bojovics decided where they wanted to pursue their mission.

Anthony Cappoferri, a long-time friend of the Bojovics from Wisconsin, said he has been a big supporter of their endeavors from the very beginning.

“It’s one thing to know the right thing to do, but it is another thing to do it,” Cappoferri said. “There are so many needs in this world and all they need is someone to attend to them.”

After working multiple jobs to pay off their student loans, the Bojovics sold most of what they owned, including wedding gifts, and moved to Swaziland.

The country has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS, about 43 percent, among any other country in the world, Kay Bojovic said.

The country’s median age is 18 and the life expectancy age is 33, she said.

“Most of the kids in Swaziland are living off of a dollar a day and half do not even have parents,” Mark Bojovic said. “But joy can be found in their eyes that you would never see anywhere else.”

The Bojovics joined Children’s Cup International Relief in Swaziland and distributed food to the children through CarePoint, a building where they would have daily feedings for between 200 to 300 children.

CarePoint also had a Bible club where they taught the Bible to about 200 children at a time, said Mark Bojovic.

Most of the children in Swaziland spend their nights in rooms that are no bigger than a typical walk-in closet, Mark Bojovic said.

The rooms are very unstable and made out of sticks, mud and clay with roofs made from concrete building blocks, Kay Bojovic said.

“If you were to see their day to day life you would be shocked, asking ‘How do they survive?’” said Mark Bojovic. “Here in the (U.S.) we get mad about spilling a cup of coffee from Starbucks. Over there they get mad about dropping their one meal a day on the floor.”

Published on Thursday, May 15, 2008