this month i lived in a dying country.
swaziland has the highest national HIV prevalence in the world at 26.1% of adults between the ages of 15 and 49 (peaking at 54% among pregnant women aged 30–34). the United Nations Development Program has written that if it continues unabated, the "longer term existence of Swaziland as a country will be seriously threatened.” the average life expectancy is 47.
i knew all of this coming into swaziland and didn’t really know what to expect from the people here. would they all be sad and sickly? would the atmosphere here be one of despair?
during the month we worked at care points and visited a hospice center. care points are places where kids in the community can come for food and a safe place to just be. the care point my team was at this month has a little classroom where we got to teach preschool and i absolutely loved it!
many of the children at the carepoints are HIV positive, and many of them are orphaned and live with extended relatives. almost all of them are under or malnourished. some children have a hard time staying awake during the preschool lessons we taught, simply because their tiny bodies aren’t receiving enough nutrients on a daily bases. sometimes i would just scoop one up into my lap and let them sleep for a bit, all the while drooling on my shirt.
one day some elementary aged girls ask my friend Melanie about america. “are there orphans in america? do they get adopted? maybe you could adopt me?”
it was heartbreaking to hear their stories and watch some of their frail bodies struggle to keep up with the day, but also encouraging to see the care point ladies working to get these kids the nutrition they need and the love they deserve.
one of my favorite days was visiting gogos (grandmothers) at hospice. as we visited with the gogos they welcomed us into their little cottages with open arms. they clapped and sang along as we sang songs to them, and one gogo even drifted off into a nap – heart melting. we would just sit and talk and sing and pray, each little gogo we visited as sweet and adorable as the last. if these women weren’t in hospice beds you wouldn’t guess that they’re dying as they’re so full of spunk and joy that lights up their beautiful faces.
the kingdom of Swaziland is an absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful country. teeny tiny and almost entirely surrounded by south africa, this country is as peaceful as it is beautiful. the people are warm and welcoming and always ready to have a conversation.
the gogos we meet on the 30 minute bus ride home greet us as if they’ve run into old friends. “sani bonani cicis! ningani!?!” (hello sisters! how are you!?) and they really want to know – how we’re doing and what we’re doing and can we come to their house and meet their family? the swazi people love to talk, but not in a rushed way; in the way you talk slowly and intently with an old friend over a good cup of coffee. even rhodes, our regular taxi driver turned friend (who resembles kanye) would just drive us around all day if we wanted to talk. he’s from a very wealthy family and doesn’t need the money he makes as a driver, he just enjoys cruising around all day, chatting with people.
this month i lived in a dying country, but a country that refuses to go quietly because each day will consist of much laughter and singing and long lingering conversations with old friends, or new ones.
