Mandla's lobola

Mandla and Gugu

As is traditional in Swaziland, Mandla Mdluli has paid cows to the family of his fiancée, Gugu Magagula. This took place over the course of the weekend of 15-17 April.

From Friday evening Mandla’s relatives and friends began to arrive at the Magagula homestead,outside Matsapha. The visiting men slept in a specially erected tent, and the women stayed indoors. 

Inspecting the cattle

On Saturday morning the negotiations about the number of cows required were finalised (the number was already agreed). We arrived in time for the end of the negotiations, and were shown into a room where many people were seated on the floor. Mandla was there, wrapped in a heavy blanket. The blankets had been given as gifts to the senior members of the Mdluli family, and Mandla was required to wear the blanket for the whole weekend. It was very hot (30º?) in the crowded room and as all the conversation was in siSwati we were rather lost. Eventually there was some long praying and we were told that all was arranged. We all got into cars and went to view the cattle, which were on a nearby, but more rural, homestead, belonging to Gugu’s grandmother. The cows were inspected and deemed to be suitable, so it was back into the cars and back to the homestead. 

Cow waiting at the homestead

Almost immediately, two cows were slaughtered on the homestead; one provided by the Mdluli family and one by the Magagula family. The cows were tied to a tree and killed, skinned, cleaned and cut into pieces. Everyone watched and commented, with instructions coming from all sides. Small children were quite happily watching or playing nearby. It felt a long way from home to be sitting in the bright sunshine beside basins of entrails and clouds of flies, in the smoke of the cooking fires, making small talk with Mandla’s aunt - the senior member of the family. (Many unprintable pictures were taken.) Once the beasts had been removed it was acceptable for us to leave.

Church service at the Magagula homestead

On Sunday morning, after the 8am service in All Saints, Mbabane, we returned to the Magagula homestead. We were surprised to find a marquee erected, and a church service as the first item of business. The temperature in the marquee was high - and Mandla still wrapped in his blanket. Interspersed with wonderful singing, Auntie Mdluli did some robust praying, and Fr Wandile preached a lively sermon of great passion, in siSwati naturally, about promises. Mandla and Gugu came forward and were prayed over by Fr Mthet. 

Mandla in his blanket

The two families went to different parts of the homestead to eat. Yesterday’s cows topped the menu, with salad, beetroot and pumpkin, followed by apples. Lots of hard work went into preparing the food, which was cooked outdoors over open fires.

Hot work cooking for everyone

The celebrations finished with traditional dancing and speeches - which, since they were in siSwati, we were happy to miss.

The main organiser for Mandla’s side was our good friend Hamilton Curtis, and it was good to meet many friends there, including Hamilton’s wife and daughter, Fr Malo, Diocesan Secretary, and Bishop Ellinah’s son, daughter-in-law and grandson, who had come from South Africa to support Mandla. 

All in all it was a great weekend. While it was strange to us in terms of culture, it was also much more “churchy” than events involving young adults in Ireland. It was a real privilege to have been included, and we were the objects of some benign curiosity. Swazi people are warm and welcoming, and we were well looked after, with people making sure we had chairs, could see, had food etc. 

Mandla looked hot and tired, but must have pleased at the success of the occasion - and very glad to finally take off the blanket.

Getting ready for the dancing

National Disaster declared in Swaziland

The Marker for the bore-hole at Mpandesane 

Two conversations with Swaziland today: Mandla Mdluli, Diocesan Development Officer and Tiekie de Beer, Managing Director of Luyengo Farm.

Mandla Mdluli

Mandla says the Swazi Government have declared a National Disaster in the face of the on-going drought. “We have received a bit of rain in the past few days, still not enough to put to an end the current situation. In today’s  newspaper it is reported that “Water woes will last for the next six months in Mbabane”. Government is currently supplying water to 16 Counties mainly in the Lubombo and Shiselweni regions. I will tell you my experience that on January 20^th I went to the wholesaler to quote for a 50kg bag of mealie meal. It was E292 and I went back on February 10^th to buy it and the new price was E427. It is craziness.  The country will have over 60% loss in maize production which means we will have to import more than 150,000 thousand tons of maize, hundreds of farmers could loose their jobs, more than 50% of farmers will have their livelihoods wiped out.”

Tiekie de Beer

Tiekie agrees. “Most subsistence farmers couldn’t plant maize because of the dry ground. When a little rain came they planted their own seed, which will take too long to ripen. They couldn’t afford to buy quicker growing seed. So as bad as things are now, it will be much worse in April and May, when there will be no harvest. Some homesteads have planted cabbages, but it is still too dry for them to thrive. Half the country’s cattle are already dead; the maize harvest will only be 10% of what is required. People will starve, especially in the rural areas. Another complications that the sugar companies are not irrigating their crops and so government revenue will be seriously down when they are facing this crisis.”

Currently we are supporting the Diocese of Swaziland water project, which is ensuring that primary schools are supplied with water; we are also in the process of installing a bore-hole at Mpandesane, near Lavumisa, the poorest and driest part of Swaziland. (You may remember that the lake near the care point has dried up.)  We will support the diocese in whatever efforts they make to address the developing situation.

Luyengo Farm, thanks to Tiekie’s foresight in building the reservoir, has sufficient water to maintain production.

How drought is affecting one small community in Swaziland

Mr Simelane at the dried-up lake in Mpandesane. Photo Aidan O'Neill

On Wednesday we visited the care point at Mpandesane. Many of you will have visited or heard me speak about it. It’s where the Simelane family organises a Care Point, providing food for local orphans and vulnerable children; and providing adult care for child-headed families.

It takes almost 3 hours to get there from Mbabane, including a stop to buy food (mealie meal, beans and oil, supplied by the Diocese of Iowa) and water and sweets. As I paid for the sweets, I spotted some bags of balloons, so I bought some. 

The drive took us through a landscape of brown and red. Everywhere was dry and dusty. In the distance there were red clouds of dust following behind vehicles on the gravel roads. The smell of death is in the air in Swaziland; the roadsides are littered with dead cows, in various stages of decomposition. In one place we passed a small cow, skin and bone, standing in the middle of the road, too weak even to step out of the way of passing traffic.

The further south we travelled, and the lower we went, the hotter it got. Over 50 degrees in Mpandesane, getting out of the air-conditioned car was like stepping into an oven. As well as delivering food for the care points, Mandla was distributing gifts of clothing and toys from Limerick & Killaloe Diocese, which had travelled in the container with the carrot washer. He was happy to be able to bring some surprises on his last visit before Christmas. Coats and sweaters and shoes were given out by approximate size, and immediately put on.

Run after your condom

The children appeared delighted with the balloons, choosing the brightest colours. The thorn bushes surrounding the small clearing made sure escapees didn’t survive. When one toddler let go of his balloon, a little girl - maybe 7 years of age - shouted, “Quick, run after your condom!”

The marker for the new borehole

Borehole

This little community has been so generous to us in their hospitality. The Simelanes allow us to bring groups of strangers to wander round their homestead, to try out their maize grinder, to investigate the cotton crop and to observe how they care for the many orphans and vulnerable children in the area, in the driest and poorest region of Swaziland. Land ownership issues have prevented us doing more to help them than bring occasional extra food supplies. 

This year the gift of land to the church from the local landowner (whose third wife is principal of the local Anglican primary school) has coincided with the death of Mrs Simelane. We commissioned a survey, and water has been found nearby, but very deep (85m). As soon as funds permit, i.e. when we have raised €10,000 a borehole will be drilled, and clean water provided to the whole community.

Mr Simelane used to fetch water from a nearby lake with his donkey and sled, and an assortment of buckets, bottles and basins. The water was the colour of chocolate milk. In the current drought, the donkey has died and the lake has dried up. In order to source water for the Care Point the cooks have dug a hole several kilometres away, where there used to be a river. Overnight some water seeps into the hole and the ladies collect it and carry it on their heads.

Mr Simelane showed us the marker for the site of the proposed borehole, and then took us to see the lake. On google earth you can see the large lake clearly - but it has gone. The shallow dip is completely dry. 

Two hours in the heat was all we could stand. As we drove away we saw Rebecca clearing up after the children’s meal in her new fake fur coat!

Thank you for your continued interest and support.

Climate change and Swaziland

Jan writes from Swaziland:

"Reports from Swaziland  tell of serious drought and high temperatures.
In fact the situation here is described as a National Disaster.
The media has reported that many families are losing their cows while other families are not able to plant anything.

Most Swazis are subsistence farmers who grow maize and other crops to feed and raise their families while also rearing cattle to sell and educate their children. In Swazi tradition a man’s cattle reflects his wealth and most Swazis have a sentimental attachment to their livestock. It is for that reason that the death of cattle owing to drought is an emotional trauma to most families as well as financial ruin. A large proportion of rural households practice subsistence agriculture. About 66 percent of the population is unable to meet basic food needs, while 43 per cent live in chronic poverty.

We have to ask the question is this drought and lack of rain a Swazi problem and are they the ones who caused it?   

“Last month was the hottest October in modern history and the first ten months of the year have also been at record levels, US government scientists said this afternoon. (18 November)
The latest data means that 2015 is firmly on pace for being the most scorching since 1880, as global warming concerns mount ahead of key climate talks in Paris later this month.
October marked the sixth month in a row that heat records were shattered worldwide, said the monthly report by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
"The globally averaged temperature over land and ocean surfaces for October 2015 was the highest for October since record keeping began in 1880," said NOAA.”

The situation in Malkerns:

The average monthly maximum temperature for
August:                  23.8C⁰
September:           25.4C⁰
October:                25.4C⁰

Actual maximum average temperature in 2015 measured at the farm in Luyengo:
August:                  29C⁰
September:           29C⁰
October:                36C⁰

The average monthly rainfall in Malkerns for:
August:                  20mm
September:           44mm
October:                98mm

Actual rainfall measured at Luyengo farm for:
August:                    6mm
September:           12mm
October:                38mm

The situation in the Makerns Valley is exaggerated by the ongoing repairs to the canal, necessitating periodic closure.

I went to see the very origin of the canal at the Usuthu river, 12 km from the farm. The river has practically no flow. Normally 50% of the water from the river is directed towards the canal. This canal feeds the entire Malkerns valley, all farms, all households and all businesses. The latest rationing proposals include the complete closure of the canal for periods of 2 weeks, that is if some rain will fall, otherwise there will be no water at all from the canal. At the moment the position is close to catastrophic. The farm is alive, but only thanks to the reservoir, and Tiekie’s careful rationing strategy."

Please support the Diocese of Swaziland as it continues to serve the people of Swaziland in these difficult days.

300 years of The United Society

14 Sept: Evensong in St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin

14 Sept: Jan de Bruijn and Dean Victor Stacey lay a wreath at the memorial to Charles Inglis

14 Sept: Dean Victor Stacey, Linda Chambers, Bishop Michael Burrows (Preacher)

14 Sept: Janette O'Neill, CEO Us London; Yoshimi Gregory, Director Us in Ireland, Linda Chambers

21 Sept: St Macartin's Cathedral, Enniskillen. Dean Arthur Barrett, Linda Chambers, Bishop John McDowell, Dean Kenny Hall

21 Sept: Dean Arthur Barrett, preacher

Bikers on a Mission: Day 10

Holy Trinity, Downpatrick

Wet finish at St Anne's, Belfast

Bikers on a Mission: Day 9

St Patrick's
Dublin

Christ Church
Dublin

St Brigid's
Kildare

St Patrick's
Trim

Bikers on a Mission: Day 8

St Canice's
Kilkenny

St Laserian's
Old Leighlin

St Enda's
Ferns

Bikers on a Mission: Day 7

 Holy Trinity, Waterford

St John's, Cashel

Bikers on a Mission: Day 6

St Fin Barre's, Cork

St Colman's, Cloyne

St Carthage's, Lismore

Bikers on a Mission: Day 5

St Mary's, Limerick

St Fachtna's, Ross

Bikers on a Mission: Day 4

St Mary's, Tuam

St Brendan's, Clonfert

St Fachtnan's, Kilfenora

St Flannan's, Killaloe

Bikers on a Mission: Day 3

St Columb's, Derry

St Eunan's, Raphoe

St Mary & St John, Sligo

St Patrick's, Killala

Bikers on a Mission: Departure from St Anne's Cathedral Belfast.

 Now that we are all home safely, I can enjoy the photographs gathered along the route. Here departure from St Anne's Cathedral on 1 August. We were glad to have Bishop Alan and Bishop Harold with us.

Swaziland news - Anglican schools