So this past weekend I ventured into South Africa to go on a wee safari in Kruger National Park. It was quite the feat as I was traveling solo and nothing catastrophic happened. :)
Anyway, for my adventure weekend, the weather decided it was going to mimick Vancouver. I guess the universe mistakenly thought I was homesick and helped me out with a bout of rain, wind and cold! The problem is that I didn't bring November-in-Vancouver clothing, I brought November-in-Sub-Sahara Africa clothing. These are two very different things.
In any case, I did the Safari out of Nelspruit -a smallish city in the Mpumalanga province (North east South Africa). As South Africa has a fairly dodgy reputation, I chose not to brave public transport by myself and booked on to a backpackers' bus. I'm not going to lie, it was a nice vacation to be back in the world of flip flops and ipods :)
I stayed in a very funky hostel on Thursday night, and other than the rain and cold, had a lovely evening drinking cider and chatting with other travelers. On Friday morning, the wake up call came at 5am. Yeeesh. Its a good thing Swaziland has conditioned me to wake up at ridonculous o'clock otherwise there would have been trouble.
Safaris are done in open sided game-viewing vehicles. (seriously, exactly what you picture when you think safari). Anticipating the cold, I literally put on 7 layers of my light-weight breathable cotton clothing, tights, jeans, 2 pairs of socks....and 2 jackets.
It took us about an hour driving in a wonderfully heated small car to reach the Kruger Park gate where my open sided vehicle awaited. Upon arrival, I found a soggy group of Brits and a Frenchman, with some soggy blankets piled into a soggy, cold truck. During our pre-breakfast game drive, after the typical "tell me about your life in 3 sentences" introductions, they informed me that they were going home a day early because they were too cold. Awesome. Additionally, the tents they had slept in the night before had been wet, and there weren't enough beds for everyone. Great.
At this point, I was really hoping the Safari people would give me the option of going back to the warm, dry hostel and refunding my money. They didn't.
So the others left, and it was just little bundled me, huddled in the middle of the 15 seater safari truck, driving around in the pissing rain, and heavy winds. Ha! I love my life!
It turned out to be pretty good actually, even though I was laughing at myself the whole time. It turns out that there was only one dry tent left in the camp, but because I was the only one, I got it. woohoo! And the food, and bed, and guide were fantastic! AND they had drier-dryed wool blankets to add to my breathable-cotton layers so I wasn't even (that) cold. :)
Among the animal highlights were: an entire HERD of elephants 5 metres away from the truck. (I counted 17, and there were babies, and adults:) , a family of rhinos, some giraffes, and some extremely obnoxious baboons with their babies! SO COOL!
Thursday 26 November 2009
Thursday 12 November 2009
The Aid Debate
Currently "good development" usually embraces concepts like "sustainable," "empowerement," "community-based," and "skillsharing." In theory, practices have shifted from charity-like handouts from outsiders, to the empowerement of locals in self-sustaining, life-improving and often income-generating activities. Think: "give a man a fish" vs. "teach a man to fish..." With this shift, we have arrived at a point where there is currenlty a fairly heated debate on whether or not Foreign Aid is a good thing or not.
The pro-Aiders argue that developing countries don't stand a chance without foreign assistance, and that the developed world has an obligation to help under developed countries. (A good book to read for this side is "The End of Poverty" by Jeffrey Sachs)
The anti-Aiders, on the other hand, add up the millions and millions of dollars that have been infused into developing countries over the past few decades and compare the sum with the relatively insigficant progress made in their development. They often argue, that in many ways, Aid has done more harm than it has good. (Good books written by Aid skeptics: "The White Man's Burden" by William Easterly or "Dead Aid" by Dambisa Moyo)
Naturally, I'm plopped right in the middle of this.
On the one hand, the organization I work for would not exist without foreign support. It does many good, sustainable, things for a lot of people. It is also pretty close to 'ideal development' (if there is such a thing) in the way it operates: run by locals for locals, working on grassroots, sustainable projects in the community, focused on empowering and enabling...etc.
Furthermore, many aid-funded organizations provide extremely needed services and support to people who often have no other hope for help. Some organizations provide food for people who have no other means of obtaining it, literally preventing death by starvation. There are organizations that enable children who have nothing to go to school- essentially giving them a future. Others provide access to medical treatment and services such as HIV-Aids and TB testing and medication. At the end of the day, foreign aid allows thousands of people to enjoy at least a fraction of the basic rights and necessities they are in desperate need of.
On the other hand, foreign aid can be immensely ineffective. It is extremely frustrating.
I was recently told about an agricultural project here (I believe it was funded by the European Union). Farmers were to be given the seeds, training and tools required to harvest sustainable and profitable crops. On paper, the project is really the epitome of good practice in development: it's sustainable, it empowers locals, and it provides food and profits. One problem: drought combined with a lack of consistent water supply. Swaziland has been struggling with drought for a few years now...and it has the potential of rendering this aid completely useless. The locals here know this, but if they voice concern, the donors will likely find somewhere else to take their money. So, they take what is offered. The most frustrating part of it all, is that Swaziland is such a small country that with a few big donors, building up irrigation and clean water supply nationally would probably be very doable.
Another problem is dependency and expectation. How do you empower people who aren't interested in learning or have no motivation to better their lives or communities? This is obviously oversimplified, but honestly I've encountered many people here who seem to be content to have someone else do it, rather than learn how to do it themselves. This is not really that unnatural - a single mother struggling to take care of 4 children, may be much more attracted to receiving a food hamper every week, than to learning how to grow a garden - but it does cramp the style of many well-intentioned development workers out there!
Good, sustainable development is a nice idea; in reality, however, it's extremely challenging and complex. True sustainability only really holds value in the future; and how many of us really think about tomorrow's problems before we've dealt with today's? How can we expect people who are struggling to meet their basic needs to think about what is better in the long-run?
As for the Aid Debate, I fall somewhere in the middle (shocking, I know ;) Although I definitely do not condone children starving to death, or the sick not having access to medication (etc.), I think most of the problems that plague the developing world require solutions beyond what money can provide.
The pro-Aiders argue that developing countries don't stand a chance without foreign assistance, and that the developed world has an obligation to help under developed countries. (A good book to read for this side is "The End of Poverty" by Jeffrey Sachs)
The anti-Aiders, on the other hand, add up the millions and millions of dollars that have been infused into developing countries over the past few decades and compare the sum with the relatively insigficant progress made in their development. They often argue, that in many ways, Aid has done more harm than it has good. (Good books written by Aid skeptics: "The White Man's Burden" by William Easterly or "Dead Aid" by Dambisa Moyo)
Naturally, I'm plopped right in the middle of this.
On the one hand, the organization I work for would not exist without foreign support. It does many good, sustainable, things for a lot of people. It is also pretty close to 'ideal development' (if there is such a thing) in the way it operates: run by locals for locals, working on grassroots, sustainable projects in the community, focused on empowering and enabling...etc.
Furthermore, many aid-funded organizations provide extremely needed services and support to people who often have no other hope for help. Some organizations provide food for people who have no other means of obtaining it, literally preventing death by starvation. There are organizations that enable children who have nothing to go to school- essentially giving them a future. Others provide access to medical treatment and services such as HIV-Aids and TB testing and medication. At the end of the day, foreign aid allows thousands of people to enjoy at least a fraction of the basic rights and necessities they are in desperate need of.
On the other hand, foreign aid can be immensely ineffective. It is extremely frustrating.
I was recently told about an agricultural project here (I believe it was funded by the European Union). Farmers were to be given the seeds, training and tools required to harvest sustainable and profitable crops. On paper, the project is really the epitome of good practice in development: it's sustainable, it empowers locals, and it provides food and profits. One problem: drought combined with a lack of consistent water supply. Swaziland has been struggling with drought for a few years now...and it has the potential of rendering this aid completely useless. The locals here know this, but if they voice concern, the donors will likely find somewhere else to take their money. So, they take what is offered. The most frustrating part of it all, is that Swaziland is such a small country that with a few big donors, building up irrigation and clean water supply nationally would probably be very doable.
Another problem is dependency and expectation. How do you empower people who aren't interested in learning or have no motivation to better their lives or communities? This is obviously oversimplified, but honestly I've encountered many people here who seem to be content to have someone else do it, rather than learn how to do it themselves. This is not really that unnatural - a single mother struggling to take care of 4 children, may be much more attracted to receiving a food hamper every week, than to learning how to grow a garden - but it does cramp the style of many well-intentioned development workers out there!
Good, sustainable development is a nice idea; in reality, however, it's extremely challenging and complex. True sustainability only really holds value in the future; and how many of us really think about tomorrow's problems before we've dealt with today's? How can we expect people who are struggling to meet their basic needs to think about what is better in the long-run?
As for the Aid Debate, I fall somewhere in the middle (shocking, I know ;) Although I definitely do not condone children starving to death, or the sick not having access to medication (etc.), I think most of the problems that plague the developing world require solutions beyond what money can provide.
Wednesday 28 October 2009
Potato Potato Potato
Here's a short story that will most definitely illustrate a typical Swazi approach (very non-chalant) to something which in a Canadian context, may have caused significant increases in blood pressure, if not worse.
This past weekend our group (from UBC) had our midsession retreat. It was at a lovely wildlife reserve not too far from Mbabane and facilitated by an incredibly inspiring woman from Lesotho. (the other teeny country encompassed by South Africa) At the end of the session, on Sunday afternoon, we all decided to have lunch together in Mbabane before heading our separate ways. Of course, it started absolutely pissing it down while we were in the restaurant, so the boys decided they would take a taxi home. (They had a lot farther to go, on a journey comprising two soggy crammed buses and a ten minute trek between bus ranks.)
In any case, one of them phoned the taxi driver and asked that he pick us up at the restaurant (Nando's flame grilled chicken- oh yeah). He said he would be there at 3. At about 3:10 we called again, and he said he was "stuck" but on his way. ok.
A few minutes later (about 20), we are in the car. (Luckily, Gelekeceni was on the way so I bummed a ride :) As we head for the entrance to the highway, our driver elaborates on why he was "stuck": apparently, his windshield wipers had stopped working. It is still raining. Excellent.
Sitting in the front seat, I can't see anything. So as we accelerate to about 80 km/h on the curvy, hilly highway to where I live, I have to ask: "How can you see anything?!"
"Ah, no problem, no problem, my friend taught me a trick!" Great. "This side, I can see ---I put potato." Huh?
Yep, he had literally cut a potato in half and rubbed it on his windshield in attempt to be able to see the road without windshield wipers.
Lol. Okay, so I admit that when I looked over to his side, there were small spots where the potato substance had minimized the blur cause by the MASSIVE amounts of rain dumping down on the car.
After a few minutes of contemplation I say "I think you need more potato."
He just laughs. Typical. Then to comfort me, he says "Don't worry, I use the white line too" (meaning the lines on the road)
Oh good.
From the backseat, the boys offer to stop and buy some potato.
After rummaging around under his seat, the driver says "No no, don't worry," and proudly produces a chunk of potato.
Needless to say, I made it home safely. And as I was scrambling up the concrete steps to my path home, our taxi driver was diligently smearing potato on the windshield of the car.
This past weekend our group (from UBC) had our midsession retreat. It was at a lovely wildlife reserve not too far from Mbabane and facilitated by an incredibly inspiring woman from Lesotho. (the other teeny country encompassed by South Africa) At the end of the session, on Sunday afternoon, we all decided to have lunch together in Mbabane before heading our separate ways. Of course, it started absolutely pissing it down while we were in the restaurant, so the boys decided they would take a taxi home. (They had a lot farther to go, on a journey comprising two soggy crammed buses and a ten minute trek between bus ranks.)
In any case, one of them phoned the taxi driver and asked that he pick us up at the restaurant (Nando's flame grilled chicken- oh yeah). He said he would be there at 3. At about 3:10 we called again, and he said he was "stuck" but on his way. ok.
A few minutes later (about 20), we are in the car. (Luckily, Gelekeceni was on the way so I bummed a ride :) As we head for the entrance to the highway, our driver elaborates on why he was "stuck": apparently, his windshield wipers had stopped working. It is still raining. Excellent.
Sitting in the front seat, I can't see anything. So as we accelerate to about 80 km/h on the curvy, hilly highway to where I live, I have to ask: "How can you see anything?!"
"Ah, no problem, no problem, my friend taught me a trick!" Great. "This side, I can see ---I put potato." Huh?
Yep, he had literally cut a potato in half and rubbed it on his windshield in attempt to be able to see the road without windshield wipers.
Lol. Okay, so I admit that when I looked over to his side, there were small spots where the potato substance had minimized the blur cause by the MASSIVE amounts of rain dumping down on the car.
After a few minutes of contemplation I say "I think you need more potato."
He just laughs. Typical. Then to comfort me, he says "Don't worry, I use the white line too" (meaning the lines on the road)
Oh good.
From the backseat, the boys offer to stop and buy some potato.
After rummaging around under his seat, the driver says "No no, don't worry," and proudly produces a chunk of potato.
Needless to say, I made it home safely. And as I was scrambling up the concrete steps to my path home, our taxi driver was diligently smearing potato on the windshield of the car.
Saturday 10 October 2009
More about the work I'm doing...
I work with the Regional Coordinator of one of Swaziland’s Four Regions: Hhohho. The organization I'm working with is working with the UNDP on a project to organize Support Groups into coordinated networks. This is what I’ve been working on.
My work has mostly been in the head office so far. I have visited rural communities, to have exposure to the Support Groups on the ground- but these meetings/events are held in SiSwati (the local language) so its not as productive for the organization to have me there. The actual work has been fairly unexciting. I have helped with writing up progress reports, drafting activity plans, inputting and organizing electronic data. The skill sets of my coworkers vary, but often I am simply helping show them how to structure a formal report, or use certain features on excel, or attach a document to email. At times, there is not a whole lot to do; I usually spend this time brainstorming and writing out what kind of feedback I can give to my coworkers at the end of my placement.
It may sound mundane -its definitely not the picture most people have of what volunteering in Africa looks like. I work in an office, similar to an office you might find in Vancouver.
All said and done, and with the bigger picture in mind, my first month has been full of amazing and reality-grounded learning experiences. Working here has exposed me to many of the aspects of and challenges facing the development community in Swaziland. In addition to the work I’ve been doing in the office, I have had the chance to attend a national forum on Alternative Care for Orphaned and Vulnerable Children, a meeting on HIV-Aids, Gender Equality, and Human Rights, and a week long course on Mainstreaming HIV/Aids.
The real world of development is not about food handouts or building community centres. Its about finding a way, with all the roadblocks and challenges, to empower people to lead healthy and happy lives.
Tuesday 6 October 2009
Swazi Time
Here in Swaziland things run on a different sort of time -something I like to call Swazi time.
Here's a little story to illustrate. Enjoy!
On Friday afternoon at about 2pm, I was told that I would be attending a training for the entirety of the following week. The training was to be residential so I need pack a bag. To get there I could either take a kombi to an unfamiliar destination or I could meet one of my coworkers at work (in Mbabane) at 7:30 on Monday morning.
--a little sidetrack is that I was going away for the weekend, and thus was unable to communicate this to my host family until Sunday night, when I had just returned AND I had no clean clothes (having planned on doing laundry on Monday once I had returned from my weekend trip. OF COURSE, it POURED rain on Sunday night, leaving me to be quite resourceful with my clothing strategies while away. typical---
In anycase, my commute to work normally takes about 45 minutes from doorstep to doorstep. So I lugged my backpack to the kombi "stop" on Monday morning at about 6:30. For some reason, it was apparently extra busy, because every kombi that passed by was full. I waited for about 45 minutes, which brought me to 7:15. I began to stress a little, because I had no idea where this training was, or how the heck to get there. I imagined l would lug my pack all the way to work (crammed into the back of the kombi) only to find I had been abandoned. haha.
I didn't have the phone number of my carpool buddy. of course. I only had the number of his boss. I called. And woke her up. I got his number, and sent him a message. Finally, I got a kombi. phew. By the time I got to work, it was about 7:45.
My carpool buddy wasn't there. But one of my other coworkers informed me he hadn't been there yet. He came at about 8. Turns out, he was at the salon getting a haircut.
I sat in the office for about an hour. We need some sort of document before we can leave, some emails need to be sent etc etc etc.
So at about 9:15, we're ready to go - the car won't start. I walk outside to the sight of my coworkers repeatedly pushing a truck up a small hill and then pushing it down while the other attempts to start it.
After about three tries, it finally starts. No one seems to be concerned that the truck wouldn't start on its own, because we all pile into it.
Then, we have to drop one of my coworkers off at the government buildings. He's supposed to come to the training too, but no one told him, so he doesn't have his stuff. lol. I have no idea why we dropped him off at the government buildings.
Then, we go back to my office. huh?? I know, right? Turns out, the truck needs gas. The gas is on an account, which needs vouchers. Once filled up, we bring the vouchers back to the office. FINALLY, we're on our way.
We arrive at the training centre at about 10:30 (its 20 minutes from where I work). We were supposed to be there by 8. No biggie. Its swazi time!
Here's a little story to illustrate. Enjoy!
On Friday afternoon at about 2pm, I was told that I would be attending a training for the entirety of the following week. The training was to be residential so I need pack a bag. To get there I could either take a kombi to an unfamiliar destination or I could meet one of my coworkers at work (in Mbabane) at 7:30 on Monday morning.
--a little sidetrack is that I was going away for the weekend, and thus was unable to communicate this to my host family until Sunday night, when I had just returned AND I had no clean clothes (having planned on doing laundry on Monday once I had returned from my weekend trip. OF COURSE, it POURED rain on Sunday night, leaving me to be quite resourceful with my clothing strategies while away. typical---
In anycase, my commute to work normally takes about 45 minutes from doorstep to doorstep. So I lugged my backpack to the kombi "stop" on Monday morning at about 6:30. For some reason, it was apparently extra busy, because every kombi that passed by was full. I waited for about 45 minutes, which brought me to 7:15. I began to stress a little, because I had no idea where this training was, or how the heck to get there. I imagined l would lug my pack all the way to work (crammed into the back of the kombi) only to find I had been abandoned. haha.
I didn't have the phone number of my carpool buddy. of course. I only had the number of his boss. I called. And woke her up. I got his number, and sent him a message. Finally, I got a kombi. phew. By the time I got to work, it was about 7:45.
My carpool buddy wasn't there. But one of my other coworkers informed me he hadn't been there yet. He came at about 8. Turns out, he was at the salon getting a haircut.
I sat in the office for about an hour. We need some sort of document before we can leave, some emails need to be sent etc etc etc.
So at about 9:15, we're ready to go - the car won't start. I walk outside to the sight of my coworkers repeatedly pushing a truck up a small hill and then pushing it down while the other attempts to start it.
After about three tries, it finally starts. No one seems to be concerned that the truck wouldn't start on its own, because we all pile into it.
Then, we have to drop one of my coworkers off at the government buildings. He's supposed to come to the training too, but no one told him, so he doesn't have his stuff. lol. I have no idea why we dropped him off at the government buildings.
Then, we go back to my office. huh?? I know, right? Turns out, the truck needs gas. The gas is on an account, which needs vouchers. Once filled up, we bring the vouchers back to the office. FINALLY, we're on our way.
We arrive at the training centre at about 10:30 (its 20 minutes from where I work). We were supposed to be there by 8. No biggie. Its swazi time!
Tuesday 29 September 2009
Work Work Work!
From what I've learned so far, the organization I'm working for is a coordinating body for hundreds of support groups that have formed at community levels for people infected and affected by HIV.
The Support Groups face many challenges, including huge difficulty with stigma and discrimination. Especially within rural and isolated communities, there is an astounding amount of discrimination against people living with HIV. A barrier to the fight against the HIV epidemic is simply creating openness for people to get tested and disclose their status.
The organization provides support to PLWHA (People living with HIV/Aids) through several different programs:
-they doing training workshops on Stigma & Discrimination, Human Rights, and Gender Based Violence
-they provide training on nutrition, home-based care, ART (anti-retroviral treatment), TB signs and symptoms, and the importance of testing for HIV
-they help with family planning services, and provide condoms (both male and female)
-they help start income generating activities (IGAs) within Support groups and run a Self-help program. The Self Help program is where support group members will agree to bring a small amount of money to every week's meeting. They then pool the money together and lend it to one of the members to finance a small project. (Like buying seeds for a garden, or feed for some chickens) Once the member has made enough profit, he/she will repay the sum borrowed with some interest.
Challenges
The challenges faced by PLWHA and the organization as a whole are extensive and encompass many aspects of Development. Here are just a few:
- Poverty: families cannot afford to buy food - this makes it difficult to sustain any sort of IGA (income generating activity), it decreases daily productivity, it makes it very difficult to take ARVs, and TB treatment. They do not have access to clean water, reliable shelter, schooling for their children etc.
-Centralised Care: ART is free in Swaziland, in addition to condoms and many other services provided by NGOs or the government, however this help does not often reach the most isolated and rural communities. If someone has to walk a very long distance to the nearest clinic it is less likely they will continue ART treatment.
-Vulnerable Children/Orphans: When adults die or become too weak because of HIV/Aids and other related illnesses, they often leave children behind. If and HIV-infected mother is not educated and has not sought proper medical counselling, it is relatively easy to transmit to her baby. Primary education is not free yet in Swaziland (bringing the issue of poverty back into the picture).
-Lack of education: Many of the information dissemination is in English, which is not widely spoken in especially rural areas. There are still a lot of traditional beliefs and customs which are inaccurate and exasperate the spread of HIV. People may take condoms, but they do not necessarily use them correctly.
I could go on! There are so many complex challenges, and of course many many wonderful people and programs attempting to tackle them. I have had a hard time just wrapping my head around all of it, because everything is so interconnected.
Phew...that was a bit long. I'll finish with a brief note on what I'll be working on during my stay. Recently the organization has partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in attempt to coordinate and organize the Support groups into a Regional System. This will assist in coordination and cooperation between support groups, as well as effective implementation of programs and training in terms of the organization. I will be helping the organization develop a database of their Support Groups. (approx. 4000 members).
Please let me know if you have questions or comments!
The Support Groups face many challenges, including huge difficulty with stigma and discrimination. Especially within rural and isolated communities, there is an astounding amount of discrimination against people living with HIV. A barrier to the fight against the HIV epidemic is simply creating openness for people to get tested and disclose their status.
The organization provides support to PLWHA (People living with HIV/Aids) through several different programs:
-they doing training workshops on Stigma & Discrimination, Human Rights, and Gender Based Violence
-they provide training on nutrition, home-based care, ART (anti-retroviral treatment), TB signs and symptoms, and the importance of testing for HIV
-they help with family planning services, and provide condoms (both male and female)
-they help start income generating activities (IGAs) within Support groups and run a Self-help program. The Self Help program is where support group members will agree to bring a small amount of money to every week's meeting. They then pool the money together and lend it to one of the members to finance a small project. (Like buying seeds for a garden, or feed for some chickens) Once the member has made enough profit, he/she will repay the sum borrowed with some interest.
Challenges
The challenges faced by PLWHA and the organization as a whole are extensive and encompass many aspects of Development. Here are just a few:
- Poverty: families cannot afford to buy food - this makes it difficult to sustain any sort of IGA (income generating activity), it decreases daily productivity, it makes it very difficult to take ARVs, and TB treatment. They do not have access to clean water, reliable shelter, schooling for their children etc.
-Centralised Care: ART is free in Swaziland, in addition to condoms and many other services provided by NGOs or the government, however this help does not often reach the most isolated and rural communities. If someone has to walk a very long distance to the nearest clinic it is less likely they will continue ART treatment.
-Vulnerable Children/Orphans: When adults die or become too weak because of HIV/Aids and other related illnesses, they often leave children behind. If and HIV-infected mother is not educated and has not sought proper medical counselling, it is relatively easy to transmit to her baby. Primary education is not free yet in Swaziland (bringing the issue of poverty back into the picture).
-Lack of education: Many of the information dissemination is in English, which is not widely spoken in especially rural areas. There are still a lot of traditional beliefs and customs which are inaccurate and exasperate the spread of HIV. People may take condoms, but they do not necessarily use them correctly.
I could go on! There are so many complex challenges, and of course many many wonderful people and programs attempting to tackle them. I have had a hard time just wrapping my head around all of it, because everything is so interconnected.
Phew...that was a bit long. I'll finish with a brief note on what I'll be working on during my stay. Recently the organization has partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in attempt to coordinate and organize the Support groups into a Regional System. This will assist in coordination and cooperation between support groups, as well as effective implementation of programs and training in terms of the organization. I will be helping the organization develop a database of their Support Groups. (approx. 4000 members).
Please let me know if you have questions or comments!
Thursday 24 September 2009
"Worry not, it will come!"
I think the theme of this post will be kombis.
Kombis are the form of public transit here, and to a westerner such as myself, they are absolutely chaotic. Luckily, I find it quite amusing-most of the time.
A kombi is a bus- really more like a van or minibus. (think VW van). In Mbabane, they all come to a kombi station at the centre of the city. It is basically a giant parking lot. There are no signs. No real parking spots. There is honking and shouting and tons of people-and kombis! They come and go from all different directions, with some sort of guidelines or rules that I have yet to understand. You find your kombi by :
1) either asking people who seem to know a network of kombi drivers who know where all the kombis are (another system I have yet to understand)
2) Or by carefully and vigilantly weaving your way through the madness, attempting to catch a glimpse of each kombi (origins and destinations are written either on the front or back or both of a kombi)
My kombi doesn't come nearly as often as the others..haha, or that's just how I feel. And it tends to fill up instantly (a kombi seats 15 people). It doesn't ever seem to park in the same place or come at the same time. So I just wait. Actually, my strategy is to wait by the entrance to the "station." Then once, I see my kombi coming, I sneakily follow it to whatever "parking spot" it chooses for this round of passenger pick ups.
Ha! Surprisingly, so far, I have not taken the wrong kombi. (even though the name of my village has a click in it. yep, a click)
ta for now!
Kombis are the form of public transit here, and to a westerner such as myself, they are absolutely chaotic. Luckily, I find it quite amusing-most of the time.
A kombi is a bus- really more like a van or minibus. (think VW van). In Mbabane, they all come to a kombi station at the centre of the city. It is basically a giant parking lot. There are no signs. No real parking spots. There is honking and shouting and tons of people-and kombis! They come and go from all different directions, with some sort of guidelines or rules that I have yet to understand. You find your kombi by :
1) either asking people who seem to know a network of kombi drivers who know where all the kombis are (another system I have yet to understand)
2) Or by carefully and vigilantly weaving your way through the madness, attempting to catch a glimpse of each kombi (origins and destinations are written either on the front or back or both of a kombi)
My kombi doesn't come nearly as often as the others..haha, or that's just how I feel. And it tends to fill up instantly (a kombi seats 15 people). It doesn't ever seem to park in the same place or come at the same time. So I just wait. Actually, my strategy is to wait by the entrance to the "station." Then once, I see my kombi coming, I sneakily follow it to whatever "parking spot" it chooses for this round of passenger pick ups.
Ha! Surprisingly, so far, I have not taken the wrong kombi. (even though the name of my village has a click in it. yep, a click)
ta for now!
Saturday 19 September 2009
The Blog of Jules
Welcome to the blog of Jules!!! :D
So I arrived in Swaziland just over a week ago! Its been a tough one- but the first bit always is. Haha, I'm not going to lie--I made my parents call me EVERYDAY! :)
Now that a week has gone by I'm starting to feel a bit more adjusted and comfortable!
For those of you who don't know, Swaziland is a teeny weeny country nearly encompassed by South Africa, with a small section bordering Mozambique (that is, the Northish East corner of South Africa)
I will be here for 3.5 months (until Dec. 21), and I'm working for a local HIV/Aids organization.
The Aids epidemic is very pervasive here. (I've heard numbers infected ranging from 30-40%) and is hugely interrelated with issues of poverty, gender equality, stigma, discrimination, and human rights.
I'm living with a Swazi family here. They are wonderful!! and I'm slowly learning to speak SiSwati (slowly being the key work ;) and cook local dishes. Most people speak English too though. (thank goodness!) My family is relatively well-off. (haha, I've watched Oprah reruns on their T.V.)
There are internet cafes, but I only really have time to visit once or twice a week. It is unsafe for me to be out alone after dark...and it gets dark at around 6pm which means I pretty much have to head home right after work!
More updates to come!!!x
I'm living near and work in the capital city: Mbabane. Everything is pretty developed in the city, and has pretty much all the conveniences that Vancouver has. (grocery stores, clothing shops, pharmacies, hospitals etc)
So I arrived in Swaziland just over a week ago! Its been a tough one- but the first bit always is. Haha, I'm not going to lie--I made my parents call me EVERYDAY! :)
Now that a week has gone by I'm starting to feel a bit more adjusted and comfortable!
For those of you who don't know, Swaziland is a teeny weeny country nearly encompassed by South Africa, with a small section bordering Mozambique (that is, the Northish East corner of South Africa)
I will be here for 3.5 months (until Dec. 21), and I'm working for a local HIV/Aids organization.
The Aids epidemic is very pervasive here. (I've heard numbers infected ranging from 30-40%) and is hugely interrelated with issues of poverty, gender equality, stigma, discrimination, and human rights.
I'm living with a Swazi family here. They are wonderful!! and I'm slowly learning to speak SiSwati (slowly being the key work ;) and cook local dishes. Most people speak English too though. (thank goodness!) My family is relatively well-off. (haha, I've watched Oprah reruns on their T.V.)
There are internet cafes, but I only really have time to visit once or twice a week. It is unsafe for me to be out alone after dark...and it gets dark at around 6pm which means I pretty much have to head home right after work!
More updates to come!!!x
I'm living near and work in the capital city: Mbabane. Everything is pretty developed in the city, and has pretty much all the conveniences that Vancouver has. (grocery stores, clothing shops, pharmacies, hospitals etc)
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