Who knew...

That Swaziland has maple trees! When I was walking through town last week and I was shocked to see a dried maple leaf lying on the sidewalk. Not beautifully red or yellow, but a light shade of green. Turns out, right in the city center of Mbabane stands a massive maple tree! After just a quick google search - maple leaf trees do stand a chance around the world (even in tiny Swazi). Though the temperatures here rarely fall below freezing maple syrup is still hard to come by....

 

"There is more than a hundred different species of maple trees in the world.  Most maple tree species are indigenous to Asia but can also be found in Europe, North America and Africa.  The maple family is referred to as Acer and the words has its roots in Latin which means “sharp” due to the distinctive points of the maple leaf.  Maple trees are renowned not only for being featured on the Canadian flag, producing vast quantity of delicious maple syrup or making great guitar and baseball bats but also for their appearance and their quality to transform and enchant a landscape."

While at the same time, who knew that Voodoo wasn't just a brand of field hockey sticks ;) Witchcraft, voodoo and other traditional spells are still a popular practice in this part of the world, and even have the attention of the police banning heights for witches flying broomsticks...

 

So while Swaziland is still an adventure I can't believe time is flying again and we are nearing the end of May. Temperatures have dropped to very cool mornings and nights (6-8 degrees), though most days are still beautifully hot and sunny. I'm finding myself engulfed in work, including both mandates of Capacity Support and monitoring the Girls Empowerment Clubs, and as Liaison Officer to welcome and facilitate new volunteers. Our Crossroads International team is growing at the moment as there are 7 of us in the country, strengthening and supporting various NGO's. The Girls Clubs are making tremendous strides and after a fruitful stakeholder workshop last week, the support from the Ministry of Education and other large NGO's was inspiring. Just a reminder that the money I'm raising is going directly to these girls clubs and I can't thank you enough for the support as I'm seeing first-hand the impact and individual transformation of empowering these young women and girls. 

A link to my fundraising page: http://cci.akaraisin.com/Crossroaderfundraising/99a9e5ad7c374ca29e0f8b8e242b7868

Outside of work I'm trying to stay active and have found a nice low impact 'bodyblitz' workout which is usually attended by one of the King's wives (so it must be good). Feel free to check it out and try it from home: http://whole-sum-living.biz/bodyblitz/. Otherwise, I'm still battling the daily kombi bus adventures, venturing through the country side on beautiful hikes, eating lots of tasty fresh fruits and vegetables and of course there is no shortage of the local braai: pap and meat!

Giraffes :)

There is just something so special about living in Africa.....

The last few weeks I've been busy traveling across the country visiting various schools and monitoring the activities of the Girls Empowerment Clubs. Sometimes the girls are expecting our visits and have prepared songs and dances, other times we visit and educate about various topics, such as the different kinds of abuse and how to report it etc ; these discussions are often eye opening and the questions or feedback really demonstrate the need of these clubs. I want to give examples, but they are hard to relate to, and as the Sexual Offenses and Domestic Violence bill is still new in the country, there is still some conflict regarding the rights of women and traditional Swazi culture. However, most times the visits are truly inspiring and you feel such warmth listening to their songs or poetry, and appreciation for what they are learning. Other times, you take the lead and try to motivate and empower the girls by telling your story of success or failure and how opportunities come and go in life. The best part of the day is when they sing their anthems, screaming at the top of their lungs...

"I know I can, I know I can...Be what I want to be, Be what I want to be...!"

And then some days, like yesterday on the long journey home, you want to scream when you surprisingly see a beautiful giraffe on the side of the road!

Time flies!

Time flies when you're traveling the world! I can't believe it's already April and yet I have so much I want to share and write about. In March I was back in Canada for a pre-departure training workshop with Crossroads International. Though it was a long way to come it was very worthwhile and nothing like a little cold burst away from this beautifully hot Kingdom! The course was meant for all the Crossroaders beginning their journey overseas this year - some coming to Swaziland, others to Ghana or Togo, and even Bolivia. We discussed current trends in International Development, Gender and Development, working effectively overseas, Monitoring and Evaluation tools, and various other interesting and worthwhile discussions and topics. My previous experience of working in Swaziland definitely played a big role in helping the new Crossroaders become a bit more familiarized with the culture and answer any questions.

Anyways, I've landed back in the Kingdom ready to take on my role not only as a Liaison Officer for the volunteers venturing to Swaziland and facilitating visits of board members, but also being a part of the Prevention team working for SWAGAA (Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse). In the first two weeks I've been directly involved with the establishment of 10 new schools to the program. I gave a presentation to about 70 school teachers informing or sensitizing them about the issue of abuse in the country and the importance of these clubs in changing the face of society. Some of my work has also included revising the manuals for the mentors/facilitators and girls, as well as presenting about the GEC at workshops. I already know the work here is making an impact and so looking forward to sharing more with you once I"m working directly with the girls on issues such as abuse, their rights, leadership skills, HIV/Aids education, trafficking and other topics.

Aside from work, life here is quite an adventure. Not only are the 'kombi' rides (my hour long bus to work) nothing short of entertaining - the daily question of if I'm married or would like to be married, as well as being slightly on edge about the condition of the kombi's...but anyways, all in all I'm still enjoying the culture and being back in the beautiful Kingdom. Some of my favourite moments have been visiting the sports center where I used to spend countless hours and distributing the donations to the coaches and children, seeing old friends, getting my hair braided again and again with a different style, and enjoying the sun lying by the river! I have yet to get used to the hilly roads while jogging and the incredible stormy thunderstorms that can keep you awake for hours....

Here are some photos, hopefully more to come soon ;)

By the way, thank you so much for all the wonderful birthday messages, feel so blessed (Ps. I heard 30 is the new 20!!)

GEC Posters

the NGO I'm working for

Not common, but a sample of Gender Based Violence issues in the country..

Workshops

Doreen, my award winning supervisor

Enjoying the workshop in the sun

Workshop training

Lovely Tenele

Giving GEC presentation

Meet 'ginger' a future leader through the GEC programme

Views from Manzini

Back at Olympafrica

Mantenga Falls

My morning view

Visiting the local NCP

Cultural dances

B& I @ Manzini Day, Promoting Rope Skipping

One of the Kings brother's at Manzini Day

Going to work

"Crossroaders"

Lounging at the river

Swazi Bank Cup Final

Returning to the Kingdom

When someone said you can leave Africa, but it will always stay in your heart, they were right. I left Swaziland exactly 5 months ago and from the day I left I knew I'd go back. When, how, where, what, were not the deciding factors. Simply knowing that I was going to return was enough motivation.

Adjusting to Canadian way of life was more difficult than I had expected - the hustle and bustle of downtown Toronto, the fast-paced, consumer driven world was a shock to my system. Though as one does, you adjust and you live day in day out, setting goals, finding work, catching up with friends and family and living a life that you were once contempt with. I thankfully found work after several months of applying anywhere from 'the Dollar store to the UN', from dreading spending $3 for a one-way ride on the subway to regretfully spending $4.50 on a latte one day....to constantly checking websites, making contacts, hoping, waiting, that somehow I could return to the Kingdom. I loved coming home, sharing my stories and photos to those who wanted to learn more - sharing about cultures and customs that are worlds a part from our upbringings or our traditions. (Particularly the 'cow' story with my Dad!) Every day I felt and do feel so lucky to know that I have family and friends around me to support me, laugh with me, and keep pushing forward...finding that way to return to Africa.

To make a long story short - I'm going back! Initially, (until a few days ago) I booked a ticket for only a few weeks - pursuing my own ambition to return and catch up with the projects, the friends, and way of life that I have grown to love. The sports centre in Lobamba is still something I think about almost every day - are the programs still running, are they getting the support they should be, how are they progressing.... I have so many boxes and donations to bring to the centre, I think I'll need at least a few extra enormous bags to bring what I want to...

My new work however encompasses a much different capacity. I'll be working for Crossroads International, an organization partly funded by CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency), acting as a Liaison Officer. While the position is new and tailored specifically for someone like myself that has lived and experienced the way of life and cultural adaptation in Swaziland, I'll be mentoring current volunteers and working specifically for an organization known as SWAGAA (Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse) with the Girls Empowerment Program in schools - focusing on preventing girls abuse and education pertaining to HIV/AIDS (Swaziland currently having the highest prevalence in the world....)

Wow, can I say that I'm thrilled, terrified, scared..or just so incredibly optimistic and excited to continue my quest to live and empower women and children in a place that I've grown to love...

So, stay tuned - thanks for all your support and can't wait to share my continuation of "thistimetoswazi"

~ Nomsa :)

Ps. VISITORS WELCOME!

Thanks to my sister, family and friends for all that you do for me!

Memories

"The best things in life come in threes, like friends, dreams and memories.."

Surviving the winter months..

Wooo - Go Canada!

Organic veg

Truly Canadian with that hat!

OAC - office #2

Local attire

Skipping Mountain Top

Classic

Night of Opening Ceremony

Lovin' a good braai

Good times!

Drawing competition

Was looking for Mr. Discount..

Dalton!

Maguga Dam

Donkeys!

Countryside..

So tight, it hurts to smile ;)

The river, Lobamba

View of Lobamba

Blue sky!

Milwane

Love these trees..

Shebeen'

Lobamba

So sweet..

The new look..

Thabile!

Good-bye's @the office..

The boys!

It's not good-bye, it's see you soon!