The Lighthouse expanded its work into Bulembu in 2007. Our reason for going into Bulembu was the recognition that the little town offered already existing facilities, which provided units already built for homes and a life skills school. The units required relatively limited funding to bring them to a habitable level. In order to provide a similar type of structure anywhere else we would have to spend at least 200 British Pounds sterling/500 U.S. dollars per metre squared at a minimun or E200 000.00 total per unit(being 20 000 pounds sterling or 30 000 us dollars).

Aside from the availability of housing for homes, the town has an infrastructure which includes three schools and a clinic. The location of the schools are absolutely imperative for us in the work we do. Currently, we find it very difficult to get places for the children referred to us by the ministry of health in regular goverment schools. Added to that, our children are joining us from very traumatic backgrounds and need special attention in order to deal with their past. Their understanding of authority is normally very dysfunctional; their concentration ability has been negatively affected and their age is normally higher than the average age of the class. If they do not get the special attention they deserve and need, they are at risk of falling into the trap of being lulled into the peer pressure groups that exist in every facility around the world. They may try to fit in with the rebellious crowd or, sometimes even harder to deal with, demonstrate passive rebellion. Bulembu provides an infrastructure more specific to the children's school going needs and a greater commitment to communication between school and parents.

The location of the school also allows those children who are sick, to not have to pull out of school as some of the children have had to do at Hawane. The children walk to school. The current walk to school varies from six to twelve kilomtres. When the children suffer pneumonia, TB or other opportunistic infections, this walk is just too much. As a result we have had to pull them out of school and start up our own home school. Home school is just not the same for the children. Being pulled out of school is like the end of the world for them. Its a very traumatic time. The children love school. They love mixing in with the community. It's important for them to fit in with the others. Bulembu does this like no where else in Swaziland.

Additional to this, we have a new enviromental impact law which has some real teeth. It's great for the nation but has limited us as far as how much further we can expand on Hawane, without being blocked by the law. We are currently awaiting permission from an impact study, but are very aware that we may now have to stop developing Hawane. We have been told to stop as of now, so expansion has moved to a new location--Bulembu.