Luve Praise 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 donations from the Iowa Safe Water International Ministries and the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, parishes and individuals...

Last Thursday morning (October 15, 2009), the Swaziland Safe Water Ministry team was greeted by a beautiful spring morning for our trip to Luve. We anticipated an abbreviated outing... down the mountain road past Ezulwini, through Manzini and then a short drive north to St. Andrew's Anglican Church. We hoped to be back at the Thokoza Centre in the early afternoon for chlorinator building with time to spare on the way for chlorinator supply shopping in Manzini on the way back. Best laid plans of mice and men and Swazi schedules...

The outer gate was locked when we arrived at St. Andrew's, Luve. The church yard is fenced in to keep out wandering cattle and goats, but there was also no sign of any people gathering for the team's presentation. An elderly woman appeared in the church doorway, then slowly came to open the gate. Inside the church were three elderly women -- one of whom had not come for the chlorinator demonstration, but decided to stay. The parish priest was absent. After a few calls (cell phones are so vital in these rural areas), we found that Rev. Mandla Dlamini was in Manzini making funeral arrangements for his grandmother, who had passed away the previous evening. He said he would come as soon as possible. A call to a nearby community parish nurse, who had indicated there would be a sizable group of people coming from a few kilometers away to the meeting, garnered the report that only one woman was planning to attend. At that point, the team considered cancelling the session. Out of courtesy, we waited for Fr. Dlamini to arrive from Manzini.

Come he did in a swirl of apologies and a suggestion that he go to a Roman Catholic church down the road a ways and see if the women attending the Mother's Union meeting there would be willing to come to the chlorinator demonstration. The chlorinator demonstration session was supposed to start at 10 a.m. and it was nearing noon by this time. Fr. Dlamini called with an affirmative and the team van was enlisted to bring some of the women over with the rest riding in the back of the priest's pickup. I was sitting in the back of the dimly lighted church... biding my time... waiting when suddenly the air was filled with a Siswati song of praise and women began marching in, dancing, singing exhuberantly, clapping hands... Anglicans, Lutherans, Zionists, Methodists, Roman Catholics, Evangelicals... It was an awesome beginning... and an energetic session throughout... that lasted until 3 p.m. It was well worth the wait!

Heartening Moments in Maphungwane by Melody Rockwell

Swaziland Safe Water Project -- sponsored by substantial grants from the Episcopal Church United Thank Offering Gift and Trust Fund and the Episcopal Waters of Hope with generous gifts from the Iowa Safe Water International Ministries and the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, parishes and individuals...

Today, as soon as the team disembarked from our van at Maphungwane, Archdeacon Josiah Mahlalela left in his truck and our driver Thokozani Makhubu drove off with our vehicle to bring more people to the meeting. Two more trips with packed vehicles amplified the circle with representatives from several communities in the area.

"Chlorinators have made a real difference in three of our communities," lay minister Bhekithemba Matsenjwa explained. "We want others to learn about chlorination, too." Matsenjwa, an active social development leader in St. Peter and St. Paul Anglican Church in Maphungwane, told us how the Anglican church is the door through which the chlorinators have come. But, he made a special point that the project is for the all in the communities. He also told how using the chlorinators had brought the communities together to create safe drinking water.

I recognized this place where Dan and I had visited last October (2008) with the Iowa team. Again, we were seated under the ancient council trees and welcomed by the community leaders. But, there was a huge difference in Maphungwane. All three chlorinators received there (one in 2007 & two in 2008) were being used successfully by three separate communities.

One elder welcomed us with great thanks. He said, "Ever since you came, we have not buried a child." I gazed out at the beautiful babies in their mothers' arms and gave thanks in my heart that chlorination had made such a significant, tangible difference here.




















The chlorinator demonstration by the Swazi team was well-received and three duos eagerly tried and succeeded at producing chlorine... including two of the elders who were present. It caused great excitement among those assembled that these dignitaries, who are treated as princes in their communities, were involved in the project, even to the point of making chlorine.

Rev. Peter Zunugu, the priest in charge of the Maphungwe area, noted with enthusiasm that the word has spread throughout the region about the importance of chlorination in this area; about its success in reducing illnesses, particularly among the children. Other communities that don't have the chlorinators now are asking for them. The team could see that they'd better get busy building chlorinators to keep up with the demand!

Lomahasha Water Shortage by Nothemba Khoza

Swaziland Safe Water Project -- sponsored by substantial grants from the Episcopal Church United Thank Offering Gift and Trust Fund and the Episcopal Waters of Hope with generous gifts from the Iowa Safe Water International Ministries and the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, parishes and individuals...

Slow gathering of seepage from a spring in rural Lomahasha.

Canon Donald Ndlovu with team at dry borehole

next to seeping springwater hole.

Greetings,
It has been a busy two weeks..the work is getting more and more intense for the team. However, it has been a most wonderful experience and a major eye opener. To think that there are people in my own country who are not able to get the basic necessity like water is hard to swallow. I have learnt our country is in dire need of water and this is a national emergency. Today we went to Lomahasha and the situation there is heartbreaking. People wait for hours for water to come out from a small spring which at the end of the day gives out a minimum of five litres per serving. I was particularly shocked by such a discovery. I realised that even though people need to clean their water, there is a great need for the water itself and most of the boreholes that have been built in this area are all dry now. But I feel there is a lot of work to be done and people have to have clean water to drink. So with these words I say, PRESS ON SSWM!
Nothemba.

Two Gogos Making a Difference in Swaziland 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...

This past week I was privileged to meet two Gogos (Grandmas) in Swaziland, whose generous gifts are making a real difference in their small rural communities.

Dumsani Matsebula with Gogo Miriam Zwane in front of Mhlosheni Anglican Church.

Last Thursday (October 8), on the way to the demonstration at Mhlosheni (southern Swaziland), Dumsani Matsebula's home community, the Swaziland Safe Water Ministries team's van bumped slowly along the last few kilometers on a narrow dirt road. Before we arrived at the council tree, Dumsane directed the van down an even narrower road to a homestead some distance away from the main village and got out to open a gate to the compound. "You must meet the granny," he said, "who has given so much to make the Anglican Church a reality in this area."

Dumsani proudly introduced us to Gogo Miriam Zwane, who allows church meetings to take place in the small structure that is used by her children when they come home on visits. Dumsani is the lay minister, who serves this beginning parish. The church services are able to take place only when the children are not visiting, and so there is never assurance that the building will be available. It is very much appreciated whenever it can be used for Sunday services and mid-week Bible studies, but joyfully, the congregation is beginning to outgrow this facility.

Gogo Zwane has offered a generous remedy. She is giving a large field behind her home and near the entrance gate as land for building a new, good-sized church building. This 86-year old woman communicated her vitality and good will to the whole team. We were honored to be in her presence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gogo Siphiwe Fakudze at her homestead in Timbutini.

Today (October 11), my husband Dan and I were invited to visit a small beginning parish located some distance north of Manzini. Inhle Mdlalose, HIV/AIDS coordinator for the Diocese of Swaziland, had issued a special invitation for us to visit "a granny who has started a Neighborhood Care Point at her home." On the way to Timbutini, Inhle explained that Gogo Siphiwe Fakudze had worked in Manzini for many years. Incidentally, Gogo Fakudze is the actual great-grandmother of Swaziland Safe Water Ministries trainee, Nothemba Khoza. When she retired, she moved to the rural community of Timbutini and began providing a meal for orphans and vulnerable children in the area every Sunday after church. She offered her home as a place for an Anglican church service until the local chief donated a small building nearby.

When we arrived, we found the small, cement block building with a corrugated metal roof filled with people -- mostly children and teenagers. Gogo Fakudze came out to embrace us with welcome and invite us into the church and into the midst of voices welling in hymnful praise. Father Eric Mahlalela presided at the service and it was a joy to greet this man who had offered such generous hospitality at Luve when an Iowa team visited Swaziland in 2004.

After the service, Gogo Fakudze invited us out to see the girls perform a Swazi dance and then she joined in... another grandmother in her eighties... vital and giving; making a big difference in the lives of the children in her community. And speaking of the community, she has involved them in the Neighborhood Care Point project. She offers her 'kitchen,' pots and pans and water from her standpipe for volunteers to cook a meal for the children each day Monday through Saturday, while she still prepares the meal for the children after church each Sunday.

Gogo Fakudze expressed her thanks to the people of the Diocese of Iowa for their generous support of the Anglican Neighborhood Care Centers in Swaziland and especially for the children in Tibutini. "Thank you to Iowa!" she said. "Thank you for all you do," Dan and I responded.

For grace-filled grannies in Swaziland, we give thanks!

Info on Water Testing by SSWM -- Dan Rockwell

Swaziland Safe Water Project -- sponsored by substantial grants from the Episcopal Church United Thank Offering Gift and Trust Fund and the Episcopal Waters of Hope with generous gifts from the Iowa Safe Water International Ministries and the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, parishes and individuals...

The MPN test for water is a test that indicates the biological safety of the water for drinking purposes. By testing for coliform bacteria, we can determine if the water has been contaminated by human/animal waste.

The test is very simple: 10 milliliters of water is placed in a test tube with a special nutrient. We then incubate the sample by holding it next to our body for 10 to 18 hours. This incubation can be accomplished by placing the test tube in a waistband, under a belt or as one of our trainees tried yesterday -- in his sock -- an in-the-field, low tech incubating technique!

If the water sample turns yellow during the incubation period, it has coliform bacteria. If it turns yellow and fluoresces blue under UV light, E. coliform are present and poses a substantial health risk. So far, we have tested six water supplies in rural areas of Swaziland to determine the level of coliform present in the water the people in those communities are drinking. Tests for three of the six had positive indications of the presence of coliform, but none so far have shown the more viral form, E. coliform. Chlorination is especially important in those communities whose water is contaminated with coliform bacteria.

Doing the WASH in Swaziland by Melody Rockwell

Swaziland Safe Water Project -- sponsored by substantial grants from the Episcopal Church United Thank Offering Gift and Trust Fund and the Episcopal Waters of Hope with generous gifts from the Iowa Safe Water International Ministries and the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, parishes and individuals...

On October 2, the Swaziland Safe Water Ministries team started their day extra early to attend a meeting of WASH [Water and Sanitation for Health] Stakeholder Coordination Forum, a consortium of agencies concerned with water quality and resources in Swaziland. The meeting convened in the UNICEF headquarters in downtown Mbabane. Team members -- Alfred Sipho Dlamini, Nothemba Khoza, Dumsane Matsebula, Jabu Mnisi & Mthunzi Ndlovu -- had been personally invited to present and demonstrate the chlorinator along with Greg Stout from Iowa.

The gathering including representatives from the Swaziland Rural Water Department, UNICEF, and a large number of other organizations.

The agenda including updates on groundwater data management services, training on water supply manuals, solar water pumping, utilization of UNICEF's hand pumps, a meteorological forecast for the summer, and! the Swaziland Safe Water Ministry team's presentation. Alfred introduced the project, Greg explained the way the chlorinator works, and Nothemba and Dumsane demonstrated how to make chlorine.

They did well in this high-powered setting, and made some good contacts for the future of the project. "Come back," Chairperson Jameson Mkhonta said. "Bring written information and we will give this further consideration at our meeting next month." The Chairperson also commented that he was sure they could find all the parts [PVC pipe] in Swaziland that would be needed to make the chlorinators, or work with the plastics factories in Manzini to produce what is needed. He also indicated that the electrodes could surely be found in or near Swaziland. Greg agreed that making the chlorinators from as many local products as possible is the ideal that the team is aiming to achieve.

After the meeting, everyone was invited to tea -- which in Swaziland always includes biscuits (cookies) and small sandwiches in addition to coffee and tea. The Swazi team was enthusiastically encouraged to attend a water forum the following Friday and the trainees to take part in the training programs offered by WASH. A great connection!

A Warm Welcome in Cool Northern Highlands by Melody Rockwell

Swaziland Safe Water Project -- sponsored by substantial grants from the Episcopal Church United Thank Offering Gift and Trust Fund and the Episcopal Waters of Hope with generous gifts from the Iowa Safe Water International Ministries and the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, parishes and individuals...

The Swaziland Safe Water Ministry team drank in splendid sun-drenched views of mountains and deep, deep valleys as we sped north from Mababane on the first day of October, 2009. We sped, that is, until we reached the turnoff to Ekufikeni where the road narrowed and twisted up, down and around... and experienced mighty slow and careful maneuvering with the van jouncing even under Thando Mnisi's skillful handling of potholes, rocks, washes and other road hazards. (Yes! Thando was home from the university he attends in South Africa and volunteered to drive three days last week. What a joy it was for us to reunite with him for a a few days before he headed back to school and exams.)



We arrived around 10:30 a.m. at a simple homestead where a woman was sweeping the yard in preparation for our coming with a long, thin freshly-cut tree limb with green-leaved branches on the sweeping end, and then finishing the tidying with a swatch of thatching grass. Two women man-handled a large iron kettle of soaking beans, draining it, then lugging it to an open air 'cook shack' to place alongside an iron kettle of rice on a blazing campfire. They were cooking a meal for the Neighborhood Care Point (NCP) children [orphans and other vulnerable children], who would be eating there in the afternoon.


Huge cabbages had been harvested from a fenced-in garden and were piled on dirt floor of the room in the small house located closest to the kitchen. A group of men were in a nearby field cutting roof thatching grass with machetes. We were warmly welcomed by the two women and a man whom Father Joel Dlamini introduced. No one seemed in a hurry to assemble for the chlorinator demonstration, so as we waited, the team did an assessment of the water sources and availability in the area.


Across the valley, I could see women in twos and threes bedecked in colorful dresses, shawls and scarves appearing to float toward the hilltop homestead as they walked through tall grass to where we waited. One woman came with a babe swaddled on her back and trailed by two children carrying large woven baskets made for roosting chickens. The baskets were almost as large as the children! Men began to leave the field and a few arrived in pickups. Each person called out a friendly Siswati greeting or an English phrase of welcome as they neared us. Many shook our hands in the respectful Swazi way. The prince of the region arrived, walking with long-legged strides into the compound, his traditional Swazi dress flowing, his fur loin cloth and the red feather in his hair marking his high rank. Immediately after the prince was seated, the people gathered in a circle -- most of the men in chairs or on log benches on one side and the women and children on shawls or woven mats on the ground completing the circle.

Over 40 people gathered for the demonstration; nearly one-third of them were men. Trainees Dumsane and Mthunsi had been wary about how the demonstration would go, because there were so many men. "African men push against new things," Mthunsi said. A chlorinator previously given to this community had been fetched from a nearby homestead. It had been kept in good condition and looked as though it had never been used.

When asked about their water sources, the people told the team members that they had spring water from the mountain, but it flowed into the open and was exposed to contamination by grazing animals. [A sample of this community's water tested positive for coliform, a bacteria that can cause diarrhea and other ailments.] The women related that the children in this clan have terrible problems with diarrhea, and that they were were aware of use of bleach to make water safe to drink, but it was not affordable.

The demonstration was very successful with the people especially impressed that the team used the community's water; that we didn't bring our own water. They recognized that ordinary table salt had been used, but asked that they use their 'own salt' for the next demonstration. Two men leaped to their feet to be the first from their community to try making chlorine and showed that it was just as effective a process using their own water and! their own salt. Next two women tried it using their own previously unused chlorinator with their own water and salt. Excellent results! Huge smiles! The prince expressed appreciation for the demonstration being conducted in this manner. The people expressed a desire to make chlorine so that they could have treated water 'like people in town.' As a group, they decided that they would like to have the chlorine made at the care point and then distributed to each household to chlorinate their own water.

Gracious speeches of thanks were given from both sides. Then the women, who had been preparing food for the children, brought big metal bowls filled with steaming rice and beans and flavored with two large onions pulled that morning from the garden and placed one in the hands of each of the visiting team members, our driver, Thando and Father Joel. It was a difficult, honoring, yet humbling moment to be given so much food when there were so many, including children, right there in the circle around us who were hungry. What a huge gift we were given! I ate a couple of spoonfuls and then noticed a little boy standing near his seated mother. He was looking at us with dismay; his face telegraphing hurt at these strangers being given food. For him as well as for me, it did not compute! I motioned to him to come over. He smiled and dodged behind his mother, then peeked out at me. We played the motioning and peeking and smiling game for a couple of moments, and then I walked over and knelt down beside him to give him the bowl of food. His mother received it with thanks and I was treated to radiant smiles from both mother and son, and the women who had prepared the food. Take a picture of the food we prepare for our children, they asked. Other members of our team began to share their food as well... a time of grace and joy.

And the sun shone brightly in the west... by Melody Rockwell

Swaziland Safe Water Project -- sponsored by substantial grants from the Episcopal Church United Thank Offering Gifts and Trust Fund and the Episcopal Waters of Hope with generous gifts from the Iowa Safe Water International Ministries and the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, parishes and individuals...

On Wednesday, September 30, the Swaziland Safe Water Ministry team headed once again into cold misty weather. White clouds shrouded the hilltops. We arrived a little early at Ekupheleni, one of Orma Mavimbela's feeding places for orphans, a Neighborhood Care Point. We were greeted warmly by the woman who was preparing food for the children in large iron kettles over an open fire in a wood shed with a dirt floor. Her little girl regarded us shyly while clutching her toy lion. [When I showed her the photo I had taken of her, she didn't realize she was in the picture, but smiled brightly when she recognized her beloved lion.] Only two other people were present, so the team strolled across the makeshift soccer field noting the garden with large cabbages and the water system; well, water tank, tap.

Gradually, people began to arrive and within half an hour, a circle of 11 women and two men congregated around the demonstration table. Following introductions, the trainees began to involve the local community members in a discussion of their water situation. The people noted that diarrhea is a chronic, pervasive problem in their community, particularly for the children. Although the nearby school has water, one of its bore holes (wells) has gone dry, and most of the students and their families do not have water available at their homesteads. The children are often delayed in getting to class, because they have to walk quite a distance to fetch water for their families first. Rural water taps are available, but cost 10 Rand a month to use. That is more than many people can afford, so they rely on river water. They also expressed their awareness of how safe water and health are related; many use bleach to treat their water when they have the money, and when they don't, they use untreated water.

The trainees noted that there was real excitement and interest among the people of Ekupheleni in learning more about the chlorinator. The health maintenance worker, a vigorous and energetic older woman, was particularly vocal about the difference a chlorinator could make for their community. She suggested using the Neighborhood Care Point as a dispensing station for the chlorine. Many people in the circle related that they had heard about the chlorinator and wanted to see how it worked. After the SSWM team demonstrated the chlorinator, one large man leaped to his feet and volunteered to be first in his community to make chlorine. He was delighted and the women were impressed that his first attempt was successful: a warm chlorine solution with a strong bleach aroma. Two women were also triumphant in making chlorine.


Then a setback occurred when the health maintenance worker and a young woman teamed up to make chlorine. The battery failed to generate current. I asked later if that dissuaded those present from wanting a chlorinator. No, the trainees reported. The people had seen what the chlorinator could do and everyone understood that sometimes batteries go flat. The women also knew right away when the process wasn't working and had pointed the problem out to the trainees.

The Ekupheleni gathering expressed excitement about letting everyone in their area know about chlorinator benefits, including demonstrating it to the chief in their area. One woman brought a large bucket of water to be chlorinated. The session ended with the Swazis in the circle singing a beautiful song and trainee Dumsane offering an impassioned prayer of thanks and praise to God in Siswati. One didn't need to understand the language to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in our midst and the strength of the little community gathered there as the clouds lifted and the sun shone brightly in Ekupheleni.