Final days in Swaziland
Trip Start
Feb 05, 2007
1
23
25
Trip End
Apr 28, 2007
Lobamba,
South Africa
Thursday, April 26, 2007
It was wonderful getting back into Swaziland. I was annoyed with myself by doing a round trip from Cape Town to come back for a week, but I am now glad that I am ending my trip in Swaziland. This week I have spent at the orphanage. Zettembe (previously spelled Stembe), who is HIV positive has been moved into the orphanage and I think he has been replaced by a new little boy in the week that I was away. His sores have almost completely healed, he smiles, laughs, and plays. I think his skin was too sore to really play with other children and since he is now getting fed on a regular basis and his medicine he can concern himself with things other than survival and pain.
Zettembe is a wonderful reminder of what can be done to change a situation for the better. I have spent a lot of time in the last three months thinking about what I can do, what I can't do, and what I do actually do. I can't make a child HIV negative, I can't adopt anyone, well not right now anyways, i can't change the school system in south africa... and the list goes on. so in zettembe's situation he is still HIV positive, still doesn't have a family or any education to speak of, but now he is living somewhere where he can be taken care of and get medical care. i believe it's easy to lose sight of the impact and important changes that can be made that make a wold of difference for one child. i have seen a boy completely transform into a much healthier and happier person. i am struggling trying to explain this in a 20 min time on the computer, but i guess it boils down to small things matter, and little changes are still changes.
the schools in swaziland are on vacation at the moment, but obviously the orphanage is still open. this means that all the children that stay at the orphanage are there during the day. it has been a little crazy with children milling in and out of the room, and trying to create things to do for people from 3 to 15, but it has been fun and i have learned some new swazi games and have had a lot of help since i have been working with a new volunteer.
I also went into a small game park in swaziland, which was spectacular. you would have to drive a far way to get to a trail this empty at home. I saw hippos, zebras, a huge snake on the trail (thankfully at a 30 foot distance), gazelles, monkeys, lots of birds, and a sign that said to stay away from the water's edge because there were crocodiles in the water. i hitched a ride home with an italian couple which was perfect since it would have been a 2 hour walk home after a long day of hiking.
i have been thinking a lot about my project in south africa as i begin getting ready to leave swaziland. i am glad to have changed projects and traveled a little in between, but as the time for departure is upon me i think often of pinkie and his class, family and friends. in my mind i am planning a trip out again to barberton, but i have no idea if that will come into place. i got several text messages from here on my swazi phone, telling me that i was missed and that i should come out for a weekend to see her before i leave. i am sorry that i wasn't able to make it out there again. as i depart swaziland i realize that pinkie's kindness and open heart to me will be what i miss most when i get home, and something that i will not ever forget. as a vulnerable lone traveler working in a strange place being able to feel at home quickly with the woman i was working with was a true blessing of my trip.
I have a lot of things to get done between now and tomorrow afternoon when i depart from swaziland to eventually end up in the United States. so i will end this entry now and plan on writing a final reflection entry on one of my 7 hour layovers in either jo'burg or london.
