Welcome Home to Swaziland!
This month I returned to Swaziland, the place where my southern Africa adventure began exactly a year ago. I stayed at the SOS Children’s Village in Mbabane, Swaziland, for my first two months in the region, and the Village became a home away from home for me.
The Mbabane Village is a cheerful setting to return to, which is nestled in the green Swazi hills. The SOS family houses are surrounded by flowerbeds, which are lovingly cared for by one of the SOS Mothers and her children. I was greeted by a warm round of “welcome home” and bear hugs from the SOS mothers and staff. I noticed a few changes around the Village since I was last there. Many of the children were a few centimetres taller and there were some new little faces too – children who had recently been placed in the care of SOS. I was pleased to find that most of my little friends remembered my name and were happy to see me back. However, one little boy was confused about exactly where he knew me from. “You,” he said, “I know you!” “Yes,” I said, “you do.” “I’ve seen you on TV – kung-fu fighting!” This didn’t surprise me much though, considering the last time I had played with him he was also convinced that I was someone out of a kung-fu film he had watched. “Show me your power!” he had commanded (he had a very good grasp of the English language for a four year-old).
The most significant changes I observed were actually in the work that SOS Swaziland has been doing with the local communities around the Village. The family strengthening program, which works with vulnerable families in the community, many of whom are affected by HIV/AIDS, had made a lot of progress with its various projects to support these families. During my last visit to Swaziland (April 2004), the program had begun a community food garden for program beneficiaries from the local area. The purpose of the garden is to enable vulnerable families to meet their nutritional and dietary needs, and to generate income from the sale of produce. Families are expected to work in the garden to grow food for themselves. A plot was donated by the community to SOS for this purpose. However, the plot itself posed quite a challenge for SOS staff and the families in terms of being able to convert it into viable land for growing fruit and vegetables. It was completely overgrown with small trees, shrubs and weeds; the ground itself was uneven and full of rocks and roots. It took many months of hard work to clear the foliage, level the ground, and rid the soil of the rubble. This time, I found that the plot was finally ready to be planted, and I look forward to seeing the “fruits” of labour the next time I visit.
Another initiative that is being lunched is a literacy project, which will provide children who don’t have the opportunity to attend regular school with basic literary skills. Many of these children are affected by HIV/AIDS, and have parents who are ill, deceased, or simply too impoverished meet their children’s educational needs. School is not free in Swaziland, which places an incredible burden on poor families to come up with the money for school fees and mandatory school uniforms. The program will aim to eventually integrate the children into regular school where possible, with financial support from SOS. Previously, the program had only been run out of the SOS Village in Mbabane, but it is now expanding to several new locations that will be directly located in the communities which the program will serve. SOS is partnering with two other organizations that are funding the construction of basic structures to house the classes. Construction is already underway.
My most memorable moment of the trip was when we made a very visit to a literacy class that was being run by a woman from the community, without any outside help. The woman, whose name is Thantazile, saw there was an overwhelming need for such a service in her community and took it upon herself to teach basic literacy classes from her home to 60 needy children – free of charge. In order to have enough space for the classes, she also has to rent the building next to her home, which she pays for out of her own pocket. Still, the space is tiny, with all the children crammed into small, dark, dank rooms where they sit on the floor. Seeing the children trying to learn under these conditions, really tugged at my heart strings. In Swaziland, the heavy rains make it almost impossible to hold classes out of doors. In addition to her literacy work, Thantazile also cares for 6 orphans who she has taken into her home. It’s truly amazing how much some people have to give.
Recognizing the good work she is doing, SOS has decided to make Thantazile a Literacy Facilitator at one of the new locations in its literacy program. This will ease her burden financially and also provide a better learning space for the children who attend her classes. It’s so important that SOS identify and work with people like Thantazile, who are such an asset to their communities and really make a difference in the lives of children.
The Mbabane Village is a cheerful setting to return to, which is nestled in the green Swazi hills. The SOS family houses are surrounded by flowerbeds, which are lovingly cared for by one of the SOS Mothers and her children. I was greeted by a warm round of “welcome home” and bear hugs from the SOS mothers and staff. I noticed a few changes around the Village since I was last there. Many of the children were a few centimetres taller and there were some new little faces too – children who had recently been placed in the care of SOS. I was pleased to find that most of my little friends remembered my name and were happy to see me back. However, one little boy was confused about exactly where he knew me from. “You,” he said, “I know you!” “Yes,” I said, “you do.” “I’ve seen you on TV – kung-fu fighting!” This didn’t surprise me much though, considering the last time I had played with him he was also convinced that I was someone out of a kung-fu film he had watched. “Show me your power!” he had commanded (he had a very good grasp of the English language for a four year-old).
The most significant changes I observed were actually in the work that SOS Swaziland has been doing with the local communities around the Village. The family strengthening program, which works with vulnerable families in the community, many of whom are affected by HIV/AIDS, had made a lot of progress with its various projects to support these families. During my last visit to Swaziland (April 2004), the program had begun a community food garden for program beneficiaries from the local area. The purpose of the garden is to enable vulnerable families to meet their nutritional and dietary needs, and to generate income from the sale of produce. Families are expected to work in the garden to grow food for themselves. A plot was donated by the community to SOS for this purpose. However, the plot itself posed quite a challenge for SOS staff and the families in terms of being able to convert it into viable land for growing fruit and vegetables. It was completely overgrown with small trees, shrubs and weeds; the ground itself was uneven and full of rocks and roots. It took many months of hard work to clear the foliage, level the ground, and rid the soil of the rubble. This time, I found that the plot was finally ready to be planted, and I look forward to seeing the “fruits” of labour the next time I visit.
Another initiative that is being lunched is a literacy project, which will provide children who don’t have the opportunity to attend regular school with basic literary skills. Many of these children are affected by HIV/AIDS, and have parents who are ill, deceased, or simply too impoverished meet their children’s educational needs. School is not free in Swaziland, which places an incredible burden on poor families to come up with the money for school fees and mandatory school uniforms. The program will aim to eventually integrate the children into regular school where possible, with financial support from SOS. Previously, the program had only been run out of the SOS Village in Mbabane, but it is now expanding to several new locations that will be directly located in the communities which the program will serve. SOS is partnering with two other organizations that are funding the construction of basic structures to house the classes. Construction is already underway.
My most memorable moment of the trip was when we made a very visit to a literacy class that was being run by a woman from the community, without any outside help. The woman, whose name is Thantazile, saw there was an overwhelming need for such a service in her community and took it upon herself to teach basic literacy classes from her home to 60 needy children – free of charge. In order to have enough space for the classes, she also has to rent the building next to her home, which she pays for out of her own pocket. Still, the space is tiny, with all the children crammed into small, dark, dank rooms where they sit on the floor. Seeing the children trying to learn under these conditions, really tugged at my heart strings. In Swaziland, the heavy rains make it almost impossible to hold classes out of doors. In addition to her literacy work, Thantazile also cares for 6 orphans who she has taken into her home. It’s truly amazing how much some people have to give.
Recognizing the good work she is doing, SOS has decided to make Thantazile a Literacy Facilitator at one of the new locations in its literacy program. This will ease her burden financially and also provide a better learning space for the children who attend her classes. It’s so important that SOS identify and work with people like Thantazile, who are such an asset to their communities and really make a difference in the lives of children.
posted by Dan at 4:06 p.m.
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