Swazi Highs and Lows
I always enjoy working in Swaziland because there is a real feeling of connecting with our work on the ground, both in terms of the Children’s Village and the community-based family strengthening program.
The purpose of my visit this time was to conduct training on SOS’s new approach to working with the beneficiary families in the family strengthening program. The approach is called “family development planning” which involves working with each family to develop an individualized plan. The family comes up with goals they would like to accomplish e.g. to see their children graduate from high school, outlines what they will contribute towards these goals, and then SOS tailors its assistance to support the fulfillment of these goals. This process is implemented by community volunteers called “field officers”, who, with the support of the SOS program coordinator, develop plans with the families and monitor their progress.
While I was there, my colleagues and I worked on improving the implementation process with the field officers. We also had the chance to visit some of the ongoing projects that SOS is developing within the various communities that it works in. A project that I have been following for some time is the communal garden in the community of Sidwashini. You may recall that I have posted “before” and “after” photos of the garden plot in previous entries. The families working on the garden have just reaped the benefits of their first harvest! This season they managed to grow vegetables to support their own diets, as well as a surplus to sell at the local market. They even made a small profit! The proceeds were then used to buy more seeds for next season, in order to make the garden into a self-sustaining project.
Another successful agricultural project is located in the more rural community of Mpolongeni. Here, the traditional leader of area has agreed to donate half of his own field to the program for 35 beneficiary families to use. As we arrived at the site, the place was buzzing with activity as the caregivers (mostly grandmothers) and their children were busily harvesting sugar beans, a mainstay of their diet. It was wonderful to see people of all ages, young and old, working cooperatively to bring in the harvest. The harvest has been so good that SOS has agreed to purchase the surplus beans to use in the food parcels they distribute, as opposed to buying them commercially.
Those were the “highs” of my trip. However, there was also a “low” when I received the sad news that one of the children in the program had passed away from HIV/AIDS. I had brought some photos from a previous trip when I spent some time at the SOS kindergarten, where this child attended school. As I pulled out a photo of a Christmas party, my colleague Thandeka pointed out that the child sitting across from me in the photo was no longer with us. His father, she explained, had worked in the South African mines and had become infected with HIV. The child’s mother had also become infected before the child was born and had sadly passed the virus onto him. This story was a tragic reminder of the importance of our work, and how we must continue to emphasize education and prevention, so that little people have the chance to grow-up and fulfill their potential.
On a happier note, I spent my spare time chatting with the children from the Mbabane Children’s Village – catching up on what has gone on in their lives since the last time I was there. I love having this sense of continuity and contact with them, and watching the same kids grow up before my eyes. Like all children, they talk about their relationships with their friends, their mothers, and how they’re doing in school – especially when they’ve done well! In the photograph, two SOS girls have just returned from a dance performance they put on. They are dressed in the traditional way, wearing the Swazi flag.
The purpose of my visit this time was to conduct training on SOS’s new approach to working with the beneficiary families in the family strengthening program. The approach is called “family development planning” which involves working with each family to develop an individualized plan. The family comes up with goals they would like to accomplish e.g. to see their children graduate from high school, outlines what they will contribute towards these goals, and then SOS tailors its assistance to support the fulfillment of these goals. This process is implemented by community volunteers called “field officers”, who, with the support of the SOS program coordinator, develop plans with the families and monitor their progress.
While I was there, my colleagues and I worked on improving the implementation process with the field officers. We also had the chance to visit some of the ongoing projects that SOS is developing within the various communities that it works in. A project that I have been following for some time is the communal garden in the community of Sidwashini. You may recall that I have posted “before” and “after” photos of the garden plot in previous entries. The families working on the garden have just reaped the benefits of their first harvest! This season they managed to grow vegetables to support their own diets, as well as a surplus to sell at the local market. They even made a small profit! The proceeds were then used to buy more seeds for next season, in order to make the garden into a self-sustaining project.
Another successful agricultural project is located in the more rural community of Mpolongeni. Here, the traditional leader of area has agreed to donate half of his own field to the program for 35 beneficiary families to use. As we arrived at the site, the place was buzzing with activity as the caregivers (mostly grandmothers) and their children were busily harvesting sugar beans, a mainstay of their diet. It was wonderful to see people of all ages, young and old, working cooperatively to bring in the harvest. The harvest has been so good that SOS has agreed to purchase the surplus beans to use in the food parcels they distribute, as opposed to buying them commercially.
Those were the “highs” of my trip. However, there was also a “low” when I received the sad news that one of the children in the program had passed away from HIV/AIDS. I had brought some photos from a previous trip when I spent some time at the SOS kindergarten, where this child attended school. As I pulled out a photo of a Christmas party, my colleague Thandeka pointed out that the child sitting across from me in the photo was no longer with us. His father, she explained, had worked in the South African mines and had become infected with HIV. The child’s mother had also become infected before the child was born and had sadly passed the virus onto him. This story was a tragic reminder of the importance of our work, and how we must continue to emphasize education and prevention, so that little people have the chance to grow-up and fulfill their potential.
On a happier note, I spent my spare time chatting with the children from the Mbabane Children’s Village – catching up on what has gone on in their lives since the last time I was there. I love having this sense of continuity and contact with them, and watching the same kids grow up before my eyes. Like all children, they talk about their relationships with their friends, their mothers, and how they’re doing in school – especially when they’ve done well! In the photograph, two SOS girls have just returned from a dance performance they put on. They are dressed in the traditional way, wearing the Swazi flag.
posted by Dan at 3:11 p.m.
<< Home