A Different Perspective

Normally, Bulembu e-updates share stories that focus on advancements within the community and various success stories.  Bulembu is a solution, but it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that there are significant and chronic problems that persist throughout Swaziland.  Lorraine, one of Bulembu’s outstanding social workers, is a frontline witness to these problems and what she experiences on a regular basis reminds us of why Bulembu is so vital to Swaziland’s future.  We recently asked Lorraine to share a story to remind us of why so many have committed themselves to ensuring that Bulembu succeeds.  This is the story Lorraine has chosen to share.

While driving in rural Swaziland responding to a social welfare call, Lorraine received a call about another family that lived nearby.  When she arrived at this traditional Swazi homestead, she was immediately aware that one of the walls of the single room stick-and-mud house had collapsed due to the torrential rains that soaked Swaziland earlier in the month.  She was also aware that she was not alone when she saw four children playing outside -  the youngest two without any clothes on.  Talking to the parents who appeared from inside the ruined mud house, a fifth child clinging to the mother, Lorraine learned that both parents were mentally ill and the neighbours were taking it upon themselves to try and help the family with what little they had to offer.  The community employed the father as the community gardener where he earned barely enough to provide a little food for his family.  Neighbours donated clothes to the children, although the parents did not see clothing their children as something important.

Caption: Common home construction on rural homesteads in Swaziland

As Lorraine spoke to the family she sensed that the parents love their children and heard from the children that they love their parents – but Lorraine could not banish the feeling of hopelessness welling up in her.  The parents have no ID cards and the children have no birth certificates; without these documents, the parents cannot apply for the small government grants available to some of Swaziland’s most poor and sick.  The children do not go to school because the parents cannot apply for education grants and, even if they did have the proper documentation, it’s unlikely grants would be awarded to these children as both parents are still alive and education grants are typically only available to orphaned or vulnerable children.  The process to get the family the proper documentation could take over a year, with countless trips to government offices many miles away.  The family has no finances to accomplish this daunting task (the family income affords them less than a loaf of bread a day) and the government’s welfare offices continue to lack the resources to transport its staff to family homesteads like this one.  This family is stuck and the cycle of poverty that has claimed them is destined to repeat itself.

Lorraine’s hands are tied. 

Bulembu is not the solution for all of the issues facing Swaziland, but as the community becomes self-sustaining and grows to care for over 1,000 orphaned and vulnerable children, a new generation of leaders will emerge.  These young men and women will become leaders in their homes, communities and country, and these young people will be agents of transformation working to ensure a better future for their nation.

We want to thank Lorraine for all the important work she does to bring children into our community.  And on this International Women’s Day we celebrate Lorraine and all of the women in our community.

BONUS – A great (short) audio report by the BBC on the changing economics in Swaziland – click here.

http://bulembu2020.blogspot.com/2010/06/bulembu-gets-abc-ed.html

After a long day at school, Isaac Kabini makes his way to St. Joseph’s, a place that he feels offers love and help to all in the community of Onverwacht, South Africa. Isaac is only 16, but having just completed Grade 9, he is making big plans for his life. He wants to be a doctor so that he can contribute to the community in the same way that St. Joseph’s has contributed to his life, by providing a safe haven for people who are in need and acting as a source of guidance for children and adults alike. Isaac is involved in a number of activities at St. Joseph’s, and his favourite thing is playing soccer with the other children – he is excited about the 2010 FIFA World Cup coming to South Africa and hopes to one day meet the Bafana Bafana team.

There is a certain pride in Isaac’s eyes as he speaks of his time at St. Joseph’s – it is clear that he takes his work there seriously and is immensely proud to be involved in many different activities. About 90 children make use of the different facilities provided at St. Joseph’s, ranging from an aftercare centre that children can visit after school, support and counselling sessions for groups and individuals, sporting activities – including the newly built jungle gym – and a choir. Most of the children who use these facilities have traumatic family histories, experiencing things that children should never have to experience, and find refuge within the protected and loving walls of St. Joseph’s.

And it is not only dreams that are being nurtured on the premises – one of the most important activities at St. Joseph’s is the communal vegetable garden, which was started with funding from the Golder Trust for Orphans. Started in 2008, a total of 7 foster parents work in the garden on a daily basis, growing vegetables for personal use, for sale at the local market and to facilitate a number of feeding schemes that are run by St. Joseph’s. Over 80 families have benefited from the vegetable garden – children who belong to the feeding schemes are given vegetables to take home to their families once a month, and these same children are even allocated small vegetable beds for themselves so that they can learn how to grow vegetables and help support their own families. The vegetable garden was initially developed to ensure the sound health and nutrition of the children, but has since grown into an income generating activity as well. Plans are underway to increase the size of the garden considerably so that more families will have access to the land. Investigations are being made on how to improve irrigation and also how to gain access to a tractor that will aid the preparation of the vegetable fields.

The work done at St. Joseph’s has had a major impact on the surrounding community – not only do people recognise the vital role they play in assisting orphans, but the effects have been felt for
all children. There have been huge improvements in welfare and nutrition, and there is an ever growing sense of camaraderie – people recognise the importance of standing together to work through their problems and with the services provided by St. Jospeh’s, children like Isaac finally have the chance to pursue their dreams and, in turn, make even greater contributions to their community.

For more information, visit www.sizanani.org

Meet Sylvia. Sylvia is a single mother of three children; a daughter of her own and two other orphans whom she has looked after for the past 5 years. She lives in a small house in Haniville, a township located outside of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. She has limited formal education, no family support and very little opportunity to find a job.

If you had asked her three years ago what her biggest aspiration was, it would have been to find a job that would allow her to feed her children and send them to school, hopefully offering them a life better than her own. If you were to ask her the same question today, it would be radically different. Now, as the supervisor for a rose geranium production unit (funded by the Golder Trust for Orphans), she is making plans to send her daughter to law school, is finalizing the secondary education of both the orphans she cares for, is building two new rooms onto her house and is a source of inspiration for those that she meets.

Such is the magic of Walk in the Light, a catalyst for transformation in an often dark and hopeless world. Located on just over 10ha of land, Walk in the Light is a shining example of how a simple act of goodness can have a profound impact on the lives of those in need. Bruce Taylor, who started the operation more than 3 years ago, has facilitated the creation of nothing less than a haven. Walking through the rose geranium fields where sweet scents float on the air, or the vegetable gardens where the spinach is vibrant and the cabbages look like giant, beautiful roses with their great furling leaves, it is impossible not to feel the energy and love exuding from the land. This is the land that employs 6 women, all like Sylvia, who in turn support 16 orphans between them, and facilitates the production of food parcels that provide a vital source of food security to more than 18 families in the local community.

But this is only where it begins. With rose geranium currently under production, there are plans to purchase a small distillation unit that will enable the extraction of essential oils, to be used for sales within local markets. This provides opportunity for greater employment for local community members, and for the expansion of the orphan support base that has already begun.

In fact, it is the hope of helping the children that drives the whole operation. Work has begun on establishing a small crèche that will cater to the needs of often neglected children in the area, complete with bathrooms and a small kitchen, and one cannot help but laugh at the smiling elephant peering at you from its portrait on the outside walls. There is also a library, recycling bins, a jungle gym and even a climbing wall.

To be in the presence of such dedication and commitment to transforming lives is a humbling experience. It serves as a reminder to the desperate needs of so many people,
so many children abandoned to face a harsh world on their own. It also serves as an inspiration, through the realization that effort does make a difference and to see the joy on Sylvia’s face as she speaks of her life is true testimony to this. If ever there was a doubt that darkness and tribulation could be overcome, one only needs to spend an afternoon at Walk in the Light to be reinvigorated, and to see how dreams can be translated into action.

Picture:

1: Sylvia  2: Bruce Taylor and the local women involved in the geranium oils project  3: Painted wall at Walk in the Light  4: Vegetable garden at Walk in the Light

Things on Hope Farm have been busy but generally going well in 2009 so far. Thanks to the Golder Trust for Orphans, we have been able to make some progress on the development of our farm and take care of more children and people in our local community as a result.

Our plans for this year are to continue with all we have been doing and carry on saying yes to as many children as are brought to us for care giving.

Donations from the Golder Trust for Orphans have helped us:

1. Purchase a quad that makes it easier for Andrew to get around the farm quickly. 
2. Purchase a cow that has allowed us to produce milk for our kids. We now have several cows!
3. Purchase the equipment we needed to raise chickens. We are now selling frozen chickens to local grocery stores and benefiting from the income.

All the children who we have brought to the farm over the past year are thriving. Bethany, who was brought to us last year, is doing very well (see photo 2) and we have begun to see real progress in the development of the more abused children as well.

It is time to start a preschool on the farm for the small children. Rae home-schools all the children and we now need to build a separate building for the small children with a safe play area. We are looking for someone to help Rae teach the little ones. So far we have managed to dig and concrete the foundations. We are also going to make our home bigger so we can care for more children.

Many thanks to all Golder employees for your support of the Golder Trust for Orphans. Your help is invaluable to us!

1 - Entrance to Hope Farm   2 - Bethany is thriving!   3 – A new playground where local kids can play safely!   4 – Hope Farm frozen chicken, ready for market!   5 – Angela Scott from Golder’s Pietermaritzburg office visits Hope Farm   6 – Golder Trust for Orphans Quad!

In Q4 2008 the Golder Trust for Orphans donated $12,500 US to Bulembu Ministries in Swaziland to help pay for the immediate renovation of several orphans’ homes in the community of Bulembu.

We recently received this thank you message from the staff at Bulembu Ministries!

2008 was a year for laying foundations and properly establishing production processes and infrastructure. Although Bulembu Honey experienced rapid growth, quickly making it the largest producer in the country, growth now needs to be shifted and focused on sales.
The honey export market is lucrative and if tapped into will provide substantial returns. Therefore, with increasing production capacities, Bulembu Honey is poised to make profits. Bulembu Honey is also selling empty bee boxes. During 2008 over 175 were sold.

The Bulembu community continues to expand in multiple areas. The Bulembu school now has over 150 children and opened a new complex in January 2009 with the capacity for 450 students in 21 classrooms. The Orphan Care program is launching its next phase of homes (12) ready to care for children in spring 2009. The Bulembu Clinic will offer a 24 hour service next year, adding the assistance of a full time doctor and an ambulance in emergency situations.

New enterprises including a water bottling plant and agriculture production were launched and are beginning to produce. In early 2009 a community dairy project will be launched starting with 20 cows producing milk for the orphan care program and the community.

Since its inception in May 2006, Bulembu has created over 500 jobs in the community and is now caring for over 150 children. In 2009 that care is expected to extend to another 100 children.

Impacts like this are only possible because of thoughtful contributions from organisations like the Golder Trust for Orphans. Your gift makes it possible for us to continue our vision to create a totally self-sustaining community, restoring health, education, commerce and providing care for children. 

Carlos’s Mission is situated nearly half way up the Mozambique coast 600 km north of Maputo and 15 kilometres inland from the sea. The mission is between the two main centres of Inhambane and Vilanculos. The main tar road has more potholes than tar in places and the dirt track (20km) leading to the mission is overgrown in places by the prolific tropical bush.

Carlos, who runs the mission, left Mozambique during the civil war and settled in South Africa. In 2003 he decided to return to Mozambique and returned to his family home. He managed to get his father’s land of 10 hectares returned to him by the government where the mission is currently situated. On returning he found that some of the children of his extended family had been orphaned and he took them into his home and cared for them.

On further investigation he realised that there were many orphaned children in the surrounding area that were being cared for by the communities as best they could but they were in critical need for support and so he started the mission.

There is hardly any wildlife in the area around the Mission. There is a real shortage of food as most of it has been killed and eaten. Carlos is in the process of developing his land and has started building the required infrastructure. Currently he is growing a plot of maize (corn), vegetables and pineapples. He has planted a number of fruit trees including a small plantation of pawpaws. He sells his surplus vegetables and fruit to the surrounding community. There is a well on the mission which supplies water for domestic use and for irrigation water to the crops.

Recently, with the help of the Golder Trust for Orphans he has started rearing day old chickens and then selling live grown chickens to the community. He has built a chicken house and is on his third batch of 400 chicks that he is rearing.

Carlos has also managed to purchase material that a community member will sew into school uniforms for the orphans. The mission also helps to pay for school fees for the children and in so doing attempts to give holistic support to the children.

Carlos’ chicken business is profitable and its viability is improving with each batch as Carlos learns how to become more efficient in his production methods. The surrounding community is getting to know about his chickens and his market is increasing all the time. It is planned to expand the chicken production to have three separate houses of 400 chickens so that he can get more of a continuity of supply. One of the main costs and constraints to the chicken production is the lighting of the chicken houses at night which helps the chickens grow quicker and so reduces production costs. Currently power is supplied by a small generator which uses five litres of fuel per night which is expensive and very difficult to obtain. The option of using solar power is being looked at as an alternative.

With the money that Carlos gets from the sale of fruit, vegetables and chickens he buys food that he can distribute to the households that are looking after orphans. Carlos has a list of 166 children that are either orphans or are classified as vulnerable children in the community. This list has been verified by the community leaders to make sure that no one takes advantage of the support given. The children themselves are required to come and fetch the food, which they will then give to the household that is taking care of them. The plan is to be able to distribute food in this way every two weeks.

Carlos does not have a computer so has no web site. For more information about the Mission Station of Carlos Vilanculos send an email to GolderTrustforOrphans@golder.com.

Since the beginning of August, the Farm has been busy preparing for the 2008 harvest season; this meant that the forage harvester needed to be in working order, all 4 tractors have to work and the trailers need to be adjusted to be able to take bigger loads. It is a bit like a circus really! It only happens once a year and if there are no mechanical failures, good weather conditions and dry farm roads we usually finish within 3-4 weeks. If the situation is ideal we only stop the forage harvester in the evening as it gets dark and we fill and cover the silage pit after 3-5 days of harvesting.

Unfortunately, this has not been the case this year. The last week of August saw us starting off very well. The silage harvest was going on well and on a speedy note but when September rolled around, things went down hill.

The first two weeks of the month it rained nearly on a daily basis- a total of 136 mm up till the 14th of September. Off-loading the trailers with the chopped maize is done manually, so when it rains we have to stop. Furthermore, the amount of rainfall in such a short period causes the roads to become impassable and some of the maize fields were water logged. In such situations, we are required to wait for 1-2 days for dry weather in order to continue, which delays the whole process.

The third week of September, FarmChem-Seedlinks a Kenyan based company selling farm inputs like maize and vegetable seeds, used our small holder unit (zero grazing unit) to demonstrate some of their maize and vegetable varieties to farmers from within the district.

Having seen the small-holder unit (a small farm of about 1 ha. that caters for 2 cows) they then visited the large scale farming system on Baraka Farm. The farmers were very interested in the dairy cows; we explained to them how the cows are kept, fed and taken care of from the day they are born until the day they have their first baby calf. The biggest obstacle to improved milk production in this area of Kenya is the little/poor fodder that is available for the animals. Thanks to the Golder Trust for Orphans, we are able to maintain a very good system on the farm and are exploring growing our dairy business to include cheese production. We are looking forward to discussing this project further with the Golder Trust for Orphans in early 2009.