Sea container loaded in Listowel bound for African orphanage

One box at a time, a 40 foot sea container was loaded in Listowel, Ont. Monday morning, bound for a sprawling orphanage in southern Africa.

“It is a place of sustainability. So, we have children’s homes we’re building as the children grow. We have 366 children my parents are legally responsible for. Everything going on this container is to support them and our project there,” explained Chloe Maxwell of Heart for Africa (Canada).

Maxwell’s parents, Janine and Ian Maxwell, bought 2,500 acres of land in Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, back in 2009, as a place to house some of the impoverished country’s more than 200,000 orphans.

The Maxwells now live there full time, managing schools, farms, even machine shops.

“You often think of poverty, yes you do, but they are very fortunate children, and they’re getting an education, and Janine and Ian are trying to change the way of life in that area of Africa,” said the local organizer for Monday’s sea container donation, Amanda Barclay.

Aerial view of 2,500 acre Heart for Africa headquarters in Eswatini, Africa. (Source: Heart for Africa Canada)

Through mutual friends, Barclay is organizing Ontario’s first sea container shipment to Heart for Africa from Listowel. Included in this shipment, some new and much needed transportation, two John Deere gators, and a side by side UTV (utility task vehicle).

“Children are brought in between the ages of 0 to 2, and you’re not sure if the kids might have some challenges or disabilities. They try to maneuver the kids around the property of 2,500 acres, and this is when the all terrain vehicle idea came up,” said Barclay.

“We have a tool chest, household stuff, quilts donated by Egg Farmers of Nova Scotia and shipped here. We have backpacks of education equipment from Blanket Ministries. Egg Farmers of Ontario have supported by providing one of the gators,” said Maxwell.

A sea container was loaded with supplies in Listowel, Ont. for Heart for Africa in Eswatini, Africa on June 12, 2023. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

Packed to the roof, the sea container will leave Listowel on Monday, bound for Eswatini. It’s the first of many, Maxwell hopes from Listowel and area.

“We’re starting to amp it up. We’ve been trying to do one container a year. They normally come from British Columbia. This is our first from Ontario, which we are really excited about,” she said.

You can learn more about Heart for Africa by visiting their website. 

A sea container was loaded with supplies in Listowel, Ont. for Heart for Africa in Eswatini, Africa on June 12, 2023. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)