C-H's travel stories: Swaziland-June 7, 2009 blog

Sanibonani! (Hello, to a group) June 7, 2009
We were going to write about Kruger this week but think we might be going again with another work team (from Nashville) so will save that report for another time. That way we can get all of our pictures organized and tell the whole story then.

We hope you are all well—we think of our friends and family often and hope you are also remembering us. This blog is one way we find that we can feel in connection with all of you. We love the comments some of you have made and if you can’t figure out how to leave comments, you can just email us at: zeldach@yahoo.com--either way works.

The week started out a little bit slow—we had a day off and were able to catch up on some financial stuff and housekeeping matters. We attended another church in the area but this time it was all in English and that was wonderful! The warmth and welcoming of us from the congregation made us feel very much at home. The church is called The International Church and is a more pentecostal church than we are used to but that was OK. There was a band and lots of singing.

Chris returned from taking the Louisiana team to the airport and on Tuesday we went up to the school at Lomngeletjane to talk to the builder John to make sure they were digging the septic tank the correct depth and to do some work around the yard and buildings. Chris is very worried about the fire danger around the school. There is a huge field of dead bushes and grasses just below the school that she hopes one day to build some more school buildings on. Right now there are some guava trees in amongst the weeds and some small pine trees are planted around the perimeter to block the wind. All need water, so we spent the afternoon walking through the tall grass finding the baby trees and marking them. Her hope is to get some of the children who can’t afford the school fees to water the trees in exchange for those fees. She is hoping that the next team that is coming will rent weedwackers and cut down the tall grasses. It is a huge fire danger and she is becoming more worried as each warm day passes and the winds on the hill at the school continue to blow.

On Thursday Jeri joined Chris and some of the Manyano (Methodist women who volunteer to go out into the community and help) go up to one of the Methodist schools where they help some of the children with HIV. They pay for the transport of these children to go to the clinic to get their free ARV’s (medicine to prevent getting full blown AIDS). They need to check on this periodically to make sure the money is actually being used and to touch base with children and see how they are doing. Much of the conversation was is SiSwati but she got the gist of it. Mainly we just sat and watched with a full heart, these sweet young children come in to talk with the Manyanos. Most of these children who came in looked fairly healthy. One little girl was very ill and has had ear infections for so long she can no longer hear. Jeri was very affected by this little one. The girl could hardly stand and had to keep squatting down. When she came in she greeted Chris with a handshake and then Jeri reached out her hand and the little girl responded back. It was decided to send her to the clinic right away as she is not getting any better.

After this, the Manyanos had a private meeting with one of the mother from the school and Chris felt they could talk more openly if we waited outside. More picture time for us with all the children gathering around looking at us curiously. Whenever we bring a camera out they stand still and smile—we can’t ever get them in a moment of spontaneity. They know what a camera is and think they must pose and of course, want to see themselves in the display.

Jeri wanted to share a little bit about the mom who met with the Manyanos. Some of you might remember a young boy, Mthokoziso, we have talked about who was taking care of his three sisters way out in the country. His parents had both abandoned them and they were all alone. Eventually Chris did find out the father was living close by and coming once in a while to visit the children. Not until recently did they find out the mother was also living in the area. These children had no food, no water, and their ‘home’ was a mud hut. During the rains this hut collapsed and the children were living under a tarp. Chris had been helping them for several months and the neighbors were angry that these children were getting food so they began stealing from the children and also putting up fences and gates to block their way from the road to where they lived. Chris finally had to step back, because she felt her presence was making the community angrier. Chris also found out the father was coming and taking some of the few items of food she had given to the children. He also took the tarp the children were using as a shelter from the rain and cold. Isn’t this about the saddest thing you have ever heard? There is a community health worker who has also been helping and she was able to find the mother and bring her in to the school to find out what happened and why she abandoned her children. It seems this was a very abusive relationship and the father was constantly bringing out the machete and large knife and threatening her life. She felt she had no other alternative but to leave. She is living on her parents homestead. She would really like to be back with the children but is too afraid of the husband. The hope is that she can bring the children to live with her and her parents. Of course, in the US we would sweep in, put the children in foster homes and maybe prosecute the parents for abandonment. Things are done very slowly and differently here in Swaziland. There is a chief of the village who actually has a say in what happens to the families in his chiefdom. There is a lot of talk that has to go on before action is taken.

Jeri never saw the three sisters but after the visit to the primary school they went up to the high school where this young boy is attending. When we first heard this story we thought he was nine years old and caring for his sisters, but later found out he is 14. He came out and Jeri fell in love with him almost immediately. A shy, slight young boy with the most engaging smile. He greeted each of the women very warmly and one of the women, who is quite large, gathered him into her wide arms and just loved on him for a bit. That is what Chris calls it when the Manyano women go out into the community—they ‘love on’ the children.
The Swazi greeting is very warm and such a sign of respect. They reach out their hand, with the other hand holding their elbow—then they do what we in the US would almost call a secret handshake—they shake, then grab the thumb, squeeze and then shake hand again. This feels like they are welcoming us into their lives. We love it and will show you all when we get back. The women talked to Mthokoziso, for a bit and decided to come back next week to talk to his teachers and see how he is doing in school. He is one of the children being sponsored in school by the Methodist Church.

On the way back, Jeri almost started a riot of the fruit and vegetables sellers. We were waiting (which is what we do a lot here) for someone and she saw a unique setting and a Kodak moment, snapped a picture, the flash went off, and the women began screaming at the car and picking up fruit as if to let it sail through the air to the car. Eventually they screamed themselves out and calm reigned again. The car was so far away that Jeri thought they wouldn’t care—but she was wrong! Chris said some people hate to have tourists take their picture and some tourists made promises they never kept, so there is a bad feeling about picture taking.

This is becoming a very long blog but we just had to tell you about an event that happened on Friday, June 5. We went up to the school to do some work and build a cabinet for the preschool. We had seen the children as school ended, cleaning the yard, washing the sidewalks, and some were burning some trash, with an older teacher’s supervision. We were up the hill at the preschool, just finishing up and Chris said that there seemed to be a lot more smoke from the trash fire and maybe we should go down and check it out. When we came over the rise of the hill, all of Chris’s worst fears were realized--the field in front of the school was all ablaze! Flames were shooting up and the grasses were bursting into flames. Very fast moving and VERY scary. There was the older man teacher, and two young boys using brush to beat the fire out and they were not succeeding. We immediately ran to the workers who were still digging the septic hole and they came running down the hill. One young man grabbed a hose attached to the water tank and ran into the fire putting out the most fearsome flames that were heading toward the neighbors field and home. We grabbed whatever we could—liter coke bottles, small bucket (with hole in it) and began running along the perimeter to put out the fires coming near to the school. The workers were using the brush to beat it all down. Finally after what seemed like hours (but was only about 20 minute), the flames were put out. We feel like we should have been listening closer to Damon, our firefighter son, when he has talked about fires and their behavior. We were all just running around trying to figure out what to do with little water readily available and it felt hopeless. It was actually the beating of the fire down that seemed to work best. A coke bottle really doesn’t work!

After we had made sure it was out, we were leaving and the young man (Wandile), who had used the hose and had run into the fire several times was sitting on the porch looking very ill. He said he could hardly breathe and it was very painful. We realized we needed to get him to the hospital so we brought the car down and we raced down the bumpy dirt roads to the nearest hospital. This was a very different experience—suffice it to say lines were long, there was much moving from room to room, but people were very patient and quiet, just waiting their turn. It is a huge hospital and the one the children come to for their free ARV medication for AIDS. The young man, Wandile got a shot and some medication and two hours later we were out and ready to take him back up the hill (about 15-20 kilometers) to his home. He looked much better by then and was even talking. Gary took him home and Chris and I went off to do some errands. He asked Gary in the car on the way home “how do I become successful?” This turned into a whole discussion of where we live and now he wants to come to CA and work for a contractor! Chris said this is unusual for a young person to be concerned about making a success of their live here in Swaziland. She did say it is not unusual for a young person to want to come to the US. There is so little opportunity and the schools don’t really promote this. She knows of a contractor here in town and she is going to tell him about this young man who so desires to be successful and hopefully we can make a difference in his life. He is in his twenties and could actually go back to school if he wanted and had the funds. He did complete high school so that is a real plus.

Well this is probably enough for this blog. We hope you all enjoy sharing in our adventures in Swaziland!

Blessings to all,
Gary & Jeri

PS Jeri just had to include in the pictures, the sweet young woman, Adelaide (Jr) who is the granddaughter of Adelaide (the grandmother we share a place with) and her daughter--Novello