Capacity Building Workshop

The European Union has funded three, one-week workshops for the INSET Department within the Ministry of Education. As I am the consultant working directly with the INSET Department, I am responsible for planning these events, developing the content for the workshops, and facilitating. Last week was the first of my three workshops (the other two will be in June and August, respectively). The workshop was 'residential' and took place at Esibayeni Lodge in Matsapha. The content focused on adult learning theory, interactive learning strategies, how to write/plan a workshop, and how to develop activities for teachers to complete independently at the regional Teacher Resource Centers. The participants were the 14 Directors of the regional Teacher Resource Centers who are responsible for training all of the teachers, Head Teachers, and Deputy Head Teachers in the Kingdom. They have a BIG job! I thoroughly enjoyed stepping out of my 'consultant' shoes and into my 'teaching' shoes for the week and was very proud of the learning that took place. The Directors were eager and motivated and during the course of the week developed their own content and plans for teacher training in their respective regions.

Just a few pictures to help you visualize the week! The workshop room.

Apart from sponsoring the week, the EU also provides a healthy budget for 'stationery' or materials. In a resource deprived setting, things like paper, glue, scissors, teaching resources, markers, etc. are truly hard to come by. So, it was awesome to be able to purchase loads of supplies for the Directors to use in creating their own supplemental materials, etc.

Resources I scavenged the week before on visits to the regional Teacher Resource Centers.

Busy, busy, busy... Make Bembe

Magongo

Mavuka, Boy, and Graham

Valentine's Day Auction

In celebration of Valentine's Day, Doug and I attended a fundraising event at the Happy Village Hotel & Casino in Ezulwini. Our friends Nick and Alexandra were involved in the production of the event. They both work for TechnoServe, which is an organization that aims to provide business solutions to poverty. The fundraiser itself was an auction, in support of the Remar Center (http://www.remarswaziland.org) in Manzini which is a rehabilitation center for (as they put it) people living in the margins of society. The center provides support to those transitioning out of prison, prostitution, drug addiction, delinquency, etc. The auction items showcased the talents of Swaziland's local artisans and included ceramics, batiks, baskets, textiles, jewelry, and blown glass items. Many of the items were specially made for the auction and were Valentine's Day themed. It was a really well done event and a good time was had by all. The only hiccup was that it had been a very hot day and the power went out at the hotel; therefore, the hotel was running its generators and there wasn't enough power to run the air conditioning. This made for a very sweaty evening in our 'formal' attire (Doug took off his shoes and socks within seconds of sitting down at the table)! The heat didn't stop me! I got into the bidding spirit and brought home an amazing tray woven from traditional, recycled fabric. It currently looks beautiful on the wall, but perhaps some day it will serve lemonade at our vacation home. A girl can dream, right?

Our table

Let the auction begin!

Models displaying Ngwenya Glass vases

Models displaying woven trays

The fantastic result of my bidding efforts

Beautiful batik (that I secretly wanted, too)

The entertainment

Back in the Saddle (Literally)

Doug and I ran a 10km in Mbabane a while back to raise funds for breast cancer awareness and because one of our friends, Yael, was organizing the race. It was just a Sunday morning run, but I think it sparked something inside of me. It was fun to compete and to race again as I figured out that day that it had been since October of 2006 and our arrival in Los Angeles that I had participated in a race (shocking, but true)! Fortunately, all of that has changed, as I busted onto the race scene in Swaziland a couple of weekends ago via the Nhlangano Bike Race. I did the 40km road race and didn’t die (even though I hadn’t been on a bike in about 3 years), so I decided to sign-up for a few more races and to see what happens. This past Sunday, I ran the 18km ‘Tough Man’ in Manzini; on March 7^th I’m doing a 76km triathlon in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa; on April 3 Doug and I are running the Two Oceans ½ Marathon in Cape Town, and then on April 24-27 we’re going to do the Swazi Extreme Sport Adventure Race! I’m very excited to have a purpose in my workout schedule again and will keep you posted on the results…But first, back to Nhlangano. Did I mention it had been 3 years since I’d been on a bike? And, that there were 3 mountain passes involved? Let’s just say that there was a 12 year old boy who was seriously threatening to beat me…Alas…

Race Day!

Parking lot and set-up area

This racer was definitely more hardcore sleeping out the night before the race

Getting ready

The start (not that many cyclists in Swaziland...)

My fake smile says, 'What am I doing?'

Yay! We made it...on mountain bikes, no less

One Time, In Swaziland...

There was traffic. And it was today.

Adventures in Swaziland

Over the last weekend in January, we hosted our friends, Jay and Hilary, who are currently serving as Peace Corps Volunteers in the Shiselweni Valley in Swaziland. Doug met them during Baylor’s Teen Camp back in December as they volunteered as counselors. Because Jay and Hilary are at the end of their service, they have to come into Mbabane in order to complete paperwork and to take care of business at the Peace Corps Headquarters. Additionally, since they live on a homestead in a rural area, they miss some of the comforts of ‘city life’ (i.e. flushing toilets, grocery stores, restaurants, etc.) therefore they decided to stay with us for the weekend.

On Saturday, after a 7 mile run (I love running buddies!) we drove to Malkerns to Swazi Candles for lunch. Swazi Candles is a wonderful slice of Swaziland heaven as it houses numerous traditional handicraft shops and a restaurant called, Sambane (with the best carrot cake, ever). On the way, we saw a waterfall from the road and decided that we’d go looking for it after lunch. The kicker was that we were not intending on hiking; therefore, I had on flats (and an otherwise ridiculous hiking outfit) and Hilary had on a skirt. Our journey to the waterfall was adventurous indeed, but it was well worth the effort.

This is as far as the Rav-4 could go…no more dirt road

Trying to find our way to the source! We could hear the rushing water

My ridiculous hiking get-up

Looking back at the source of the waterfall

The drop off

The actual waterfall

It’s hard to capture the sheer vastness of the ravine, but here I am standing on the edge.

Happy hiking couples

Marketing/Branding Winner

There's a company called, 'Bakers' that is kind of like Nabisco...Bakers manufactures cookies, crackers, candies, etc. I am very fond of one of their popular brands called, 'Eet-Sum-Mor' as their shortbread cookies are aptly named. I often want to 'eat some more.' But, I am not too sure about their new 'malt ball' as the package says, 'Eet-Sum-Mor Balls.' I can't help it; I laugh every single time. Hilarious.

Chicken Day!

Drum roll, please. The much anticipated ‘Chicken Day’ was a huge success! Thank you again to our families for sponsoring another project through the ‘Christmaskuh’ fund!

On Friday, January 29^th I visited a Neighborhood Care Point (NCP) with our fellow American neighbors, Karen and Randy. Karen and Randy have a nonprofit called, ‘Missions in Africa’ and their primary focus is on supporting orphaned and vulnerable children. Due to the impact of HIV/AIDS over the past 10-15 years in Swaziland, the generation of adults aged 25-40 has been devastated. As a result, countless children have been left orphaned. Across the country, UNICEF opened NCPs primarily to help to feed these children, although in Karen and Randy’s case, they are working under another non-profit called, Children’s Cup, which also ministers and operates preschools at their NCPs. The NCP that I visited was in the largest city in Swaziland – Manzini – population ~80,000. On average, the Care Point feeds 140-160 children a single meal a day and unfortunately/fortunately, there’s an NCP in nearly every neighborhood in Manzini. The meal typically consists of rice or ‘pap’ (pap is a traditional maize meal dish – kind of like mashed potatoes but its mashed cornmeal), but on Friday the 29^th, we added chicken! And potatoes, onions, carrots and cookies. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the kiddies and look forward to our next opportunity to sponsor such an event.

Right when we arrived, the children took me to see some of their homes. They live in a makeshift community of mud/stick houses, some tarp, and some cement homes.

When we returned from our walk, it was time for morning lessons for the preschoolers. The older children don't come to the Care Point until 2:00pm or later, after school has let out. The meal is typically served at 3:00/3:30pm.

The preschool children arriving

The preschool children 'assuming the position.' These are my legs (in jeans and black converse) and for the duration of the day, there was at least one child on each leg. As you can see, the one in the cream/blue/green jacket is pushing another child away and claiming his position. They were very territorial and defended their leg with gusto!

We got all of the children organized and played some games, read a couple of stories, and had a snack.

Classroom

Games

Their teacher telling a story

Some were eager to raise their hands to answer the teacher's questions and some were more interested in smiling for my photos...

Saying grace before snack.

Here's the supplemental items purchased to make the 'stew'

We purchased 28 live chickens. And, while I know that this image may be disturbing for some (who are currently putting together that these chickens are THE chickens) it is important to remember that not a single part of the chicken was wasted and that 156 children ate much needed protein as a result.

The kitchen

Once the children were finished with lessons and were playing outside, Karen and I settled in to assist the Makes (siSwati for 'Moms') with the cooking. We pealed pounds and pounds of carrots!

Once the kids discovered us, though, the number of little bodies duplicated quickly. They were especially interested in my hair and you'll notice that there were many tiny fingers pet, pet, petting away.

Then it was just a bunch of preparing and cooking.

Starting the fire

Putting the rice on to boil.

Removing the feathers

Dunking the chicken for a final rinse in boiling water

Butchering the chickens

Time to cook. Remember when I said NO part was wasted? Yup, those are head, feet, intestines and all. Let's just say that I let the kids enjoy the chicken stew and steered clear of trying some, myself.

She used an oar to stir the pot! Kind of reminded me of a witches cauldron...

The children were very eager to pose for pictures and then to see themselves on the digital camera!

The kids were also very inventive in their play and found simple ways to have fun schoolyard style.

FINALLY! The meal was ready! Which as you can see, the children were beginning to hover in anticipation...

Lined up and ready to eat

I served the rice

Settled and chowing down

When children are hungry and there is food to be had, EVERYONE eats. At first I was terrified that this 10 month old had his own chicken leg. But, life is different over here and the children adapt accordingly. I watched him for a little while to ensure that he wasn't going to choke on a chicken bone, but as you can see by his clean bone, he knew exactly what he was doing.

If you've been inspired by this blog entry and would like to make a contribution, please feel free to make a tax deductible donation directly to Karen and Randy's non-profit. They manage this NCP and one other, but you can specify that you'd like your donation to go to this Manzini NCP and they will take care of the rest. Every little bit helps to cover the costs of providing these orphaned children with food, classroom materials, clothes, school fees, school uniforms, transportation to school, etc.

Missions in Africa, Inc.

Randy & Karen Brennan

P.O. Box 264

Oconomowoc, WI 53066

Cell: 011-268-647-9967

Email: randy@missionsinafrica.com