May we all (the children, staff, committee and the McFarlane family) wish you a hearty thankyou for all your wonderful interest, generous support, practical help, advice, encouragement and donations of goods/funds during 2005/6, which has fruitfully assisted in many ways the 33 McCorkindale Orphanage children now residing here. We are hopeful, your wish to make a difference to the lives of these special young people will bring you back regularly in future to McCorkindale Orphanage.

We have been absolutley thrilled with the regularity of your visits & donations, the variety of useful items (large & small), the many ways you have provided assistance and truly appreciate the time, effort and expense you have gone to to get the items to McCorkindale. via post, sea, personal deliveries and all other means.

We must also acknowledge with equal thanks the many local families, businesses, schools and service clubs who have made voluntary donations of foods, furniture, bedding, clothing, electrical items, farm supplies, tools, equipment & items too numerous to mention.

Your support has significantly sped up much needed improvements that were targeted to be achieve under the guidance of the McCorkindale Committee during our (McFarlane family) time here as volunteers from May 2005 to December 2006. Our major brief was to implement sustainable income generation projects by upgrading the water supplies, farm layout, facilities, fencing, equipment, machinery, residential amenities and building new infrastructure( irrigation system, new access tracks, shedding, fences) needed for the projects. Success with these elements (some yet to be completed) has meant intensive irrigated vegetable production for local markets has been commenced & the broiler shed is ready for leasing. A small piggery is functioning for house meat supplies and the sale of excess stock.

The recruitment of three wonderful new house parents to look after the children in their home has brought improvements for them in self esteem, security, diet, health, education and a more positive hopeful outlook.

We, the McFarlane family, are finishing our placement a few months early and will be departing soon back to Australia in time for Jetta and Stuart to commence the 2007 school year late January. The McCorkindale Committee are working on the next management plan and will make this known when decided. We wish the orphanage/farm all the very best success in the future as it deserves with all the hard work and support it receives from the committee and broader community in Swaziland and overseas.

Should you wish to contact us directly about specific projects, plans or any other  issues before we depart, Brett is here till Sunday 7th January and myself here a bit longer to 21st Jan to finalise things etc. You can reach us on cell- brett 6287543/kerryn 6287542, house phone 5505433, or email - mcfarlanes@posix.co.sz

Working and living at McCorkindale amongst the children and with staff has been a truly amazing, rewarding and also a challenging first time placement for us in which we have had the dedicated support of the committee, Manzini Youth Care staff, Rotary and Lions clubs, the Australian Volunteer Family here in Swaziland & the many new friends and colleagues here and abroad. Please know you will always have our appreciation & sincere thanks for the support & assistance of our family in this placement.

We hope our 18 months of volunteer efforts on the farm, in the orphanage and in community liason has helped provide a fresh platform for McCorkindale to continue improving and succeeding in the vital care for ever increasing numbers of beautiful Swazi orphan children in the future as it has for so long in the past with the McCorkindale Sisters.

Please accept our personal thanks for your goodwill and kind gestures during our stay in Swaziland and we extend our sincere good wishes to you all where ever life may lead in the future.Please look us up if you are ever in Australia. Our mailing address is  PO Box 105 Tallygaroopna Victoria Australia 3634.

For future correspondence and contacts regarding enquires, assistance, donations, volunteer placements etc, please see below the email contacts for the Friends of McCorkindale Committee

With Kind Regards & Best Wishes Kerryn & Brett McFarlane & Family Income Generation Officer & Farm Manager

The fantastic people at Real Image Internet have come up trumps and played a blinder!. They have given our worthy cause free website hosting and our own domain name. As you can see, www.mccorkindales.org.sz is now ours - all ours. We would like to thank Ali Resting, Romano and the rest of the team at Real Image Internet for their magnificent gesture of faith and wish them all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.