There is one thing that I have learned having gone to visit Swaziland, South Africa, and that is we are rich beyond belief. Ours is a country where we rush to upgrade our IPhone or Berry, finance a brand new car, and spend oodles of coin renovating our old kitchen’s into something we see in Dwell magazine. Some of us take our motorboats out to the lake, have family ski passes every winter and go out for dinner often. We truly enjoy the benefits of being born to a developing world country. If we cannot find a job, we can apply for welfare; if we are a person with a disability, we can apply for PWD benefits. We are entitled to child tax, tax returns and can even access a food bank if time’s get rough. Education is available to everyone up to grade 12, and medical is available to all. In Canada, if we feel our rights have been ignored, we demand recourse. Entitlement is a word that comes to mind.
It is the opposite in Swaziland in every way. Men can have more than one wife, and many women are raising their children alone. There is a 35 percent employment rate and absolutely no social programs available for those who are unemployed. Most of the rural communities we worked in were incredibly poor. The children within them loved to play but did not have any toys. Toys were made out of garbage, but fun was still had. In the one community to which we provided outreach services, the children walked alone to the child care centre for their meal each day as there wasn’t a meal at home. If it rained, there was no meal because the grandmothers cooked over a fire outside. The children came each day in the same dirty clothes with smiles on their faces.
Their eyes sparkle with a gentle and accepting resilience to the poverty and lack of opportunity around them. It was nothing short of inspiring. It caught my breath and brought tears to my eyes. All they really wanted was to play games and to snuggle and share my lunch. The value of a game of "duck, duck, goose" or a single balloon was priceless it seemed. In Canada, our children expect WII, or Xbox, satellite TV, long boards, name brand clothing and more. Now my point is not that we should feel guilty for all that we have because we come from a developing country, but rather be aware of our blessings. We were blessed to be born Canadian. We are blessed that we have a government that believes it is our human right to have heat, water, medical care, education and social programs such as welfare. We require less “stuff” than we think we need or feel entitled to have. I know I do, as I look at the two brand new vehicles parked in front of the house I own. A closet filled with more clothes than I know what to do with and cupboards full of food. I have water that can fill my bathtub and sinks, I can wash my clothes and crank the heat on cold dark nights. These are blessings.
Across the world, in a place called Swaziland, there are families and children whom I know by name and I have seen their homes and the communities they reside in. They do not have power, cupboards full of food or extra clothes, blankets or toys; but they have winning attitudes like I have never before seen. A strength and kindness that shines on the darkest of nights letting us know that “they are here” and they have the will and the fight to survive.
Kira Gosselin
DWC Participant
ASK Wellness
Swaziland 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
September 2011: Message from the family
This morning, DWC Team Leader Rob Plowright received a message of thanks from Lindewe, one of the many people the ASK Wellness Team were able to serve during their time in Swaziland. Here is what was written:
HI ROB,
ROB I was so happy to meet a hard working team like your team . They were really so good to me and my ladies. and we wish to see them again. ROB, I really dream of good things for that kitchen though sometimes I have challenges, but for my community I'm sure of helping them fully, and I always think the beginning of it that we worked so hard for it with the DWC volunteers so I always say it must not fall on my hands. So ROB you must always remember that hard working people in that kitchen.
ROB, oh our garden is so good we water it every day now is green growing very well , but the water is finish now in the tank. We have not yet started to cook for the children because of the water. The kids are back, I'm so happy about that I'm taking care of them. Please tell the DWC Volunteers about that kitchen, how it works. so that they must know that their money was not thrown away. We wish you to help us again.
The ladies are greeting you too. I WILL send a picture for the garden to see how good it is.
BYE ROB WE MISS YOUR GOOD HEART, YOUR PATIENCE.
Lindewe
SOS Children's Village
Swaziland 2011
HI ROB,
ROB I was so happy to meet a hard working team like your team . They were really so good to me and my ladies. and we wish to see them again. ROB, I really dream of good things for that kitchen though sometimes I have challenges, but for my community I'm sure of helping them fully, and I always think the beginning of it that we worked so hard for it with the DWC volunteers so I always say it must not fall on my hands. So ROB you must always remember that hard working people in that kitchen.
ROB, oh our garden is so good we water it every day now is green growing very well , but the water is finish now in the tank. We have not yet started to cook for the children because of the water. The kids are back, I'm so happy about that I'm taking care of them. Please tell the DWC Volunteers about that kitchen, how it works. so that they must know that their money was not thrown away. We wish you to help us again.
The ladies are greeting you too. I WILL send a picture for the garden to see how good it is.
BYE ROB WE MISS YOUR GOOD HEART, YOUR PATIENCE.
Lindewe
SOS Children's Village
Swaziland 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
August 2011: Swaziland Outreach Day 4
Friday
Today I joined the other Developing World Connections teams at our building site. They have laid hundreds of bricks and built very quickly a two room child care center. Meanwhile, the other team created a garden from scratch. We purchased hundreds of seedlings and planted them. I really needed a day of hard labor and so I joined the construction team for the afternoon to haul huge bricks and pick-axe and shovel hard clay. The sun beating down at around 33 degrees (ps....this is their winter) ... I cannot imagine their summer. We know now that we must pack lunches for the community volunteers and our amazing driver Muzi. We also bring extra to give away to those who need it.
Kira Gosselin
DWC Participant
ASK Wellness
Swaziland 2011
Today I joined the other Developing World Connections teams at our building site. They have laid hundreds of bricks and built very quickly a two room child care center. Meanwhile, the other team created a garden from scratch. We purchased hundreds of seedlings and planted them. I really needed a day of hard labor and so I joined the construction team for the afternoon to haul huge bricks and pick-axe and shovel hard clay. The sun beating down at around 33 degrees (ps....this is their winter) ... I cannot imagine their summer. We know now that we must pack lunches for the community volunteers and our amazing driver Muzi. We also bring extra to give away to those who need it.
Kira Gosselin
DWC Participant
ASK Wellness
Swaziland 2011
August 2011: Swaziland Outreach Day 3
Thursday
We returned to the community in the morning and replanted an existing garden at the child care center. Then we built 2 new gardens and seeded them with the help of about 16 children. They could not wait for me to begin playing with them. It was very challenging to play with 50 children under the age of 16 and as young as 2 without being able to communicate. Fortunately I had my new friend Kaza with me.
I met Kaza at SOS Childrens' Villages whom we are partnered with. He has taken very good care of me and the team. Translating to the children the games I was teaching them. The best part came at the end when the children saw I was drained from trying to keep them entertained for 2.5 hours and they began teaching me Swazi games....and some language. What fun we had! There are literally zero toys. The children make toy cars out of scrap wire and beer cans. So games are all they have and they have many. All of the games include singing and dancing. The talent in these wee people blew my mind.
Kira Gosselin
DWC Participant
ASK Wellness
Swaziland 2011
We returned to the community in the morning and replanted an existing garden at the child care center. Then we built 2 new gardens and seeded them with the help of about 16 children. They could not wait for me to begin playing with them. It was very challenging to play with 50 children under the age of 16 and as young as 2 without being able to communicate. Fortunately I had my new friend Kaza with me.
I met Kaza at SOS Childrens' Villages whom we are partnered with. He has taken very good care of me and the team. Translating to the children the games I was teaching them. The best part came at the end when the children saw I was drained from trying to keep them entertained for 2.5 hours and they began teaching me Swazi games....and some language. What fun we had! There are literally zero toys. The children make toy cars out of scrap wire and beer cans. So games are all they have and they have many. All of the games include singing and dancing. The talent in these wee people blew my mind.
Kira Gosselin
DWC Participant
ASK Wellness
Swaziland 2011
August 2011: Swaziland Outreach Day 2
Wednesday
We identified how we were going to help these families, and the next day we planted a huge garden for a family and built them a cold frame for seeding. We brought up all the materials and purchased 444 small vegetable plants. This garden will be the only source of income for this family of seven. Both parents have passed away so the responsibility now rests on the two brothers, one of which is only 22.
The conditions the children face in this community are daunting: wearing the same clothes daily and playing with toys they have made out of garbage. One little girl, maybe at the age of five, was playing with friends, and I realized that the crotch of her pants was completely blown out and her private parts were completely exposed. It seemed as though all the children were sick. The two meals a day they receive come from the community centre we were working out of. The first meal is at noon, and it is a thin cornmeal porridge. There is no fruit or sugar to sweeten this. It is literally gruel. The second meal is around 2:30, and it consists of white rice and a kind of stew that is changes as food becomes available.
DWC Participant
ASK Wellness
Swaziland, August 2011
August 2011: Swaziland Outreach
Tuesday
Our first day of Outreach in Swazi was nothing less than mind blowing. We went into a small rural community that is just outside the limits of Mbabane. This is one of 5 communities that SOS are working with. The village rests on the side of a mountain and the weather changes quickly and dramatically. I never thought I would have regretted not packing mittens and toque for Africa but I did.
We met our community outreach contact Jahbu and she took us to 4 families that she works with. As we travelled to each house the conditions became worse. The poverty that resides in some parts of Swaziland is unbelievable. The families we met all had lost the parent or parents. So the family was left to struggle on their own. The level of desperation changed with each household. The most common issue for all of them is hunger. There is simply is not enough food. There is little money and 80 percent of Swaziland is unemployed. I wont lie. When we got back to our hostel I cried for quite awhile as I realized how much I have and how much we take for granted every day. Simple things like toilet paper, soap, food.....heat.
Kira Gosselin
DWC Participant
ASK Wellness
Swaziland 2011
Our first day of Outreach in Swazi was nothing less than mind blowing. We went into a small rural community that is just outside the limits of Mbabane. This is one of 5 communities that SOS are working with. The village rests on the side of a mountain and the weather changes quickly and dramatically. I never thought I would have regretted not packing mittens and toque for Africa but I did.
We met our community outreach contact Jahbu and she took us to 4 families that she works with. As we travelled to each house the conditions became worse. The poverty that resides in some parts of Swaziland is unbelievable. The families we met all had lost the parent or parents. So the family was left to struggle on their own. The level of desperation changed with each household. The most common issue for all of them is hunger. There is simply is not enough food. There is little money and 80 percent of Swaziland is unemployed. I wont lie. When we got back to our hostel I cried for quite awhile as I realized how much I have and how much we take for granted every day. Simple things like toilet paper, soap, food.....heat.
Kira Gosselin
DWC Participant
ASK Wellness
Swaziland 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
August 31: Team Leader's Final Thoughts...
It has been another amazing trip to Swaziland, sharing the experience with 16 new friends! I can’t help but remember a story from one of last year’s participants, which sums up our trip this year too:
A young boy is frantically throwing stranded starfish into the ocean, before they are killed by the sun. A skeptical old man walks by and says, “You’re wasting your time, as you’ll never save them all. In the end your efforts won’t make a difference.” The boy thought for a moment, then picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea. He then turned around and said to the man, “It made a difference to that one!”
Our group’s efforts have not solved the desperate conditions for the Swazi people, who are so warm proud, and welcoming! We have made a difference for some! We have dug and planted three large gardens, we have introduced cold frames so that the poor do not have to buy expensive seedlings. We have introduced composting, and have left four constructed boxes with instructional information, so that they don’t have to buy fertilizer. We have provided propane for the next year so that one preschool can provide two meals a day, every school day! Currently, the Mothers cook the meals in the open on a wood burning fire pit, so can’t cook if it rains. We have provided hoses to each of the gardens, so that water doesn’t have to be transported by hand. We have left a huge amount of personally donated items, such as school supplies, clothing, frisbees, skipping ropes, soccer uniforms and balls. Individuals bought a rain barrel, the materials for the compost boxes, paid for a young rural girl to enroll in an accounting program, and taken a very ill family for critical medical attention.
Most importantly we have constructed a preschool classroom. This group was amazing, as only the foundations were up when we arrived. Now there are walls, a roof, plastered interior walls, a white board for the teacher, plus a mural that we signed and painted – linking Swaziland (Execution Rock) and Canada (an inukshuk). In the next few days they will have the windows and doors in place. It will make a difference for next and future year’s students.
There have been challenges and obstacles, but this group overcame them all.
As I personally didn’t know any of the ASK group, before we left Canada I would like to thank them for including me in the group, which enabled me to return to Swaziland again this year. I hope that like last year’s group, they will join me again on future projects to Swaziland…….I will be returning again next July, when once again “we can do what we can do!”
Rob Plowright
DWC Team Leader
Swaziland 2011
A young boy is frantically throwing stranded starfish into the ocean, before they are killed by the sun. A skeptical old man walks by and says, “You’re wasting your time, as you’ll never save them all. In the end your efforts won’t make a difference.” The boy thought for a moment, then picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea. He then turned around and said to the man, “It made a difference to that one!”
Our group’s efforts have not solved the desperate conditions for the Swazi people, who are so warm proud, and welcoming! We have made a difference for some! We have dug and planted three large gardens, we have introduced cold frames so that the poor do not have to buy expensive seedlings. We have introduced composting, and have left four constructed boxes with instructional information, so that they don’t have to buy fertilizer. We have provided propane for the next year so that one preschool can provide two meals a day, every school day! Currently, the Mothers cook the meals in the open on a wood burning fire pit, so can’t cook if it rains. We have provided hoses to each of the gardens, so that water doesn’t have to be transported by hand. We have left a huge amount of personally donated items, such as school supplies, clothing, frisbees, skipping ropes, soccer uniforms and balls. Individuals bought a rain barrel, the materials for the compost boxes, paid for a young rural girl to enroll in an accounting program, and taken a very ill family for critical medical attention.
Most importantly we have constructed a preschool classroom. This group was amazing, as only the foundations were up when we arrived. Now there are walls, a roof, plastered interior walls, a white board for the teacher, plus a mural that we signed and painted – linking Swaziland (Execution Rock) and Canada (an inukshuk). In the next few days they will have the windows and doors in place. It will make a difference for next and future year’s students.
There have been challenges and obstacles, but this group overcame them all.
As I personally didn’t know any of the ASK group, before we left Canada I would like to thank them for including me in the group, which enabled me to return to Swaziland again this year. I hope that like last year’s group, they will join me again on future projects to Swaziland…….I will be returning again next July, when once again “we can do what we can do!”
Rob Plowright
DWC Team Leader
Swaziland 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
August 18: Another great day!
Wednesday morning showed up nice and sunny. Everyone had a good breakfast and then headed off to work with our driver Muzie (an amazing source of info into Swazi culture and all around nice guy!!!). We stopped on the way at the local garden supply in Mbabane to buy some seedlings and supplies to build the cold frame. We couldn’t find poly for the life of us and ended up settling for some hefty, clear plastic bags which we duct taped together (yet another of the many uses for duct tape!). We brought some of the seedlings on outreach and the garden crew took some to their site as well. More bricks were laid at the construction site… the gardeners planted all the starts and those of us on outreach built the cold frame. We picked up a young man from the SOS Village who wanted to help us out. He worked alongside us as well as served as translator. Caisa is 14 years old and quite an amazing young man. He discussed basic economics and world politics with me on the ride! I asked him if he liked Canada to which he replied “Yes, I will go there one day. Notice I did not say I want to go there… I said I WILL go”. He is a very determined and positive person. While walking the path through the mountain village later in the afternoon I noticed, among all the other trash, a used condom wrapper. At least we know there is some access to harm-reduction supplies in these outlying communities. Personally, being in the village really gives me a sense of the tribal nature of their communities. The children all know and play games that appear to be based on tribal chants and dances. Every one of them seems to know the appropriate call and response as well as the movement to go with it. The children seem to really look out for on another. It’s not uncommon for you to see a 10 or 12 year old girl carrying a 2 year old baby on her back. These young children commonly walk the dirt tracks of their village with not an adult in sight but I feel certain that the rest of the community is looking out for them. As the old saying goes “It takes a whole village to raise a child” (very loose paraphrase there… lol).
We all met up at the end of our work day feeling tired out and ready to let loose a bit. Back at the Legends Lodge we hit the restaurant for dinner where the “rowdies” (not mentioning any names here Kira, Bob or Harp…) got the energy started and we all hit the courtyard for some socializing and winding down. Another great day for team Swaziland!!!
DWC Participant
Dan McGowan
Swaziland 2011
We all met up at the end of our work day feeling tired out and ready to let loose a bit. Back at the Legends Lodge we hit the restaurant for dinner where the “rowdies” (not mentioning any names here Kira, Bob or Harp…) got the energy started and we all hit the courtyard for some socializing and winding down. Another great day for team Swaziland!!!
DWC Participant
Dan McGowan
Swaziland 2011
August 17: Off to a great start!
Tuesday morning we were up bright and early and on the road at 8:15 to head out to our various work sites. While we still had heavy cloud cover the weather was certainly nicer than Monday. We all finally got to hit the job sites and get some work done. Bob, Ken, Rob Parker, Kira and I were on the outreach team. Carmen, Harp, Kristy, Ryan, Angie and Tammy were on the construction crew. Rob Plowright, James, Cheryl, Jason, and Bruce were all on the garden crew. We (outreach) got dropped off at the SOS Children’s Village to wait for our contact there while the rest of the crew continued on to their respective work sites. We headed up to a small village in the hills outside of Mbabane called Mpholonjeni where we were introduced to an awesome woman named Jabu who does outreach in a children’s centre there. After breaking the ice by introducing her to Frisbee (which she had a natural affinity for) we got rolling to meet some local families. Our first stop was with a single mother with four children (two girls and two boys) ranging from about 3 to 12 years old. The kids were awesome. So full life and joy even though the do without so many things we never all take for granted. Balloons, suckers and a Frisbee had them beaming and then our girl Kira kicked in with the face painting… they just loved it!!! The youngest girl was literally strutting with her face paint, looking like a little model. We helped out mixing some concrete and pouring a few fence posts, pushed a truck that was stuck in the mud and were off to our next stops. Next we met a family with no parents. They are what is called a sibling-led family; where the head of the family is a 29 year old brother. Their youngest sibling was the cutest little 2 year old boy that I had the pleasure of playing balloon with. He was just loving tapping a balloon back and forth. I literally had to tear myself away from it because it was so cool to see him having such a good time, I could have played with him forever. We came to the realization that, although the older brother had a beautiful garden happening; the younger brothers and sisters didn’t have any vegetables to plant in their garden (the older brother has his own little, and I mean little, house behind the stick and mud hut the younger ones still live in). As a team we came up with the idea of building this family a cold frame to start there seeds and seedlings in during their winter months. Next we were off to the only single dad family that Jabu works with. The father and son were off across the valley collecting firewood to keep warm. We visited for a bit with the rest of the family before heading off to meet a mother-led family of 5. There was a group of teenage boys sitting in a corrugated steel dugout burning milk crates for heat… As you can imagine we were taken aback to say the least. We played some hacky sack with the boys and had to head off. Back at the children’s centre we had a crew of probably 40 children. The little girls face painting and playing an improve balloon game; the boys, Bob, Dr. Rob and myself playing soccer… What an awesome time!!!
The garden crew got off to a great start. They came up with the wonderful idea of giving away some fresh cabbages that, for some reason were about to get thrown out. They also planted a couple of hundred cabbage starts before they headed over to the construction site to help out over there as the sacks that are used for planting at the site were not delivered on time. The crew all reported having a great day, meeting some of the locals and coming up with the great idea of building a couple of compost boxes to help with long term soil improvement; both there and at the new care centre site (otherwise referred to as the "construction site").
As for the construction crew, they laid 250 bricks on the first day (with as I said, some help from the garden crew)!!! They got 4 or five full courses of the care centre done and not a complaint from one of them. Everyone had a great sense of accomplishment after all the travel and getting rained out on Monday. It was nice to finally be on the job site and get something done. They laid all the bricks on site and were hoping the next shipment came on time so they could continue on Tuesday.
All-in-all it was a great day for everyone. All the teams got a lot of work done and we got to interact with people from the communities we are working in. We finally got to experience some of what we all really came for. Personally I`d have to say it was both heart wrenching and heart-warming all at the same time. The heart-warming certainly won the day for me although emotions were definitely high…
Dan McGowan
DWC Participant
Swaziland 2011
The garden crew got off to a great start. They came up with the wonderful idea of giving away some fresh cabbages that, for some reason were about to get thrown out. They also planted a couple of hundred cabbage starts before they headed over to the construction site to help out over there as the sacks that are used for planting at the site were not delivered on time. The crew all reported having a great day, meeting some of the locals and coming up with the great idea of building a couple of compost boxes to help with long term soil improvement; both there and at the new care centre site (otherwise referred to as the "construction site").
As for the construction crew, they laid 250 bricks on the first day (with as I said, some help from the garden crew)!!! They got 4 or five full courses of the care centre done and not a complaint from one of them. Everyone had a great sense of accomplishment after all the travel and getting rained out on Monday. It was nice to finally be on the job site and get something done. They laid all the bricks on site and were hoping the next shipment came on time so they could continue on Tuesday.
All-in-all it was a great day for everyone. All the teams got a lot of work done and we got to interact with people from the communities we are working in. We finally got to experience some of what we all really came for. Personally I`d have to say it was both heart wrenching and heart-warming all at the same time. The heart-warming certainly won the day for me although emotions were definitely high…
Dan McGowan
DWC Participant
Swaziland 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
August 17: Project Update
I have a minute at the SOS Village so I thought I would send a quick update about the projects and what we have done to date.
Garden project : planted 100 spinach & 100 cabbage plants in a large plot. Then filled and laid out 111 large planting bags and planted 500 onion, cabbage, & spinach plants. We are returning to build a compost box next week, Bruce is writing instructions for them.
Preschool: walls will be finished today, so we are donating 400 vegetables that we will plant.
Outreach group: Bob is trying to teach then how to use cold frames so they don't have to buy starter plant. Kira is off to an SOS Camp for two days.
Tons more to report soon!!
Garden project : planted 100 spinach & 100 cabbage plants in a large plot. Then filled and laid out 111 large planting bags and planted 500 onion, cabbage, & spinach plants. We are returning to build a compost box next week, Bruce is writing instructions for them.
Preschool: walls will be finished today, so we are donating 400 vegetables that we will plant.
Outreach group: Bob is trying to teach then how to use cold frames so they don't have to buy starter plant. Kira is off to an SOS Camp for two days.
Tons more to report soon!!
Cheers,
Rob Plowright
DWC Team Leader
Rob Plowright
DWC Team Leader
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