SWAZILAND—WHERE CHANGE HAPPENS ( FOR US) !!!
We have really come to love and appreciate all the good things about Swaziland, the people, the hospitality, the culture, the geographic beauty…. the fabric of life and the quality of life, especially in light of the trying times that folks here face with the HIV/AIDS Pandemic swirling about us….
All that said, there really are, for Gail and me….…..two very different Swazilands.
One place is the rural areas, where 70% of Swaziland’s population still live-- on family homesteads, and existing by subsistence farming, and where women/ girls still carry water from streams for all household use, and carry wood from forests to build fires with which to cook. And boys and young men still herd cattle, often instead of attending school. It is our perception that life has been like this for many, many years….and really not much change takes place. In fact, usually when we go back to see friends living on homesteads, and we ask about “what’s new”….the most common answer we get is “nothing has changed”, “nothing new”.
The Swaziland where Gail and I live, and work is most definitely not the place described above. Every day things change. A lot. And for the better. New arrivals. Education Centers being built. Children learning skills like sewing. Sometimes in the swirl of our work day, we do not appreciate or even notice the change….but it is real, and good, and a big part of our life.
Two happenings just last week highlight this change we experience:
1) Last week we installed SOLAR GEYSERS !! FIVE !! We are “off the grid” for hot water !! Now this would be a big deal, in the USA, but really remarkable that we had to travel 11,000 miles—to Africa—to “go solar”. Here is the deal. In Africa, hot water heaters are called “geysers”—pronounced “geezers”( as in some people think I am an “old geezer”). And the vast majority of people do not piped water, let alone hot water geysers. And the geysers that are installed, are almost always installed, on the exterior walls of a house—on the outsides…and are electric. They pretty much look like hot water heaters as we know them in the USA, but are shiny, like stainless steel, and not white….being electric, they are pretty expensive to operate, and electric costs here are increasing dramatically. So, to make a long story short…last week a crew arrived, with all the frames, parts, housings, tubes, etc….to install solar geysers. It is really a great idea as we get plenty of sun, and the solar geysers will get water MUCH hotter than traditional, and can keep the water hot, for days, and use the renewable energy source of the sun, and save on electric costs. Pretty cool, we think.
2) On Friday last week ( the 18th) an earth leveler, (bulldozer ?) showed up and leveled the land for a third home to be built, on the grounds here at Pasture Valley. Most of you reading this know that the children are housed in two homes—David’s House, and Stella’s House. We have been at capacity since our arrival in August. Yet still we have taken in two additional children. And as you might imagine, the need is great and there is constant communication from Swazi authorities re: placement of additional children….and now it has happened. Ground being leveled, prepared to build additional capacity. When all the dust settles, it means more kids, and more to do, and more work…..but it is truly GOOD WORK, and NEEDING TO BE DONE, and we are ALL UP FOR doing it.
So as you read above….the Swaziland we call home, is most definitely not the place where……….”nothing ever changes”… and when friends ask us “what’s new”…..we always have an earful to bore them with……..and it is all good. Seems our existence here is a nice analogy for life….each of us is either standing still……or moving forward. And for now at least, Gail and I are quite happy—though sometimes tired --to be very much in a moving forward place…..
That’s all for now, Sala Gahle ( Stay Well !).
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
BEST BIRTHDAY EVER !!!
Hi everyone,
Greetings from warm, sunny Swaziland. We’re just ending our summer, and most people here can’t believe that summers in the Midwest are much hotter and more humid than here. That said, we are in the highlands and have much cooler temps than the volunteers who are in the lowlands to the east. We hear the weather’s broken for most of you, so enjoy the spring.
Last week I was invited to visit the newly formed preschool in which I had a part in the teacher training. They meet in a church and are the only preschool in that community. They already have 15 children attending, and I hear, more are wishing to attend. The 2 teachers have done a fabulous job of doing a lot with very few resources. The kids are thriving and learning, not just their abc’s, but the basics of following directions, taking turns, etc. Best of all, the teacher is introducing traditional stories and folklore. Since many of these children are from single parent households, or have a father working in South Africa, that cultural heritage isn’t getting passed on. I gave them a dental health talk and passed out toothbrushes. Sadly, quite a few had visible decay. They all bring sweet drinks for their lunch, so I bet that is probably a big factor.
On Friday, a large preschool from our town came out to the Pasture Valley farm for a field trip. We were expecting about 80 children, but 130 arrived! Luckily we had 4 adults to divide the kids between-32 per adult leader !- and we rotated them to 5 stations: calves & timber; milking dairy; plant nursery; rabbits and chickens; childrens homes. I’m not sure they got too much out of the talks, but then they went into the Education Center for lunch. There we sang some Christian songs and they heard a Bible lesson on creation. They were here for about 2 hrs., but we were all ready for them to go. I’m grateful that my preschool class is so small. I doubt if I could manage a class of 30 children as this school does. Oh, my.
This was my birthday weekend, and I had a wonderful celebration. On Saturday the children gave me a party, complete with homemade cards, lots of hugs and a cake. We always clap for each year, so yes, they clapped 59 times! Most of the kids are surprised that I can do as much as I do, because in their eyes, 59 is VERY old. One of the best gifts was 2 giant mangoes – bigger than I’ve ever seen – and they were delicious. I’ll have to admit, I did not offer to share them with the kids. I hardly wanted to share with Mike.
And over Saturday and Sunday I got phone calls from both of my sisters, and all four of our children, so thanks very much to Alice, Helen, Mary, Dana, Ellen and Troy…When we say it is great to hear your voice, we truly mean, “it is great to hear your voice”. Thanks much for calling.
Then, Peter & Michelle hosted a lovely braii (cookout) for me on Sunday afternoon, and invited her parents who live on a nearby farm. To my surprise, Michelle’s mother baked me a cake and brought me preserved peaches, home pressed macadamia nut oil AND gave me 3 lovely pots that she had made. (she makes lovely pottery). I was overwhelmed. It was a delightful afternoon. It’s certainly not the typical Peace Corps experience.
We’re still having a learning curve on the rabbit and chicken care. The kids are divided into teams of 3 each – and each team has 1 day in the week to feed and water the animals. We were having a bit of a compliance problem, so mean old Aunty Gail decided we’d have to get tough – the animals must be properly fed & watered each day for a week, and then they get to watch a movie. Even if they miss 1 day, no movie. Last week they finally got it right, and we showed them The Wizard of Oz. They loved it, but are still not fully believing that the Munchkins are real, adult people. Yes, the movie night is a big deal, since they don’t have television on the farm (it’s available, but not really too much to watch). It’s bringing back memories of when Mike pulled the plug on our television for the summers our kids were growing up.
Time to go tutor my 2nd graders. I’m determined to get them to learn their basic math facts, esp. since we see the older ones still counting on their fingers. It’s an uphill battle since the schools don’t enforce it. The same with reading – they learn by rote, and not by phonetics. I’ll let you know how we do in the future. So far, I’m resorting to tests on Friday, with treats as an incentive for doing well.
Blessings, Gail
PS From Mike. Managed to get on my phone Monday a.m. and see the NCAA brackets. At least I know who is playing who, and when. No coverage whatsoever, here, not on TV, radio, newpapers, etc. Nada. Truth is, this is first sporting event I am really gonna miss. No real way to follow March Madness…so I will likely just jump on the web—on my phone—every couple days, to see who is advancing. I have been able to write up the brackets manually….and think Ohio State plays the 18th—Friday—in Cleveland. And if I got my facts correct, Carolina, and Kentucky are in that region. Should be interesting.
Greetings from warm, sunny Swaziland. We’re just ending our summer, and most people here can’t believe that summers in the Midwest are much hotter and more humid than here. That said, we are in the highlands and have much cooler temps than the volunteers who are in the lowlands to the east. We hear the weather’s broken for most of you, so enjoy the spring.
Last week I was invited to visit the newly formed preschool in which I had a part in the teacher training. They meet in a church and are the only preschool in that community. They already have 15 children attending, and I hear, more are wishing to attend. The 2 teachers have done a fabulous job of doing a lot with very few resources. The kids are thriving and learning, not just their abc’s, but the basics of following directions, taking turns, etc. Best of all, the teacher is introducing traditional stories and folklore. Since many of these children are from single parent households, or have a father working in South Africa, that cultural heritage isn’t getting passed on. I gave them a dental health talk and passed out toothbrushes. Sadly, quite a few had visible decay. They all bring sweet drinks for their lunch, so I bet that is probably a big factor.
On Friday, a large preschool from our town came out to the Pasture Valley farm for a field trip. We were expecting about 80 children, but 130 arrived! Luckily we had 4 adults to divide the kids between-32 per adult leader !- and we rotated them to 5 stations: calves & timber; milking dairy; plant nursery; rabbits and chickens; childrens homes. I’m not sure they got too much out of the talks, but then they went into the Education Center for lunch. There we sang some Christian songs and they heard a Bible lesson on creation. They were here for about 2 hrs., but we were all ready for them to go. I’m grateful that my preschool class is so small. I doubt if I could manage a class of 30 children as this school does. Oh, my.
This was my birthday weekend, and I had a wonderful celebration. On Saturday the children gave me a party, complete with homemade cards, lots of hugs and a cake. We always clap for each year, so yes, they clapped 59 times! Most of the kids are surprised that I can do as much as I do, because in their eyes, 59 is VERY old. One of the best gifts was 2 giant mangoes – bigger than I’ve ever seen – and they were delicious. I’ll have to admit, I did not offer to share them with the kids. I hardly wanted to share with Mike.
And over Saturday and Sunday I got phone calls from both of my sisters, and all four of our children, so thanks very much to Alice, Helen, Mary, Dana, Ellen and Troy…When we say it is great to hear your voice, we truly mean, “it is great to hear your voice”. Thanks much for calling.
Then, Peter & Michelle hosted a lovely braii (cookout) for me on Sunday afternoon, and invited her parents who live on a nearby farm. To my surprise, Michelle’s mother baked me a cake and brought me preserved peaches, home pressed macadamia nut oil AND gave me 3 lovely pots that she had made. (she makes lovely pottery). I was overwhelmed. It was a delightful afternoon. It’s certainly not the typical Peace Corps experience.
We’re still having a learning curve on the rabbit and chicken care. The kids are divided into teams of 3 each – and each team has 1 day in the week to feed and water the animals. We were having a bit of a compliance problem, so mean old Aunty Gail decided we’d have to get tough – the animals must be properly fed & watered each day for a week, and then they get to watch a movie. Even if they miss 1 day, no movie. Last week they finally got it right, and we showed them The Wizard of Oz. They loved it, but are still not fully believing that the Munchkins are real, adult people. Yes, the movie night is a big deal, since they don’t have television on the farm (it’s available, but not really too much to watch). It’s bringing back memories of when Mike pulled the plug on our television for the summers our kids were growing up.
Time to go tutor my 2nd graders. I’m determined to get them to learn their basic math facts, esp. since we see the older ones still counting on their fingers. It’s an uphill battle since the schools don’t enforce it. The same with reading – they learn by rote, and not by phonetics. I’ll let you know how we do in the future. So far, I’m resorting to tests on Friday, with treats as an incentive for doing well.
Blessings, Gail
PS From Mike. Managed to get on my phone Monday a.m. and see the NCAA brackets. At least I know who is playing who, and when. No coverage whatsoever, here, not on TV, radio, newpapers, etc. Nada. Truth is, this is first sporting event I am really gonna miss. No real way to follow March Madness…so I will likely just jump on the web—on my phone—every couple days, to see who is advancing. I have been able to write up the brackets manually….and think Ohio State plays the 18th—Friday—in Cleveland. And if I got my facts correct, Carolina, and Kentucky are in that region. Should be interesting.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
MORE NEWS FROM THE SWAZ
Hi Everyone,
Last week we said farewell to Jen, the peace corps volunteer who extended her time here in Swaziland so that she could work with an income-generating business model for two groups of home-based caregivers in our region. These individuals do a phenomenal job of delivering care to those who are unable to get to the local clinic. They truly are the hands and feet for the underserved rural population. Unfortunately, they are paid a minimal amount—about $1.50 USD daily, hence the need for supplemental income. In just 6 mos., Jen has one group making various forms of necklaces and earrings out of recycled materials, and another group making primarily earrings, and sewing various bags & purses. Their work is creative and the quality keeps on improving. Now that Jen has departed, I agreed to help with the monthly visits to these groups to advise, and purchase items they have made. Mike handles the marketing side of the business. I went to my first meeting last week. Since the access roads to our farm are unsafe for single females to walk on, I had to catch a ride to town at 6:30, and then later catch a bus to the community for the 10:00 meeting. Although I had been there before & Jen assured them that I would continue what she had started, I’m sure there was some skepticism. Three ladies brought items for me to review: One woman wanted to show me her partially completed work for approval; the other two women had nicely made items to sell to me. I also brought a large bag of off-cuts of fabric from a nearby garment factory and showed those who sew a new purse pattern. The turnout for the meeting was large – 21; so hopefully my future visits will result in more products to market.
Mike and I traveled to the peace corps office for Jen’s official “ringing out”. The staff and volunteers who come can all gather to thank the departing volunteer and wish them well for the future. After that, Jen and I planned a small trip together to visit a children’s home in the north we both wanted to see. First, I traveled to our training homestead to visit and to bring them the items we’d brought from the US. Thankfully, everything fit and was well received. The kids had a great time with wiffle balls and matchbox cars. The next morning I met Jen for our trip to Bulembu Children’s home. The site is rather unique: it was a working asbestos mine—the second largest in the world-- and adjacent town that was abandoned in 2001. When the asbestos problems came to light the town went from a thriving population of about 12,000 to about 100…almost overnite. A few years after that, 2 mission-minded businessmen bought the town, all the property, all the buildings with the idea of converting all into a childrens home/ tourist attraction. And that is what they have done. There were already many existing structures that could be revamped to meet their needs, which greatly reduced the start up costs. Unfortunately, the needs keep increasing for safe housing and care for the growing number of orphans and vulnerable children. They now care for 280 children, and have plans to increase that to 1,000 at that site. They have incorporated some working businesses into the town – so far a dairy and bakery, hoping to reduce the need for ongoing donations and to make it somewhat self-sustaining in the future. Because of the numbers, they have separate buildings for infants and toddlers; a big preschool; a primary school and plans to build a high school. We got a tour from one of the volunteer leaders whom I’d met at a previous conference. It is remarkably well run, but the scale of things is a bit overwhelming to take in. The kids live in groups of 6 – 8 with a resident caregiver at each dwelling. They are now actively working on how to transition the older children into semi-emancipation and eventually to independence. It makes our work here at the farm seem quite manageable.
Back on the farm, we’ve all been kept busy caring for our newest addition: 2 yr. Old Melusi. He was quite delayed in development, so it’s been fun watching him catch up. He comes to the preschool with me most mornings, and enjoys all the commotion there. We’re concerned that he isn’t making any progress in speech, but he certainly makes his desires known. It’s good that he has a strong will – he’ll need it in the future.
We’ve got 1 teenage girl here who is going through some emotional issues which look like a form of depression to me. Unfortunately, there’s limited resources to tap into for psychological care here. So far she is responding to some counseling from our pastor, but I worry that we’re going to have more storms before the sky clears for her. Please keep her in your prayers. Gotta go tutor.
Bye for now. Gail
Last week we said farewell to Jen, the peace corps volunteer who extended her time here in Swaziland so that she could work with an income-generating business model for two groups of home-based caregivers in our region. These individuals do a phenomenal job of delivering care to those who are unable to get to the local clinic. They truly are the hands and feet for the underserved rural population. Unfortunately, they are paid a minimal amount—about $1.50 USD daily, hence the need for supplemental income. In just 6 mos., Jen has one group making various forms of necklaces and earrings out of recycled materials, and another group making primarily earrings, and sewing various bags & purses. Their work is creative and the quality keeps on improving. Now that Jen has departed, I agreed to help with the monthly visits to these groups to advise, and purchase items they have made. Mike handles the marketing side of the business. I went to my first meeting last week. Since the access roads to our farm are unsafe for single females to walk on, I had to catch a ride to town at 6:30, and then later catch a bus to the community for the 10:00 meeting. Although I had been there before & Jen assured them that I would continue what she had started, I’m sure there was some skepticism. Three ladies brought items for me to review: One woman wanted to show me her partially completed work for approval; the other two women had nicely made items to sell to me. I also brought a large bag of off-cuts of fabric from a nearby garment factory and showed those who sew a new purse pattern. The turnout for the meeting was large – 21; so hopefully my future visits will result in more products to market.
Mike and I traveled to the peace corps office for Jen’s official “ringing out”. The staff and volunteers who come can all gather to thank the departing volunteer and wish them well for the future. After that, Jen and I planned a small trip together to visit a children’s home in the north we both wanted to see. First, I traveled to our training homestead to visit and to bring them the items we’d brought from the US. Thankfully, everything fit and was well received. The kids had a great time with wiffle balls and matchbox cars. The next morning I met Jen for our trip to Bulembu Children’s home. The site is rather unique: it was a working asbestos mine—the second largest in the world-- and adjacent town that was abandoned in 2001. When the asbestos problems came to light the town went from a thriving population of about 12,000 to about 100…almost overnite. A few years after that, 2 mission-minded businessmen bought the town, all the property, all the buildings with the idea of converting all into a childrens home/ tourist attraction. And that is what they have done. There were already many existing structures that could be revamped to meet their needs, which greatly reduced the start up costs. Unfortunately, the needs keep increasing for safe housing and care for the growing number of orphans and vulnerable children. They now care for 280 children, and have plans to increase that to 1,000 at that site. They have incorporated some working businesses into the town – so far a dairy and bakery, hoping to reduce the need for ongoing donations and to make it somewhat self-sustaining in the future. Because of the numbers, they have separate buildings for infants and toddlers; a big preschool; a primary school and plans to build a high school. We got a tour from one of the volunteer leaders whom I’d met at a previous conference. It is remarkably well run, but the scale of things is a bit overwhelming to take in. The kids live in groups of 6 – 8 with a resident caregiver at each dwelling. They are now actively working on how to transition the older children into semi-emancipation and eventually to independence. It makes our work here at the farm seem quite manageable.
Back on the farm, we’ve all been kept busy caring for our newest addition: 2 yr. Old Melusi. He was quite delayed in development, so it’s been fun watching him catch up. He comes to the preschool with me most mornings, and enjoys all the commotion there. We’re concerned that he isn’t making any progress in speech, but he certainly makes his desires known. It’s good that he has a strong will – he’ll need it in the future.
We’ve got 1 teenage girl here who is going through some emotional issues which look like a form of depression to me. Unfortunately, there’s limited resources to tap into for psychological care here. So far she is responding to some counseling from our pastor, but I worry that we’re going to have more storms before the sky clears for her. Please keep her in your prayers. Gotta go tutor.
Bye for now. Gail
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