I feel like this might be a two part blog, or maybe even more. We are in Swaziland, which is a small country surrounded by South Africa. It is a little smaller than the state of New Jersey and is a full blown monarchy. The landscape of Swaziland is gorgeous. It is mountainous and lush with green plants and wildlife roaming.
Unfortunately, as beautiful as the landscape is, it just can’t hide the highest HIV rate in the world (an estimated 39%) and the fact that the life expectancy is 47 years. These are conservative estimates from what I can gather in the interaction that I have had with the Swazi people. Very few of them are tested for HIV because of the stigma that it carries. The virus has essentially wiped out a whole generation.
Honestly, I don’t know where to begin with trying to explain the dire need for intervention in this country. Death is a weekly issue that these people are dealing with and because it happens so often they aren’t afforded the time to grieve or mourn.
Our ministry has been visiting care points where children bring their plate and fork and are given one meal a day. The “GoGos” or Grandma in SiSwati, which is the official language here, cook and serve the children their meal. We were asked by our contact to pray in to what we wanted this month of ministry to look like, we prayed and felt led to minister to the GoGos and pour in to them. This was long before we understood the undertaking of a GoGo.
GoGo is the definition of selflessness. It is the picture of What Would Jesus Do?. It is the affirmation that we serve a living God and He cares and provides. (I speak of most GoGos, not all, by any means).
HIV/AIDS has wiped out the “Baby Boomer” generation. It is just the fact of life here in Swaziland, although if you asked, TB or “illness” would be to blame. Think about it for a minute and determine what life would look like if biological warfare struck the US and wiped 75% of the people between the ages of 28 and 40 clear out. What would happen to the children?
In Swaziland, the GoGos stepped up to the challenge. Our team has interacted with many GoGos. The children that they care for might be their biological grandchildren but often times are just children that were left with no parents and wandered on to their homesteads.
Kacie, Evan, and Kerri have taken on the task of profiling the GoGos to find out more information about them. These profiles are the source of our dinnertime conversation because they frequently aren’t sure what year they were born, how old they are, or even how many children live on their homestead with them. The Swazis are a very closed and reserved culture. We were able to help our contact by profiling these GoGos to determine where the needs are in the community.
We visit the Care Points in the morning and in the afternoon we do home visits. We visited one such GoGo just yesterday. Flora is an amazing woman of God. She is strong , powerful, and a smile to light up Swaziland. We heard about her through a 20 year old boy, Senelly, that she cares for because he is still working through high school.
He had missed a day of school because he was “sick”.
We have had many conversations with Senelly about hiking and adventures and he came in to the Team House to talk this afternoon, he had four pieces of bread that he asked us to make in to sandwiches. Eric and Jen, our contacts, spoke with him a little and found out that he had not eaten in 2 days and he didn’t attend school because he was weak. Eric promptly went to the grocery store and purchased food for Senelly’s GoGo and invited our team along for the ride.
The joy on that woman’s face was unsurpassable. As we sit and talk with her and listen to her PRAISE THE LORD with every ounce of strength she has left children gather at her feet. The crazy thing is, none of these children share her blood. GoGo Flora answers the call from God to take these children in and care for them. Hearing her speak it was like someone stating “The sky is blue.”, her service to this children in need was not even a question. “They need a home and food.” both of which she struggles to provide. She spoke to us about praying while feeling her pulse fade because of the hunger and how Eric was an answer to prayers. Flora explained how children come to her house at night to sleep and there is no room so they must find another place.
I love Africa. I love the joy the people have here. I love that you can make someone’s day but simply giving them sandwiches. I love that something so simple means the world to them and I absolutely love that they have the purest love for people. Not everyone in Africa is this way, we have just found a gem in Swaziland. I love that these people make me want to be a better person. I know that I was called here to minister and encourage and love on them but my goodness they are doing all that for me as well. I see GoGo Flora appreciate every little thing that she has and it warms my heart. I see her praising and serving the Lord with all that she is, in every sense. This woman has fully relied on God for EVERYTHING in her life and it gives me such peace and satisfaction that she will be richly rewarded for that in Heaven!
