Swaziland Post no. 2

The trip to get to Swaziland was very uneventful, phew. 22 hours of flying and about 32 hours of travel time. We were prepared for a less than glamorous time, but, in the end, it all went very well. South Africa Airways is really quite wonderful (in coach even...).

We arrived at the Manzini International Airport (3-5 flights a day, and only to Johannesburg, so yet, it is an International Airport () in a small 20 seater and our friend David picked us up. (My) David and I kept saying to ourselves we wondered when we would feel like we were "really" in Africa. The Manzini airport and all was tiny, teeny teeny tiny, but that wasn't so much to raise an eyebrow. As we drove the 45 minutes to the Mabuda Farm where we stayed, we got our first eyeful.

One of the first things to knock my senses was the trash all over the side of the road. Remember in America in the 60's and early 70's, before we had aluminum recycling, and concerted efforts (remember the Indian crying on the television ad) to get us all not to open the window and just drop trash out the window, well, picture everyone...dropping everything...as they are walking, out the windows of cars and vans and busses. We were told all the trash was referred to as "Swazi Flowers". It really is terrible.

Getting settled into our place at the farm, was comfortable, easy, and as you will see by the pictures I will post, beautiful beyond words. The Farm is located on a plateau at about 2,500 feet, so we had views that just knocked us out every time. The weather for the most part for our entire two week stay was VERY San Francisco-like. It was foggy, in the 60's, and a bit windy. We had a few warm days in the 80's.

Eating was easy. We had B&B wares delivered every day, yogurt, cereal, FARM FRESH eggs and milk (wow!), so that was okay. And for lunch we generally had sandwiches as Scott and David's place had a full kitchen and the grocery store in Sitecki was like any other grocery store you'd find anywhere (except for a few things of course ), but we had lettuce and vegetables and most anything you can imagine. David is a vegetarian, and he did just fine!

I feel like I am now in storytelling 'mode' and I have to be careful about 'sticking to the highlights', because as many of you know, I can go on...and on!

HOME BASED CARE (HBC)
I was able to go out with our friend Scott 3 times, and David got to go twice. Again, so much in my head. There is a local hospital in Sitecki, but, well, it is less than what any one of us would consider to be a place we would visit. Even the Swazi's, they not to go there because if you go there, you die there. There are about 200 beds. In my 2 walks through the wards, I never saw more than 30-40 with people in them. Remember, HIV infection approaching 50%, one of the world's TB hotspots, and yet the doctors don't admit patients and the Swazi's don't go because they know the care isn't good.

For the daily HBC visits it is a bit of a production. Hunger, as you might expect, is staggering. So we we 'get the truck' from the hospital each morning (8:30) and make 3-4 stops before gathering up the 2-3 nurses to head out on our day. Swaziland has a main food source, maize. We were there just as the planting started, and Scott and David kept pointing out every bare spot in the ground that in just a few months would all be corn growing. So, what the Swazi's do is grind the corn into what they call Mealy Meal. And from there they make a paste or porriage(sp?) or pancake-like item.

We would gather (all donated) the same things every day from the same places; 20 10kg bags of Mealy Meal, 12 1/2 liter bottles of Mabuda Farm milk, 20 bags of this dry item called Corn Soya (a nutrition-packed mixture of maize and other nutrients) to help the "really" hungry, and then last was a small(!) black shopping bag called "packs" containing a 1lb bag of beans, a 1/4 liter bottle of oil, (and I am now having block, I don't remember much else) but let me tell you, there wasn't much, and the last item were these large/long bars of soap (12" long) to help people to try and clean.

After getting the truck loaded, Scott driving, 2-3 nurses, and then either David or I, out into the Homesteads we would go. I could make a whole (long) entry of just the few times we went out, but all fives senses were assaulted in ways that I could not have expected. Again, I had pictures in my head before we left, but it is not until you are "in it" that you truly understand.

Urinating and deficating in Swaziland is done where ever...literally. No judgement, it just simply is what it is. On the side of the road. Out the front door of their homes. In a group of people standing and talking. It was common to see it...

Most in Swaziland have never bathed in their lives. Most do not have running water or electricity. Water is usually gathered from a water hole, used by the animals as well, to both cook and drink.

Unemployment is 60%. Enough said.

The population of Swaziland, just 10-15 years ago was 1.3 million. Today is it just 1 million. The country is really dying.

Did I mention previously that women have NO rights. It is a Kingdom and the king, still taking child brides (he's up to about 13 or so) continues to perpetuate the male dominated society in ways that are hard to fathom. WOMEN, you rule...and MEN, let's not all forget that.

Marriage, though the country is extremely religious, isn't a common. What happens is that a man will get a 'wife', have anywhere from 2-10 children with her, tire of her, and simply move on to the next woman leaving the first with all the children to care for...and then the man moves on to the next one...and so on and so on. It isn't hard to think about how HIV is spreading. What then happens is that children die, mothers die, fathers die, and then other family members take over the care taking (Grandmothers, aunts, etc.).

PICTURE THIS - When we talked about homelessness in the United States, they simply could not(!) fathom what we were talking about...at all. Everyone is taken in by someone, no matter how poor or how little they have, no one is left out. Again, it is their culture and deeply ingrained.

Spiritual Healers are still used and respected in Swaziland. While it is not my method or brand of medical care, permit me to reshare a story our friend Scott told us...that was the best he had ever heard. A women they had seen recently, clearly in the last stages of liver failure, showing signs of severe abdominal bloating, etc. was told by the Healer that she had a six inch little man in her, in her belly, and the reason she was so full of fluids is because the man was peeing in her, and if she came back the next day, she could pay him to perform a ritual to remove the little man.

Even I couldn't make that one up...

I have more great stories to share about laughter and joy and smiles and children and good...

Repeating a mantra, has this trip changed my life, yes. Has this trip allowed me to think about how this world functions at a larger level, yes. Will I become a monk and live my life more simply, no, but it will inform more of my decisions, more of my actions, and more of how I am able to work through all that comes my way.

As I say...PEACE to y'all.

Cheers,
Mark