It has been probably close to a year since I’ve been to
Swaziland, but there was a period of almost 2 years where I was going there
close to every month. This time I went
to host a team of people from Family Church in the UK. Some of them had been to Swaziland before but
for some it was their first time. The
community that we support is in a place called Kaphunga (pronounced
Ga-poong-aa). It is a very rural setting
and a very traditional place, almost like taking a step back in time. Many mud huts and grass thatched roofs. When we stay there, it means using out-house type
toilets and bucket baths. Kaphunga holds
a special place in my heart. The people
are amazing and always make me feel loved and welcomed. I have had opportunities to really dig in
with the volunteer Care Workers there; from hearing their heart for their
community, to challenging them on sensitive issues. I feel like I’ve developed a special bond
with them. Even though it’s only been a couple
years, it feels like we have walked a road together.
So when I bring a team with me, it means I get lots of time to walk with the Care Workers and visit the families that they visit. The Care Workers are mostly Gogo’s (Grandmothers), but they are the toughest grannies you have ever seen in your life. Just a small example is the way they carry heavy buckets of water on their head over steep and long muddy paths; they would put most of us to shame. It’s very humbling. The challenges that the Care Workers find in the homes that they visit are unbelievable. When we get to the family’s homes, we sit and talk with them and they share their stories with us. Their stories always seem to have a common element, that the family can barely survive with the food they have. First I should say that for the most part there are no mothers or fathers in these homes, whether they have passed away or just left their children. That has left all these Gogos to care for the children. Most Gogos get a pension from the government but it amounts to only about $20 USD a month. For a family of 5 or so, that doesn’t cut it. Often these families have to beg and plead with neighbours for food. But when everyone is struggling it’s tough and you are really at the mercy of people’s generosity. I saw some tough homes and heartbreaking situations this time...small children with HIV who continue to go to the clinic and can’t seem to get better, families with no food, women praying their husbands will return after months of not knowing where they are and Gogos so sick that they are left to die on the floor of their huts. It is a tough place where the most basic of needs are not guaranteed. But we walk alongside them in their amazing journeys and encourage them in this work. It must be incredibly tough for them to keep on visiting these heartbreaking situations and not lose hope.
So when I bring a team with me, it means I get lots of time to walk with the Care Workers and visit the families that they visit. The Care Workers are mostly Gogo’s (Grandmothers), but they are the toughest grannies you have ever seen in your life. Just a small example is the way they carry heavy buckets of water on their head over steep and long muddy paths; they would put most of us to shame. It’s very humbling. The challenges that the Care Workers find in the homes that they visit are unbelievable. When we get to the family’s homes, we sit and talk with them and they share their stories with us. Their stories always seem to have a common element, that the family can barely survive with the food they have. First I should say that for the most part there are no mothers or fathers in these homes, whether they have passed away or just left their children. That has left all these Gogos to care for the children. Most Gogos get a pension from the government but it amounts to only about $20 USD a month. For a family of 5 or so, that doesn’t cut it. Often these families have to beg and plead with neighbours for food. But when everyone is struggling it’s tough and you are really at the mercy of people’s generosity. I saw some tough homes and heartbreaking situations this time...small children with HIV who continue to go to the clinic and can’t seem to get better, families with no food, women praying their husbands will return after months of not knowing where they are and Gogos so sick that they are left to die on the floor of their huts. It is a tough place where the most basic of needs are not guaranteed. But we walk alongside them in their amazing journeys and encourage them in this work. It must be incredibly tough for them to keep on visiting these heartbreaking situations and not lose hope.
Everything is such a big distance in Kaphunga that you have
to take a car for the really long visits.
But the car can only go so far as the roads have washed away with such
heavy rain falls this year. And then we
walk through the bush. On one home visit
we arrived to find a Gogo that was extremely sick. She had been down for two weeks and the one
time she did get up she fell down and had not moved since. When we arrived she looked so relieved and
happy. But I just kept thinking, what
are we going to do here? We are in the
middle of the bush with this granny who can’t walk. She had puss coming out of her ears and she
was now coughing up puss as well. She
obviously had a bad infection and it was spreading, not to mention that she is
HIV positive. She asked, “How did you
know that I was sick and you should come here?”. I put my arm around her Care Worker,
Jabulile, and said, “Jabulile told us and she brought us here.” I’m sure that in that moment she couldn’t have
been more grateful to Jabulile and I could see it in her face. But we still didn’t know what to do. I asked if we could make a plan. I was skeptical because the car was so far
away on these bad roads, but I knew we had to do something. Walking away meant
this Gogo would probably die before she got help. Her grandson, Themba, looked at us in distress, but they
obviously didn’t know what to do either. It
seemed to me that they were just going to wait until she died or got
better. Without intervention she would
have wasted away on that dirt floor. So
I asked the Care Worker if we could make a plan. She said yes, but it was clear that they
didn’t know what we could do. I asked if
they had a wheelbarrow and they did. So
the plan started to come together. We
got the wheelbarrow, while someone from the team went to fetch the car and bring
it a little ways closer. We got Gogo up
and eased her into the wheelbarrow. From
there the grandson brought her through the bush to the point where the car had
reached. When the Gogo had to pee she
asked to get out of the wheelbarrow and she sat on all fours peeing. Somewhere inside I felt broken knowing that this
once able-bodied, proud woman, was reduced to peeing in front of a group of
people while she sat on the floor. But
it didn’t matter, what mattered was we were moving. We had some struggles with the car because of
the condition of the roads, but eventually got situated. We lifted the Gogo into the car and brought her to the
clinic. Here she was given medication and we even got her some food because the
family had none. It was a blessing to us
to be able to help in a tangible way, as often the situations you encounter
don’t require an emergency response but more ongoing support. The team and I were so blessed by the
experience. The Gogo and her grandson had a kind of tough demeanour when we started. By the time we walked her back home, prayed
with her and said goodbye I could see relief and a real softening in their
hearts. It was a special moment that I
will not soon forget.
I am forever encouraged by the Care Workers who go above and beyond themselves every day and they don’t have a car to do it with. This home visit reminds me of the ways that myself and family back in Canada are blessed. If we are sick then we just drive to the clinic. If we need food then we just go to the store. We don’t sit on our mud floors waiting to die or for God to show up because we have all that we need. We struggle to see the need for God in our lives. Maybe we have all that we need physically, but we are lost spiritually and emotionally. We do need God but it’s not obvious to us and so we attempt to get by on our own strength.
I am forever encouraged by the Care Workers who go above and beyond themselves every day and they don’t have a car to do it with. This home visit reminds me of the ways that myself and family back in Canada are blessed. If we are sick then we just drive to the clinic. If we need food then we just go to the store. We don’t sit on our mud floors waiting to die or for God to show up because we have all that we need. We struggle to see the need for God in our lives. Maybe we have all that we need physically, but we are lost spiritually and emotionally. We do need God but it’s not obvious to us and so we attempt to get by on our own strength.
I have found purpose in my journey and a drive that gives me
hope. I feel like I’ve moved closer to
Joy than I ever have before and continue to seek more. My time in Swaziland only serves to confirm
what I’m doing here. Though there is
often much heartache, on a daily basis I often see overwhelming generosity that
defies logic...radical giving that is not just
out of ones excess. People who lay down
their own lives to save the lives of those in need. What could be more beautiful or rewarding? There has to be something more than just
being the manager of my department at work, a big house and a new car. Not that ‘things’ are bad, but what does each
of us stand for. It has to be more than
the things that we can buy. How will we
ever be fulfilled in that way? The answer is we can’t, and so we will always want to buy the
next new thing. We will never fill that
hole. For me becoming a Christian hasn’t
meant that I’m now perfect or look at others in judgement. But instead it simply means that I have
recognized my own weaknesses and shortcomings.
I strive to do better knowing that through God’s love I am forgiven my
faults. I am imperfect in my walk, but I
continue to seek God’s heart. So what do
you stand for?
-t
