A Circle of Good People at St. Matthias by Melody Rockwell
Swaziland Safe Water Project -- sponsored by substantial grants from the Episcopal Church United Thank Offering Gift and Trust Fund and Episcopal Waters of Hope with generous gifts from the Iowa Safe Water International Ministries and the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, parishes and individuals...
Another cool day in Swaziland. Even as we descended from the Mbabane highlands, the weather remained damp, chilling. We'd dressed to stay warm & today, we were on time, in fact, a bit early. Rev. Orma Mavimbela soon arrived and greeted us with her golden, heart-filled laughter. Orma & I formed a circle of chairs for the chlorinator presentation audience. As I kept adding chairs, she said, "Do you expect so many?" I replied, "I hope for many." She laughed and gave me a sympathetic hug. When the presentation started, only four people from the St. Matthias community, including Orma, were seated, ready to listen. Orma nodded and winked at me. But, as the session continued... more and more people arrived and they were quickly brought up to speed. Even these newcomers participated in making chlorine! It was my turn to wink at Orma as I brought more chairs to the circle.
As had happened yesterday, the session was conducted almost entirely in Siswati. Alfred Sipho Dlamini quietly translated for the three Iowans seated in an outer ring of chairs, so that we could get the gist of what was happening. Again, we were spectators at a very lively discussion. Greg Stout commented later that he was so proud of the trainees, how they had made this project their own. He said that when he'd done chlorinator demonstrations in Swaziland in 2007, he might get one question per session. But, he noted that today, the Swazi team received many questions and had a good ongoing discussion for almost two hours. He said, "I am really impressed!"
On their side, the Swaziland Safe Water Ministry (SSWM) team members were pleased with response from the members of the community gathered at St. Matthias. Dumsane Matsebula and Nothemba Khoza agreed that they were well-received and that the people there were "very interested and very happy about the demonstration." Alfred noted that he was proud of people in his birthplace; how they were conscious that even though they are on municipal water, it may not be clean. He said, "They have a real health consciousness."
Mthunzi Ndlovu chimed in, "They posed very positive questions... not ones of fear. They asked about the practical ways to use chlorine, particularly, for the treatment of their water supply." Mthunzi noted that at first, those gathered were "more interested in chlorine than in the chlorinator." Later, they expressed interest in how the chlorinator worked to make chlorine.
We learned that the chlorinator given to the people of St. Matthias by Greg Stout with the support of the Diocese of Iowa in 2007 was in turn given to a neighboring community that does not have a protected water source. The St. Matthias area has a municipal water system that comes from a protected spring, and so the people there felt that others needed the chlorinator more than they did. The community with chlorinated water has experienced no diarrhea or cholera since they started using the chlorinator. This led the St. Matthias community to wonder about whether their water is as safe as they'd thought.
The water system they use has three storage tanks -- one drains into a second tank and that one drains into the third tank from which the water is taken for drinking and cooking use. The people discussed with the SSWM team which tank to chlorinate, and how they could be sure that effective chlorination of the water had taken place when the level of water continuously changes in each tank. Different options were considered, and then the circle of Swazi people at St. Matthias decided that it would be safer to chlorinate their water in water containers in their own households; that way they would have control over the level of chlorine in their water. Jabu Mnisi said, "This was their own decision. They resolved among themselves the way the chlorination would be handled in their community." Jubu pointed out that the St. Matthias gathering had decided to use chlorine from the neighboring community as a test run, and then if they feel they need a chlorinator of their own, they will place an order with the SWWM team. A woman was selected to coordinate this community chlorination effort, and the team will follow up with her in the coming weeks.
Another good partnership formed and another good day! Tomorrow, we head west once again... hopefully, more happy water chlorinating, community-building trails!
As had happened yesterday, the session was conducted almost entirely in Siswati. Alfred Sipho Dlamini quietly translated for the three Iowans seated in an outer ring of chairs, so that we could get the gist of what was happening. Again, we were spectators at a very lively discussion. Greg Stout commented later that he was so proud of the trainees, how they had made this project their own. He said that when he'd done chlorinator demonstrations in Swaziland in 2007, he might get one question per session. But, he noted that today, the Swazi team received many questions and had a good ongoing discussion for almost two hours. He said, "I am really impressed!"
On their side, the Swaziland Safe Water Ministry (SSWM) team members were pleased with response from the members of the community gathered at St. Matthias. Dumsane Matsebula and Nothemba Khoza agreed that they were well-received and that the people there were "very interested and very happy about the demonstration." Alfred noted that he was proud of people in his birthplace; how they were conscious that even though they are on municipal water, it may not be clean. He said, "They have a real health consciousness."
Mthunzi Ndlovu chimed in, "They posed very positive questions... not ones of fear. They asked about the practical ways to use chlorine, particularly, for the treatment of their water supply." Mthunzi noted that at first, those gathered were "more interested in chlorine than in the chlorinator." Later, they expressed interest in how the chlorinator worked to make chlorine.
We learned that the chlorinator given to the people of St. Matthias by Greg Stout with the support of the Diocese of Iowa in 2007 was in turn given to a neighboring community that does not have a protected water source. The St. Matthias area has a municipal water system that comes from a protected spring, and so the people there felt that others needed the chlorinator more than they did. The community with chlorinated water has experienced no diarrhea or cholera since they started using the chlorinator. This led the St. Matthias community to wonder about whether their water is as safe as they'd thought.
The water system they use has three storage tanks -- one drains into a second tank and that one drains into the third tank from which the water is taken for drinking and cooking use. The people discussed with the SSWM team which tank to chlorinate, and how they could be sure that effective chlorination of the water had taken place when the level of water continuously changes in each tank. Different options were considered, and then the circle of Swazi people at St. Matthias decided that it would be safer to chlorinate their water in water containers in their own households; that way they would have control over the level of chlorine in their water. Jabu Mnisi said, "This was their own decision. They resolved among themselves the way the chlorination would be handled in their community." Jubu pointed out that the St. Matthias gathering had decided to use chlorine from the neighboring community as a test run, and then if they feel they need a chlorinator of their own, they will place an order with the SWWM team. A woman was selected to coordinate this community chlorination effort, and the team will follow up with her in the coming weeks.
Another good partnership formed and another good day! Tomorrow, we head west once again... hopefully, more happy water chlorinating, community-building trails!
p.s. Dan Rockwell is working with the trainees to take water samples at each place we visit and test them for coliform. Yesterday, Dan took a sample from the water pump used by the primary school of 400 students. The sample tested positive for coliform. Today, Dan took a sample from the tap in the St. Matthias Church. Stay tuned for results!
posted by Mission Team ~ Iowa at
6:42 AM
2 Comments:
Dear Melody, Thank you for giving us the inside track on your trip. It sounds delightful and inspiring--for you, the people of St. Mattias and the communities at large. (And, I can just see the twinkle in your eye when you got up to provide more chairs for the demonstration.) Love you, sis, Carole
By
Carole Bumpus, at 10:41 AM
Another great success story. Interesting that the St. Matthias community has figured out that results are what matters. Can't wait to hear how Dan's coliform test comes out!
By
Paula, at 6:05 PM
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