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Swaziland Recap

March 18th, 2011 No comments

I am sitting on the couch in what will be our new Swazi residence come July.  It is a humble duplex-style place: tile floors, two bedrooms, a small kitchen, and a bathroom with a shower stall.  Nothing fancy and maybe 700 square feet (at the most).  But, it is comfortable and I already feel at home here.  I am scheduled to fly back to the states later today after a bit over a week of working with Cabrini Ministries doing some long-range planning, problem solving and networking.  And while it was great to get some work done and to prepare a few things for our move, the most important part of my time has been the feeling.

If nothing else, spending a week at Cabrini, working in the bush of Swaziland, has given me a feel for what to expect.  Obviously it is just a glimpse and I am sure there will be many “surprises” in store for us.  But, just experiencing these things helps us to plan for the transition.  This week I experienced:

  • Power and water outages
  • 110+ degree temperatures
  • Major storms and serious dryness
  • Difficulties in communication (phone lines down, no cell coverage)
  • Lack of internet
  • Crazy roads and crazier drivers
  • Long drives to get anything
  • Difficulty in coordinating overseas conversations due to time differences
  • Constantly having “the system” be down, preventing things from getting done
  • Abject poverty and even death

While in my current life in the States, I may experience one or two of those things in a year, having them all come at once didn’t bother me.  All of the difficulties were overshadowed by the other things I experienced:

  • People dedicated to Cabrini’s vision of “Restoring Life”
  • Playing soccer with the children at the hostel and hearing them sing
  • Seeing true “local empowerment” such as the woman who manages the database that hadn’t even seen a computer until 2 years go; professional office staff who grew up on homesteads in the area; all the managers being local and fully competent; continuous training for all staff; a standard-setting clinic run by mostly local nurses and support staff
  • Participating in the larger system of support in a country with great need
  • Working with dedicated staff who know all the details of patients and children they work with
  • Getting to know my neighbors who are deeply rooted in the local chiefdom
  • Visiting former students across the country who have graduated from Cabrini services
  • Seeing the incredible amount of work and extensive services being completed in this tiny village deep in the bush.

We certainly have a lot to learn and the transition is going to be tough; but, after spending a week here I am more confident in our decision than ever before.  July will come quick and I am certainly looking forward to it.