Saturday 12th December 2009
The school year has come to an end. This year’s production was ‘Noah’s Ark’ for the lower school and ‘Oliver Twist’ for the upper school. Thursday evening the performance was put on for the young people from swazi200 and on Friday for the local community. A lot of work had gone into the production – from the children learning their lines, music being found to go with the scenes, to costumes being made that were just fantastic. It was a truly incredible end of the year event. Hubby was master of ceremony of the whole thing and he was very proud to finish on such a good production.
Earlier on in the week, there was a pizza and salad evening for the staff at the lodge; this was followed by silly games and a few tributes to people leaving. I don’t think it has really sunk in that hubby is leaving the school, seems surreal somehow. However, my take on things is slightly different than hubby’s, we have in-depth conversations about what the immediate future looks like and I think our ‘Bulembu experience time’ is up, He is not sure and so we are praying for clarity in this situation.
The clinic was well blessed these last two weeks with the medical crew from swazi200 and my niece – last year med student. Sometimes we had more staff than patients but they got excellent care and we all learnt a lot, to have a paramedic with all his equipment was a blessing too and he saved the life of one woman for sure in the middle of the night. On the other hand the Piggs peak hospital continues to be a challenge every time a patient is taken in there because of their lack of experienced staff and equipment!!
The most exciting thing we have to look forward to in January is the birth of our first grandchild, yeah I know I’m sure I’m repeating myself but that excites our hearts and we are so looking forward to our trip to the states in January to visit our daughters and son in laws.
Am also really excited to have all the family together and see all the kids and partners - we are so blessed. God is so good to us................

Anything is possible!

Friday 4th December

The town is busy, Over run with young people doing an amazing job of painting, art work, teaching, medical work. These students give up two weeks of holiday to come and serve in Bulembu and get a lot of work done, the clinic is definitely benefiting this year, they are giving the outside a good paint and freshen up and have supplied us with a paramedic, a registered midwife and two medical students who are seeing patients and responding to Emergencies. Sometimes it has seemed a little overwhelming attending to medical needs especially since it has only been my Canadian colleague and I for the last month. My niece is also visiting and as a final year medical student her expertise at the clinic is appreciated.
This week the new midwife started too, she is efficient and seems to know what she is doing , however, coming from another place she is doing a few things quite differently than we are used to but I am sure things will all fall into place and she will settle in well. This means we can recommence antenatal care and PMTCT (prevention of mother to child transmission) again which is needed here in Bulembu.
School is busy rehearsing for their end of year production and closes for Christmas on 11th Dec.
I feel our time in Bulembu is coming to an end, not by our choice though which is sad but by rules and regulations put in place by the management here. Ultimately though I know that GOD is in control and whatever the outcome is I believe it is the right one for us whether it is staying here or leaving! Many things are changing, people being shifted from place to place, new people coming in, many younger models, and many people getting hurt unfortunately as they are replaced by more accommodating individuals.
Fortunately during our stay here we have formed relationships throughout Swaziland and know that if we have to leave Bulembu then the Lord will open up another door here in this country until it is time to leave Swaziland.
I believe that the Lord has placed our children all over the world for a reason and one of the best things about it is that we can go and visit our children and ANYTHING can happen! WE are flexible and want to follow the Lords call to wherever he places us – Isn’t that exciting? I love to travel and am happy to follow the Lord wherever He wants to take me and my hubby.
‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight’. Proverbs 3 v 5 & 6.

Adoption

Sunday 29th November
Wow don’t the weeks fly past?
This week we were busy getting police clearances, certifying all our important paperwork for the adoption. We are hoping to get a court date this week. Still a lot to do before we can take our new daughter to America, passports, wavers, all bureaucratic #~@’:;/.,
The sun is shining and we have 210 university kids in town, to paint, to help out wherever and to give them a life changing experience! It happened last year and there were twice as many. I have the job of making waffle batter every morning for two weeks before going to work – that should be fun.
We have a new midwife starting at the clinic this week, at last, we can restart antenatal care, PMTCT which will be a great help in our little town.....
This is going to be short today, I am recovering from a stomach bug – was really sick yesterday, threw up and had the shivers and temperature so I am not feeling 100%. Hopefully more news to report next week.......................

Visit to ER and personal update.

Friday 20th November 2009
We got a call at 12.20pm, an accident in the forest, send the ambulance. Julia our ER nurse went with Bert our ambulance driver. Deep deep into the forest on the outskirts of Bulembu. Whilst workers were felling trees, a branch had fallen on a 25yr old guys head, a freak accident, he was bleeding profusely from several puncture wounds on his head and out of his left ear. He was barely conscious, Julia bandaged the head and ears up, she cannulised and started an Intravenous infusion. On their way back through they pick me up and I sorted out the IV as there was air in the tube so on the bumpy road to Piggs peak I changed the tubing and pushed fluids. Julia held his head as we thought the neck may have been injured too. It was touch and go, he was having trouble breathing, and we used the ambi bag at one point. We were praying all the way that he would make it to the hospital! The journey to Piggs peak usually takes about 30 minutes – we made it in just over 15 by Berts expert driving skills.
We called ahead of time to the hospital to tell them we were bringing in a serious head Injury from Bulembu.
On arrival at the hospital there are no doctors in sight. A nurse comes and shows us into the mini theatre where there is at least a trolley with essential equipment to intubate a patient. The nurse administers dexamethazone and then the doctor arrives, the patient vomits and again nearly stops breathing. He vomits a lot of blood, suction and Oxygen is brought in – he is suctioned out and finally intubated by another doctor. This is Africa and Piggs peak Hospital is so badly equipped it’s horrifying! At least they have intubated to stabilise him, He is put into their ambulance and transported into Mbabane (the capital) another hour’s drive away, to be admitted into the Government hospital. He is sent to ICU and the next day we hear he is still alive barely, we continue to pray for the young man from the forest............

Hubby has been asked to step down from being Principal of the school at the end of this year. The NGO Ministry feel he is not the right one to take it forward to cater for the ever increasing numbers and conflict has been growing as we see ourselves as missionaries and BMS want to see us as employees. They want to employ people who have the right career motivation, experience and qualifications. They agree he has done a wonderful job of building the school up to where it is now and the new job description for ‘Director of Education’ looks like the exact job Hubby is doing right now but they say he has to apply if he wants the job!!!
Probably too complicated for me to explain here and I’m pretty confused about the whole deal anyway so not sure I can write it down. But we would appreciate your prayers as to the next step we should take regarding the whole thing. God is faithful and I believe He engineers circumstances. He’ll lead the way and knows what’s best for us.

Weather changable.

Friday 13th November
The weather is getting warmer, every morning the sun comes up and then it shines all morning, the usual pattern for the afternoon is rain, followed by thunder and lightning. That’s pretty regular, the roads suffer terribly this time of year, because every time we have a storm, it takes another bit of road away again. Getting to Piggs Peak is a pain as you never know what to expect, fortunately we have a 4 x 4 car so we can usually manage. The weather this evening is deteriorating and the power is dipping on and off, that mean no internet either so I won’t get to post this until tomorrow!
It’s been another busy week! It looks like we should get a date next week with the Magistrate in either Piggs peak or Mbabane to do the adoption. Our foster daughter is looking forward to being part of our family; and the family are looking forward to her joining us as our new daughter and sister.
Bulembu continues to be a challenge, healthcare is essential and yet there seems little interest in people wanting to donate and support this. There is a lot of promised money for orphan care, for businesses like the bakery, the honey and the dairy but no funds available for healthcare and the school. These two essential services are obviously dear to hubby and my heart as we are involved in them, so there seems to be a lot of hardship right now and a lot of choices we have to make trying to manage both the clinic and the school with little funding.
We are being stretched way beyond our comfort zones at the clinic, emergencies come in and working in a rural setting with no doctor is way beyond my abilities so I am learning a lot from my Canadian colleague being ER trained and very competent in this area, I am also learning how to manage the other 3 staff and becoming an expert at ordering medicines, diagnose many different conditions and communicate with the locals through translators as I still have absolutely no siSwati in my vocabulary. A real learning curve totally. What the future holds I have no idea, I have to take one day at a time.

Don't give up!

Friday 6th November
What a week! It started with another resignation from the clinic. The male RN gave me his resignation with immediate effect. Why, was the question we were all asking? Clinic conditions – small wage and not enough staff, well it is only going to get worse! It leaves me and my Canadian counterpart. Thankfully she is still here until February. We both speak really good English but no siSwati ! My next task was to go and see the decision maker and find out there is no money for healthcare so no one else will be employed.... what about the ‘on call service’? I have decided to stop that from Monday next week. It is too much for two of us to manage with working 7 – 4.30 Mon – Friday. We are in a battle in this place, fortunately I think that means we are making an impact here in Bulembu. But it’s been a tough week in all areas, so much so that I have no idea what the future holds. In the village a local swazi woman is spreading rumours around that I have not cared for her properly because of an incident that happened concerning her. But this is Swaziland and unfortunately she knows of no other way to behave, she is an individual that has no care for her children and is keen to make trouble for others. All I can do is turn to Jesus and give all these troubles to him!! 1 Peter 3:8-9 " Finally all of you should be of one mind, full of sympathy toward each other,
loving one another with tender hearts and humble minds. Don't repay evil for evil.
Don't retaliate when people say unkind things about you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing.
This is what God wants you to do, and He will bless you for it " (NLT)
All I can do is look forward and take one day at a time .On a very positive note, we went in to see if we could get the international passport for our foster daughter, the passport office in Swaziland said they need the adoption papers before they will issue an passport for her. As we are ready for this to happen, we are hoping this will speed up the process and get sorted before the end of the year…we are really excited about taking her out of Swaziland and into other interesting countries. We have seen a big change in her since she has been with us full time, she is relaxed and even catching some of that skinner humour! Being adopted will give her a British passport and a world of opportunity awaits her.

Mozambique and Malaria !

If anyone is following this you may have noticed I missed last week – this is due to being without internet whilst in Mozambique for a little break. The day before we left for the Seaside was indeed frustrating and aspects of being here as a missionary were challenged – being committed to a project, to a life in another country is a sacrifice and one that doesn’t ever become easy so although that may all sound gobbly gook, although I’d love to spill the beans on my frustrations I am not at liberty to do so but I’d appreciate your prayers big time in dealing with current situations that are opposing me at the moment in Bulembu. So Mozambique was an ideal opportunity to escape for a few days away from growing pressure..... in fact the main reason we went there was because a good friend was missing the sea (she’s from Cape town) so she kept pestering us to go, because we are quite fond of her and could see her frustration we decided to go; leaving Swaziland and entering Mozambique was horrendous, the reason being we needed papers proving the car was ours and unfortunately forgot that so we had to call people and get it faxed to us, we also required an entry visa and car insurance especially for Mozambique!! it was also the first time that our foster daughter would see the sea ever, she is 15 years old so it was pretty exciting for her too, she collected a million shells and then finally got into the water with us, it was funny to watch because she kept falling over as the waves were a little rough and she is pretty skinny!! Anyway she seemed to thoroughly enjoy herself as far as I could see!! The water was so warm, we happened upon a location with a reef which meant when the tide was out it left a nice calm serene area, like a big swimming pool! We enjoyed swimming over to the reef and back again! Hopefully it also meant we were safe from the sharks.....!!! No no we won’t think about that!!!
The accommodation was lush not in the luxury way but in the basic, on stilts by the sea way!! We spent 5 days away from Bulembu, 4 days on the beach and 1 day in Maputo visiting our two missionary friends from England who have been working with Iris ministries for many years, we went out to eat Sea food Saturday evening, Mozambique is famous for good seafood so really enjoyed that. We travelled back to Swaziland on Sunday.
Early Monday morning I set off to a workshop (course) on Malaria for 3 days. This was extremely interesting, the National Malaria control programme with the Ministry of Health in Swaziland are running the training courses and their aim is to eliminate Malaria from Swaziland, therefore they are training as many nurses and health clinic and centres to recognise and treat any malaria patients. In the South West only 6% of all cases in Swaziland are recorded, In the North West of Swaziland the number is 14%, where as in the South East it is 10% of all cases and the North East 70%. Our area up in Bulembu is the North West so we may come across it, but to be honest in the 3 years I have been here I have only heard of one case being referred to the hospital from Bulembu. Swazi nationals are an interesting bunch of people; I was the only foreigner with them so everyone knew my name! The morning started off with a song and a prayer and also ends like that.(Can you imagine that happening in the UK?) Here’s a list of the house rules and you were in big trouble if you didn’t adhere to them: -
1) No smoking 2) Keep to time 3) Cell phones on Silence 4) Active participation 5) Raise your hand if you want to talk 6) No sleeping /meditating 7) Respect one another 8) Have fun to the fullest
I guess for my benefit the lectures were in English but every now and again they’d slip into siSwati and I lose my way a bit, then they revert back and I don’t think I’ve missed too much of importance but who knows they could just be talking about me. Haha now I sound paranoid!! No, Swazi people are an interesting bunch and it’s quite an experience being part of a Malaria course. I have learnt so much and that’s the real goal!
Second day was quite fun too, a few team games to bring a point over – if we work together we beat Malaria that sort of thing! Then we had a practical session using ‘Rapid Diagnostic tests’ RDT for short, so we all pricking each other’s fingers and I was praying mine would be negative after visiting Mozambique last week you can never be too sure!! It was if you were wondering, Ha ha.
Then there was a tricky bit which the trainer explaining kept going from English into siSwati, then asked me if I understood, so I said ‘I think so’ just for a quiet life so then she asked me to explain it back to her! In front of 30 other people ! argh I fumbled around and it was obvious I didn’t have a clue so she then drew a diagram on the flipchart just for my benefit . I think I got it finally. Did feel a bit daft though in front of my fellow swazi colleagues...............
Anyway the end of the day came and another big surprise – every nurse there was given R300 just for attending!! They certainly have big budgets to get people trained, an American lady came in at the end and I reckon the National Malaria Control Programme has got to have big sponsors from the states?

Emergency care

Friday 16th October
What a week! Medical emergencies in Bulembu are fortunately occasional, this week, we had a road traffic accident, an asthma attack and a diesel ingestion one evening after the other!! So I spend a bit of time on the bumpy dirt track road to Piggs peak in the ambulance, inserting IV’s and trying to maintain and save lives. The RTA was two young guys who had rolled the vehicle, one of them had bumped his head and was pretty disorientated – he had other injuries but fortunately after a load of xrays he had no broken bones, just many lacerations and bumps and bruises. The asthma attack was pretty intense, as I was the only qualified nurse around, fortunately a health assistant had just stepped into the clinic so she helped me out. After giving numerous drugs IV and IM we managed to stabilize him and take him into the hospital to get checked out. The Diesel guy really didn’t mean to swallow it while he was siphoning it out of the drums but fortunately he was well sick and I gave him an antihistamine IV to help stabilize before he took off to Piggs peak Hospital. So the last few days have been a little quieter, hubby celebrated his 50th birthday on Thursday and we’ll be having a big Braai on Saturday with many people so should be fun. I am so tired and am working like never before - must be so good for me.........A storm is brewing and the sky is filling with lightening so I will get this sent off before the power goes out again !!

Busy clinic week

Friday 9th October
Last weekend was ‘pay weekend’ this means Bulembu is pretty much deserted. It seemed like half the village had left; even the milk shop is closed! Feels like a ghost town once again !
For a few hours in the afternoon hubby and I spend time with the youth treating them to milk shakes (obviously the lodge was prepared in their milk purchases) as the youth have done such a good job in helping with kids church.
I have a sudden pang of missing my own children a lot, the oldest daughter and her hubby in New York, the youngest daughter and her hubby in Kelowna, Canada, and my son and other two daughters in the UK. I feel such an empty hole but not much I can do about it, sometimes living out here and serving in Bulembu seems such a sacrifice!!! Remembering the times when some of them were here with us, such good times.....
Hubby and I met a really nice couple last evening – from Pretoria, a business man and his wife they had ran a lodge in Pretoria and have an awesome gift in hospitality. They are coming back to Bulembu in a few weeks to meet some of the managers to find out more about this place where we live.
Monday was mental, staff shortage, staff going on courses, trying to phone references for the new midwife with all the landline phones in Bulembu down. Now I know why the last midwife left! I spent the day nonstop dealing out medicines, seeing patients, calling people, emergency came in at lunch time so no lunch either! I eventually arrive home at 5.30pm, Hubby did offer to make dinner but his suggestion was not too inviting and I really fancied something tasty so I made dinner too.
In Swaziland, there are a lot of nurse led clinics and generally I can see it works well, consulting patients can be doable and the most important thing is to send them off down the 18km dirt track road to the doctor at the hospital, as I did with a lady who looked like she had a allergic reaction to possibly some of the meds she had been put on by the doctor! I was definitely not going to mess with that, not really sure what the doctor did, except add more of the same and some antibiotics which were unavailable at the pharmacy! You could say that was another wasted journey.....
Today I realised how impatient I am, It was blood draw day today and I went with the ambulance down to the hospital to drop off the bloods, I had one or two things to do and then I was ready to leave to get back to the clinic (see my commitment) . The ambulance driver decided he wanted to make some phone calls and we had to wait for the sick lady! It was hot and I was raring to get going, I was not happy to wait, everything is sooooooo slow in Swaziland , queues everywhere and always hanging about waiting...............and this grumpy new manager was ready to go home.
Today was interview day for 5 midwives, what a good day. We started off with a tour round the hospital, followed by a short dvd to explain Bulembu and the vision, then lunch at the lodge, followed by individual interviews, I’d asked my Canadian colleague and head of ministry who is also a nurse to be on my panel! I really did enjoy myself, what a great experience being able to interview and get to decide!! We’ll make the final decision in the next few days and pray we make the right one! 
Friday evening – the end of another busy week, time to put my feet up and converse with hubby - pizza from the lodge tonight – bliss don’t have to cook................
For any of those reading that are interested in the school, Hubby is busy taken on more staff to teach all the many children coming in and always looking for support, in volunteers coming for a year, finances and prayers. Go to www.swazimission.com to read blogs relating more to the school. Thanks

Penicillin shots!!

Friday 2nd October
I spent the weekend in bed – muscles aching all over, shivering and hacking cough, felt really rough. But it appears I am not the only one, it seems like many others are falling to the same virus or whatever it is. I managed to drag myself off to the clinic Monday morning to work, not get treatment!! It was heaving with patients like never before, no I tell a lie, it was like the time before we charged R10 a consultation!! I gave at least 10 injections - procaine penicillin actually to primarily bring down the high temperature, when I first got here 3 years ago I wasn’t at all sure about this method as working in a UK health centre for 10 years the only time I gave a penicillin jab to anyone was when they had suspected meningitis, however, I have learnt that over here in deepest darkest Africa it is a regular practice that protects the individual from the immune suppressed leaving us before their time is truly up. Hence now I give it because I love giving injections and the people love receiving them because apparently it’s a sure cure for all the germs invading their body, so some things you just have to leave alone and this is one of those things!! Medics, you just have to accept it okay??
The senior nurse left Monday, I have now been promoted, I have the pleasure/responsibility of running the Bulembu clinic, so the staff consists of me, a male RN from Zimbabwe who is great, knows his stuff and is a really flexible reliable guy, then there is a really super, enthusiastic ER trained RN from Canada who is here for one year, she’ll leave in February next year. We need a new female nurse/midwife to join the team, one who can speak English and siSwati and has an understanding of what we are trying to achieve here in Bulembu.
The rest of the week left myself and the male nurse as the Canadian nurse went on a course to learn about dried blood spot, this is where we test babies from 6 weeks to 18 months, a DNA /PCR test, we use it a lot to find out the true HIV status on a baby that young, otherwise the rapid tests just show the mothers antibodies, if a baby is truly positive we will start them on ARV’s as soon as possible which gives them a much better chance of survival. The rest of the team had already been on the course and were familiar with it.
I’d always called myself ‘the community nurse’ as I’d always used the excuse of not working in the clinic as the language is a barrier, but I proved myself wrong yesterday, the male nurse left to take bloods and a patient into Piggs peak and I was left on my own, I saw around 10 patients and suddenly realized I quite liked this – there was only one lady that didn’t speak English and her baby was feverish and obviously sick with a flu type illness, (so totally unethical I know) I asked a young guy waiting in line to translate for me and we were able to treat the child!! I know shock, horror but in some situations I have to just say TIA and get on with it. You have to take every case as individual , the confidential issue is important but for a baby sick with fever I’d rather understand what’s wrong through translation than just send her away because I had no understanding. So another week draws to a close and after going into Nelspruit yesterday with hubby, I am totally washed out, my sickness began last Saturday morning and I’ve pushed through and feel horrible, hacking cough, bunged up ears and exhausted. I got back from Nelspruit at 3pm Thursday and slept until 6am Friday morning. I have taken the morning off work to rest and hopefully I’ll be fit and well for next week.

TIA - a week with little electricity !

Friday 25th September
An interesting week, the weekend was spent finishing off bits and pieces on our newly renovated home! Having served out in Swaziland for nearly 3 years I am still a westerner through and through, although hubby would love to experience living in a mud hut with no hot water or electricity, this is not me and I’m sure it never will be me! Fortunately hubby understands how I feel and arranged the big surprise renovation while I was absent for 3 months on my visit to the UK.
Monday brought meetings and first dilemma of the day, a worker was reported by a manager to have been driving a company vehicle without authorisation in my department. The worker denied it and had several witnesses to back him up, also a log book to say he hadn’t taken it without authorisation. The manager was adamant he had seen him or at least the vehicle, we have a meeting – 5 of us and no conclusions are come to. Except people not trusting other people and bad feeling all around. The worker is given a verbal warning by the manager above me and that’s it. So frustrating, I guess that is what being a manager is all about!!
Tuesday is Baylor day, this is where a paediatrician comes up from Mbabane to see the children who are hiv +, some are on medication, some are not yet. We spend the day counting medication to check they are taking it correctly and drawing blood for CD4 (checking the soldiers is what they call it here).We give out new medication refills and after weighing them and an examination by the doctor they are on their way. We have a few new ones, unfortunately again an everyday occurrence in this country. My regular doctor was sick so her husband came up who pointed out he was also a doctor as I kept introducing him to the patients as ‘our regular doctor’s husband!!’ The clinic team, 6 of us with the two Baylor doctors had lunch together at the lodge as it is our senior nurses last week with us. Chicken Bagels, one of the lodge’s best lunches that’s for sure!!
Wednesday, a reasonably quiet day, the electricity was out again who knows why, something to do with the local area electricity board which can affect us as well. We seem to manage okay at the clinic, however, a young lady who is a dental hygienist from the states who has come for two months to Bulembu to serve by removing tartar from the children’s teeth is struggling to see without light and using sharp instruments is a somewhat hazardous situation so we arrange to bring a generator in to help her out. ....... She is doing an amazing job – some of these kids have never been to the dentist before and are indeed of a good tartar clean!! We see lots of sick children today, lots of ‘jova’s’, you can look that up and see what it means in English!

On Thursday night the family plus friends played a game of Settlers of Catan – the IT master mind won of course, all on the throw of the dice!! Haha............
Another week in Bulembu, Off to make my Ice cream now in preparation for the Swazi 500!!

First week back

Friday 18^th September

Anyone watched the film ‘Blood Diamonds’? There’s a phrase in the film simply saying ‘This is Africa’ or for short TIA. No disrespect to our African nation but as soon as I arrived in Johannesburg – I felt the need to say ‘TIA’! I’d flown on Virgin Atlantic airline from London to Johannesburg. I was allowed 23kgs in baggage and most of what I was bringing back was equipment and supplies for the Ministry I worked for. I had 26kgs – Virgin Atlantic was fantastic and let me take the extra 3kgs with no questions asked. I present myself to check in for a flight from Joburg to Matsapha and they tell me the maximum baggage allowance is 20kgs, no exceptions I will have to pay the excess baggage, I explain I have many things inside my bag for the Orphans in Swaziland. I speak to a manager and she tells me those are the rules and there are no exceptions! I ‘m told to take my bag across to the ticket desk and pay the extra; I do so and then drag my bag back to the check in desk. TIA. No exceptions, stick to the rules at all costs, no decision making. It makes me really frustrated but hey this is Africa and I have to just accept it and get on with it.

Returning to Swaziland after having nearly 3 months in the UK is exciting, their winter has passed, usually only the months of July and August, the air is really warm and pleasant. My husband and I arrive in the village, so many things have changed, and The Dairy is all fenced in now, the grazing being prepared. I can see up at the top of the village the newest Orphan homes all lit up and obviously occupied by children, the large dining room is finished which was just a frame when I left. We make our way up the hill and as we advance slowly I begin to recognise familiar faces in my little swazi community.

The next day is spent unwinding, I dropped into my next door neighbours house, in the three months I have been away there must be over 7 new abandoned babies taken into their home. Babies that have been dumped into pit latrines, left at hospital, unwanted babies taken into my Neighbours house, being shown unconditional love and care, giving them everything to help replace the neglect these precious children have experienced. Unfortunately this is an everyday occurrence in this country. Babies are dumped – no responsibility taken for these little ones!

The senior nurse at the clinic has just resigned and will be leaving at the end of the month; well I have something to do now don’t I? We need to employ a new experienced nurse with midwifery as well, one who speaks Siswati and English - should be an interesting few weeks!! Managing a clinic in a ministry setting will be a quite an experience.

So this week has started to get interesting and I nearly got to walk listening to my daughter’s iPod but got totally distracted and that was it! not a lot of exercise this week.................... Until next time have a blessed week.

New season - Sept 2009

Today I fly back out to Swaziland after being away in my home country of England for nearly 3 months. I am entering a new season and would like to share my journey weekly for a year. My own children have left, some married, some finding independence in different countries. I return to my husband, we've been married for nearly 30 years, In Bulembu he runs the school, it has been a really busy time for him, the NGO we work for are bringing in children from all over Swaziland and it is his job to fit them into the education system we have in place. It is 'accelerated christian education' (ACE) and the children that come in are from many different educational backgrounds so this kind of education suits them very well. However, the biggest job is to teach them English as they are unable to be part of ACE unless they know the English language well.
I have a different role in Bulembu. I have been involved in the clinic, trying to liaise with the nursing staff who are working there, working along side the doctor who comes in once a month to treat the children with HIV, we check them out and give them monthly ARV's, check they are taking their medicines correctly, draw blood for CD4 counts and other hiv related blood tests.
I am in Bulembu to make a difference, I want to make a difference and pray that as I support my husband and work amongst those adults and children who suffer from HIV and Aids I will make a difference. I want more people to know about Bulembu the place where the swazi community are part of, living and working there, In Swaziland the tradition is for the man to have as many wives and partners as he wants - he can sleep with young girls, old women, anyone and no one will say a word about it because that's the tradition. this is spreading HIV quickly. Many people, especially between the ages of 18 and 36 are dying and many children are affected as well because their mothers don't take enough care of themselves during pregnancy and pass it on to their babies during labour. Children are also getting HIV by being sexually abused. These are the facts and this is where my husband and I work. We want to make a difference to this nation.
Anyway that's my introduction just to give you an idea of what we are doing. Let's see what the week will bring, internet connection is not always brilliant in Bulembu because of the position in the mountains and the weather conditions, so doing a weekly blog will be more realistic than a daily one.