July 31: Chapter 4 - Two Halves Make A Whole

We awoke to another beautiful sunny morning in Swazi, clear blue sky and approximately 22 degrees Celsius. Feeling confident and industrious we set off on our trek to work.

Part of the group, myself and Kelly, went with Sibusiso to the SACRO Drop-In-Center in Mbabane. We were introduced to staff, toured the facility, and scoped out the area where we hope to cultivate and plant a garden with the children. We had a stimulating and eye opening conversation with Sibusiso and Sihle (Social Workers for both programs) wherein we learned more about the program, it's vision, and goals. The Drop-In-Center functions as a support system for over sixty children living in the area. Their main goal is crime prevention by keeping children off of the streets. Through several donors and partners the program is able to meet some of the basic needs for these children such as, provide a warm and nutritious meal, support with homework, and life skills teaching. In the coming days the group will have several opportunities to interact with the children. Stay tuned.

Back at the work site the other part of the crew worked tirelessly removing several dilapidated garage doors and beginning to replace them with new, shinny, lightweight roll up doors. It seems that Mirella is stronger than she realized and accidentally broke the hammer drill - oops! We were also stunned to find that we've unleashed a 'monster' in Gillian as she demonstrated here prowess with the drill. As luck would have it one of the small business owners in the SACRO complex was a welder and he was able to display his talent for fixing drill shafts. Unfortunately it was more of a bandaid than a remedy.

From today's experiences, we are seeing how the work with the children and the improvements that are being made for the ex-prisoners complement each other. For the rest of our adventure we look forward to seeing how the mission and vision of two distinct programs help young children, adults, and their local community. We look forward to sharing with you more about what we learn and experience as the weeks go by in beautiful Swaziland.

A bonus of our stay at the Road Lodge is the befriending of our night watchman, Futi. We have seen pictures of his beautiful family and have taken him on as a member of our family, particularly at dinner time. This evening's meal, again compliments of Chef Tommy and Sous Chef Chris, consisted of stir-fry and gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. Yum yum!

Lesson of the Day: Having the right tools is half the battle.

Disclaimer: I am suffering from a bit of a stomach bug today so Kelly contributed the words of wisdom; he's also a year or two older.

Anya Malda 

DWC Participant

Swaziland, July 2013

July 30th: Chapter 3 - Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to work we go!

We departed from home this morning in out typical mode of transportation, the back of the truck, ready for our first day of work. As we merged into rush hour traffic we were joined by a man who we assumed was a "jumper" but in fact he turned out to be a "pusher." While we thought we were quietly idling and trying to overtake the stalled vehicle in the middle of the road, we came to realize that our truck had run out of gas. In fact we were being assisted to the side of the road by our friendly "pusher," our new best friend. After a slight delay we continued on our way to the work site.

With much discussion of work site projects, our team of highly skilled labourers set out to dig a trench for piping to assist in improvements to the washrooms. We dug. We picked. We chopped. We scooped (with an empty coffee container). And we dug some more. If a trench can be pretty we did it!

After a lunch break and wifi connection (HOORAY!) we returned to the work site for a meeting with local community administrators to clarify their needs and our skill set as they relate to the projects we would be working on. Now with a firm game plan we are set to go for our two week adventure.

As we ended our work day, since we hadn't had enough exercise we chose to walk home. Approximately forty minutes later we arrived safe and sound and discovered that we're all more than ready and capable of hiking up Sheba's Rock.

Lesson of the Day: Always carry a spare jug (aka Jerry can) and the top part of a water bottle (aka funnel) in your car when you have a poorly functioning gas gauge.

Disclaimer: Unbeknownst to himself, Kelly has officially been suckered in to writing this blog with me - sweet deal for me! 

Anya Malda
DWC Participant
Swaziland, July 2013

July 29th: Chapter 2 - The Wild Side

We woke this morning to a breakfast of champions prepared by Chef Tommy (credits for toast preparation to Sous Chef Mirella). Gourmet style eggs with mushrooms, onion and asparagus set the tone for the day and the bar for the next two weeks.

Our day on the wild side started with typical Swazi style transportation - a ride in the back of a pickup truck. Displaying our exceptional form and agility nine of us were seated snugly in the back on top of bags of donations (can you say squeezy squeezy?) We again had a 'ten minute walk' (in reality a twenty minute drive) through the city to the project site. SACRO - Swaziland Association for Crime Prevention and the Rehabilitation of Offenders will be our work home for the next two weeks. We had a warm welcome and lovely tour of the site and we look forward to an opportunity to help them in their vision and mission work.

Then we were off to the much anticipated Candle Factory finally! In keeping in lines with our walk on the wild side we explored the local craft market full of wood carvings, batik, woven goods, and CANDLES in various sizes, shapes, and animal prints (compliments of Chris, which we currently have burning on the coffee table in front of us as we lounge on the BIG RED COUCH).

Today, lunch too was on the wild side. On the way to the animal sanctuary we made an impromptu stop at a roadside market and ordered bbq chicken off the open flame of a homemade Big Green Egg. The eight of us sat in the van and mauled apart the carcass of several fowl. It was better than 'finger lickin' good,' so there Colonel Saunders! Thank goodness for hand wipes.

We arrived at the Milwane National Big Game Sanctuary and continued the walk (or bike ride) on the wild side. I was so impressed to see two of our other team members tap into their personal wild sides by spontaneously upgrading to the biking tour. It proved to be full of twists and turns, highs and lows, and laughs and scrapes. Highlights included jumping impalas, zebras, hippos, the hibernating crocodile on Crocodile Island, and the ever popular warthog. To celebrate that no one became prey while touring we shared various libations at the Hippo Haunt.

With another stop at a local craft market full of typical hand crafted items for the typical tourist we headed off to Sheba's Rock for a tamed-down version of dinner. Internet finally! After much conversation about the day's events and another round of libations we headed for the BIG RED COUCH in our evening attire.

Lesson of the Day: Look where you want to go and commit! Hold on and smile. Take a risk and you'll be fine.

Disclaimer: The names of the animals have been omitted to protect the innocent. This entry was yet again another group effort.

Anya Malda
DWC Participant
Swaziland, July 2013

July 28th: Chapter 1 - On the Road to Swaziland

After lengthy travel time, the eight of us (1 Dane, 3 Americans, 4 Canadians and a Partridge in a Pear Tree) arrived safely in Johannesburg Airport. We were introduced to South African Standard Time right off the bat. Our driver, Muzi, was running "10 minutes" late as he needed to have the tires on the van changed. He did show up, albeit several "10 minutes" later (try 2.5 hours).

After a quick pit stop at the Mercedes dealership to pick up a single fuel injector (apparently an essential part), we were on our way. The terrain was relatively flat with little vegetation throughout most of the countryside. We took a lunch break at a local mall. Kind of surreal and bizarre being in a developing country and visiting a mall. It was packed with people and we were told that this is the natural phenomenon on payday. The mall seemed more than just a place to shop and more like a community centre where families gather to socialize.

On the road again the landscape started to become a little more hilly the closer we got to the Swaziland boarder. This was also where you began to see large Pine trees...didn't see that coming. Massive acres of Pine tree rows are planted for harvesting.

Mid afternoon found us at the official South African/Swazi border. We all disembarked and went through what could quite possibly be dubbed the shortest customs line worldwide. After being peppered with intrusive questions (Are you driving? How long are you staying?) we were forced to literally walk across the border and past the customs officials who were lounging comfortably in their lawn chairs.

After enduring the bumpy ride we arrived at our appropriately named home, The Road Lodge Guest House. If you squint your eyes really tightly and use a little imagination it looks exactly like the photos they display on their website. After rearranging the room assignments and furniture we all settled into the BIG RED COUCH.

Lesson of the Day: As there are no traffic lights and traffic is somewhat chaotic we recommend crossing the road at the speed bumps in order to better your chances of not becoming a speed bump yourself.

Disclaimer:  This has been been written under the influence of jet leg, and while I was initially concerned about all of the readers judging my writing abilities, the good news is I'm surrounded by 3 teachers, a principal, and a career counsellor so the judging is being done well before this blog gets posted.

Anya Malda
DWC Participant
Swaziland, July 2013