Swaziland

August 2nd, 2011    Posted in Latest News

Jay-key said goodbye to Jo’burg and Jacquie said hello to Swaziland. I last visited Swaziland in 1994, seventeen years ago. At the time I was living in Mozambique and Swaziland was a convenient weekend destination. On the short drive between airport and hotel I could see that very little had changed. Swaziland is a beautiful, largely rural country with a slower pace of life than its powerful neighbour South Africa.  Manzini was just as I remembered it – a sleepy little town with dusty streets. A small commercial hub. Tradition meets twenty-first century here. Men and women in tribal dress mingle with people in Western clothes. I recalled seeing a man in tribal dress pull out a credit card on my first visit to Swaziland. I nearly fainted.

Manzini was not as cold as Jo’burg and the landscape was significantly greener. Once again I found myself in a ground floor room with exactly the same furniture as the last hotel. I’m guessing this style was popular in the region back in the 1970’s. I traded in the bed ants for a giant black cricket that stubbornly refused to leave. Fair enough, I was the one intruding on his space.

Soon after I checked in, an employee from SWAPOL (Swaziland for Positive Living) arrived to escort me to their offices. SWAPOL was co-founded by its current Director, Siphiwe Hlophe, who is also a director of Positive Women. SWAPOL is Positive Women’s local partner – Positive Women provide funds and guidance; SWAPOL executes the programmes.

I spent most of my first day in Manzini interviewing the staff, starting with Siphiwe Hlophe. If you have never heard of this woman, I urge you to Google her NOW. Her life story is an incredible tale of courage and determination in the face of insurmountable odds. I felt so honoured to meet her. Not ashamed to say I teared up in her office – imagine being diagnosed HIV positive in your prime and instead of accepting that as a death sentence you become an advocate for women’s rights and child welfare. I could have talked to her all day.

Siphiwe spoke eloquently and passionately about SWAPOL, Positive Women and the personal journey which led her to create these organisations. Siphiwe travels constantly – risking her own health – to speak out for those who do not have a voice. She has devoted her life to improving the lives of Swazis affected by HIV/AIDS and TB.

With modest offices, a shoestring budget, and a small staff of fourteen persons, SWAPOL is doing amazing work. SWAPOL’s mandate is to improve the quality of life for persons affected by HIV/AIDS and TB. They do this through advocacy, women’s self-help programmes, neighbourhood care points for orphans, and mobile clinics.

Swaziland is a tribal kingdom with all aspects of the country controlled directly or indirectly by the King. The country is in economic crisis with depressing HIV/AIDS and TB statistics. Swazis are very traditional and society takes the lead from the King, who has thirteen wives. It is common for men in Swaziland to have more than one wife and several girlfriends.

SWAPOL’s major source of income (over 70%) is the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria but they have received no funding from the agency since January this year. The staff painted a grim picture of meagre resources, battles with the Swazi Government, and constant dialogue with community leaders. Njabuliso the Advocacy Officer spoke to me of the nationwide shortage of antiretroviral drugs and the challenges of convincing communities to change their life style in a country where 80% of the population consult tradition healers.

Despite the challenges the young staff are dedicated, forward looking and committed to the cause. Njabuliso said to me: “I had heard about it, but couldn’t believe it until I saw it that sometimes the head of the family is 13 years old. You get to appreciate your life. You see things differently.”

I spent a long time talking to the Coordinator Cebile whose job is to monitor the projects and supervise staff. One of the biggest challenges an organisation like SWAPOL faces is hanging on to technical staff. Swaziland’s worsening economic crisis has resulted in a brain drain. Qualified persons join SWAPOL to work on a particular project and often leave when the project is completed. There is also the ticklish subject of staff compensation. SWAPOL recently had to cut salaries by 25% percent. The financial squeeze is compounded when some donor agencies don’t want to pay operating costs such as staff salaries and fuel for transport. Despite the challenges Cebile is passionate about her job:” I love my work. It really makes you appreciate what you have”.

By the time I left SWAPOL’s offices I was ready to sell my house and move to Manzini. Emotionally I was all over the place – sad, elated, impatient and helpless. How could my small scale fundraising make a difference? These people need worldwide support and government intervention.

The next day I travelled 80+ km south east to Mbangave with Cebile and Esau Kunene, SWAPOL’s Agricultural Officer. Heavy snow in the Cape meant freezing rain in Swaziland. It was a cold wet day and terrible weather to be driving in. Few houses interrupted the sparse landscape. Occasionally we would spot a traditional round thatched hut or a modern dwelling. Cows and goats tugged at the rough grass.

Two thirds of the residents of Mbangave live below the poverty line. We stopped at a Neighbourhood Care Point (NCP), one of 100 such centres around the country. The NCPs are day care centres and schools for orphaned children. Typically an NCP will accommodate 20 to 60 children per day, aged infant to 10 years old, and is staffed by two teachers and four helpers. Some NCPs are also the sites for Mobile Community clinics. On scheduled days a nurse will visit the NCP to see patients, give counselling, make referrals, and administer drugs.

The NCP we visited usually has 37 children but because of the weather, only 11 children (aged 3 – 6) were present that day. I met the teacher/caregiver and her helper. The NCP was a simple unpainted one room block structure with a dirt floor. Inside there was a small fire and the children sat on planks of wood.  The classroom was a similar but smaller structure.

The children were shy at first bit they soon livened up when I showed them the pictures I took of them with my digital camera. I could not get over how polite they were. When it was time for lunch they said grace together then lined up orderly to wash their hands and partake of the porridge which the helper cooked on the fire. I can’t even get my kids to eat vegetables.

I could not tear myself away from the children. Long after Esau, Cebile and the driver had returned to the truck I remained chatting with the kids. They were so pleased to have visitors and wanted to tell me all about themselves. Incredulously some of the children live alone. Can you imagine it? A six year old. Living ALONE.

This will soon loony but….a couple of times in my life I have felt God speaking directly to me. On this day I heard him say “You have to work at one of these centres. And bring your children with you”. I don’t know how or when, but I know I must do it.

Reluctantly I tore myself away from the children and allowed the caregiver to show me her tiny classroom. For the umpteenth time this trip I thought of how much we take for granted.  My twelve year old can’t last a day without the PS3.

We travelled on to SWAPOL’s vegetable garden. This is a six hectare plot of land where women grow vegetables for sale. SWAPOL provides the seedlings and women grow cabbage, beans, spinach, tomatoes, pumpkin, squash, onions and corn. The money raised from the vegetable garden goes towards school fees. This is also where our donations go. Swaziland does not have free education. (Incidentally, my current fundraising total is £1353).

Because of the weather I was unable to visit a self help project where women produce peanut butter to sell to their community. The women decide what business they want to do and SWAPOL provides the seed money to get them started.

The next day was my last in Swaziland. I checked out of the hotel and walked over to SWAPOL to say goodbye. Hugs all round. It was such a pleasure spending a few days with them I don’t know what they were thanking me for. I will continue to raise funds and support Positive Women in any way I can. I’m not trying to be a heroine. I just know this is the right thing to do.

Want to donate? Click here:

http://www.everydayhero.co.uk/hero_pages/view_posts/jacqueline_yorkewestcott

Want more info? Click here: http://positivewomen.org/

 

Post Script

The journey back to Trinidad was uneventful. A Philadelphian teenage boys’ choir, some 70+ strong, were on the flight from Jo’burg to New York. They serenaded us at the departure gate and on the plane. Impressive! I’m already missing Nederburg wine and Isidingo.

 

I arrived home weary, happy and content. Happy to be back in my comfort zone. More than anything else I was grateful. Grateful for the excellent work experience I had in S Africa, the perspective I gained from SWAPOL and the opportunity to have made a difference, albeit a small one. I am so thankful for the path God has chosen for me. I may be unsteady on my feet sometimes, but I intend to keep on walking.