Last Friday on the way home from visiting our CHIPS staff in Vuvulane, I received a call from my son saying that 2 men had been in our yard earlier that day. When I got home, I found out that there had been someone going from gate to gate seeing if anyone was home. No one was at our house that morning because I was in Vuvulane, the kids were at school and my house lady, Anna, had an appointment and was only supposed to come in later in the day. Her appointment was changed and she came around 10am. At 1pm, she looked out the window and saw 2 men standing in the front yard by the gate. When they saw her, they jumped over the wall that has barbed wire on top of it! She started screaming and all of the gardeners and guards from both neighbors and across the street came running and chased them. They got away in a Volvo with South African plates. Anna was shaken when I arrived. I called the police and they showed up about 3 hours later to take a report. By then, the guard and gardeners that had been there when the incident took place were gone. They said they would send an investigator in the morning to ask them questions. (not sure if that ever happened) They told me that these guys have been going all over looking for houses with no one home to break into to get jewelry and electronics. Later that evening the police had a road block down the road from my house. I told them I hope they were looking for the guys that tried to break into our house earlier. Praise the Lord that Anna was there and scared them off. Also, I am so thankful for my neighbors guard and gardeners that tried to help. I am happy that we live in an area that is alert and willing to help us. I sent cookies to all of them today! I pray that the thieves are long gone and do not come back! Praise the Lord for His Faithfulness and Protection!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Angels Watching Over Us!
Last Friday on the way home from visiting our CHIPS staff in Vuvulane, I received a call from my son saying that 2 men had been in our yard earlier that day. When I got home, I found out that there had been someone going from gate to gate seeing if anyone was home. No one was at our house that morning because I was in Vuvulane, the kids were at school and my house lady, Anna, had an appointment and was only supposed to come in later in the day. Her appointment was changed and she came around 10am. At 1pm, she looked out the window and saw 2 men standing in the front yard by the gate. When they saw her, they jumped over the wall that has barbed wire on top of it! She started screaming and all of the gardeners and guards from both neighbors and across the street came running and chased them. They got away in a Volvo with South African plates. Anna was shaken when I arrived. I called the police and they showed up about 3 hours later to take a report. By then, the guard and gardeners that had been there when the incident took place were gone. They said they would send an investigator in the morning to ask them questions. (not sure if that ever happened) They told me that these guys have been going all over looking for houses with no one home to break into to get jewelry and electronics. Later that evening the police had a road block down the road from my house. I told them I hope they were looking for the guys that tried to break into our house earlier. Praise the Lord that Anna was there and scared them off. Also, I am so thankful for my neighbors guard and gardeners that tried to help. I am happy that we live in an area that is alert and willing to help us. I sent cookies to all of them today! I pray that the thieves are long gone and do not come back! Praise the Lord for His Faithfulness and Protection!
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
Jabulani and Mary Graduate
Congratulations to both Jabulani Maziya and Mary Groening. Both are dedicated and crucial employees of CHIPS. Without their dedication and compassion for the members of the CHIPS outreach communities, this program would not be successful or have the impact it is having. They exemplify Christ. Jabulani earned a Diploma of Ministry while Mary earned a Certificate of Ministry with Distinction from the Christian Family Church International Bible School.
We are blessed and privileged to be able to work with both Jabulani and Mary in the ministry God has called and enabled them for!
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Syncretism vs. Sold Out
We often deal in Swaziland with a culture which is trying to mix Christianity into traditional beliefs. Here is a very good discourse from a Swazi on this, published in the Swazi Observer 5 Feb 2011 :
The other day I had a severe headache and I asked my son to buy me some tablets from the shop. Before I could take the tablets he gave me a brief lecture; ‘mummy you must pray for these tablets first, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, not in the name of Jesus.
My friend at school told me the devil also produces some tablets in the world of spirits, where there is a different Jesus, not the one from Nazareth.’
I could sense that my son was engulfed by fear of some mystical powers which are capable of inhabiting anything, even pills.
The public is once again gripped by fear caused by a recurring wave of evil cult revelations. The recent confessions reported in the local media have sparked various reactions from the public.
It is, therefore, imperative to seek a sound balance between the two extremes of on one hand denying the very existence of the evil spirits and on the other demonising everything. One possible approach to this subject would be to explore our ‘world’ as Africans to be able to appreciate the predicament we are grappling with now.
Like all Africans, the Swazi indigenous religious orientation is based on a certain consolidated worldview, which is as old as humanity itself. A worldview refers to a comprehensive conception of the world by an individual or a group, from a specific standpoint; it is his/their way of understanding reality.
The beliefs, values and behaviours of a culture stem directly from the worldview. The African worldview is very distinct in its approach in that it makes no clear-cut separation between what is secular and sacred; the world is one, interconnected and indivisible. As one African proverb has stated, ‘our world is like a drum; strike any part of it and the vibration is felt all over.’ Hence, for Africans everything is looked upon in a religious perspective and every form of behaviour is imbued with religious significance. In a succinct analysis of the African worldview, African scholars have identified a six feature framework which explains the salient features underlying an indigenous conception of the world.
Belief
For the purposes of this discussion I will just mention one of these aspects, which is the widespread belief in the existence of the world of spirit power. From a primal perspective, a Swazi cannot be alone in the universe; he/she is part of a heavily populated spiritual world of powers or beings, even more powerful and ultimate than himself/herself. For that reason he/she has to live in harmony with the universe, obeying the laws of natural, moral and mystical order. The spirits that populate the universe have different but related classifications. You find them everywhere; in persons, trees, mountains, waterfalls, animals, sun, moon, and so on.
Notable about these spirits is that they are both benevolent and malevolent. The malevolent comprise evil spirits, demons, and occult powers of wizards and witches, which always threaten society with destruction. For an African nothing happens by accident; there are always causes and reasons for whatever misfortune, and a scenario must be established in which the malevolent powers are exposed and subsequently placed in a position where the community can deal with them accordingly. For example, a car accident cannot be caused by bad driving because the driver was drunk; there must be some spirits involved which ultimately caused the accident. Religious personages are, therefore, consulted to analyse events in order to determine cause and effect connections. The prescription that they would make would then provide an escape from the terrors of the evil forces.
Worldview
What happens, therefore, at conversion, when a Swazi with such a developed religious sense and thought patterns, has an encounter with Christ? He/she does not discard these traditional religious thought patterns; instead he/she interprets this new data in the light of some frame of understanding. This suggests that one’s worldview provides him/her with a ready made key to an understanding of the nature of the universe. Any new religious orientation would appeal to his/her religious instincts and susceptibilities that already existed. To be more precise, for a Swazi who co-exists with a variety of sources of power which impinge upon him/her, what happens at the level of these powers when he/she is converted to Christ? His/her conceptions of evil are not altered, but they are reoriented by Christ who enters the convert’s cosmology as a primary source of power.
To be continued...
I am convinced that for a sustained conversion experience, a person must elevate Jesus Christ to a position of Lordship in his/her power constellation, and keep him there through a Christ honouring lifestyle. Failing which, Christ is reduced to being simply an additional helpful source of power, perhaps equal in power with other lesser spirits. Without being judgmental, it is true that in this era of power hunger, fame and prosperity, it is not easy to ascertain the place of Jesus in another person’s conversion experience; some Christians would no doubt score high on a commercial gospel questionnaire as to the person of Christ.
If Christ has assumed Lordship in your life, and He has assured you protection from all the powers of darkness, that you consciously know, heavily populate the universe, why should you be enslaved by fear? ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me.’ Such a declaration does not suggest that one denies the operations of evil forces, it just stretches your world further to realize that ‘greater is He that is in us than the evil one that is in the world….’ After the costly, but necessary Calvary experience of Christ, more than two thousand years ago, Christians pain Christ when they emphasize the ‘spiritual war path’ element than the celebration of His victory over evil. On the other hand the devil is tickled and amused to see Christians frustrated and threatened by his presence. I guess he interprets this special attention given to him to be like glorifying him more than Christ.
I know that if Sigmund Freud and Erik Erickson, some renowned psychological theorists were to resurrect from their graves they would give a different interpretation of this Satanism saga. They would attribute the behaviour of the teenagers alleged to have participated in occultism to the many complexities involved in the development and maturational stages of adolescence. They would analyse the scenario in terms of one’s identity at this transitional stage, whereby all earlier crystallizations of identity formed during childhood come into question, with the overwhelming combination of physical changes, increased sex drive, expanded mental abilities, and increasing and conflicting social demands. The theorists would claim that this is a critical stage for adolescents, to an extent that they can even reject their parents, and all that they stand for so that they can make a clean break from childhood as they attempt to form an identity of their own. With their sense of identify influx, they would find a sense of belonging in peer groups. Some would even engage in cult-tendencies as they journey to self-discovery. In the process there would be some ‘control freaks’ who would take advantage of the teenagers’ vulnerability and insecurities to serve their selfish ends.
Another person can give a different perspective of this Satanism saga in relation to the competition within the Christian fraternity, which unfortunately becomes a negation of the universal ontological solidarity revealed and realised in Christ. The competition for members and the money that goes with an increased affluent membership may tempt some Christians to engage in character assassination and blacklist others, thus corrupting the ‘Good news’ of Christ to be portrayed as ‘bad news.’ It is high time that every Christian, the men of the cloth in particular, reassess their vocation and break the chains of mammon and throw off the impediment of this ‘fashioned’ gospel. One even wonders if these new trends are not an indication that the country is now over evangelised, thus risking opening doors for impostors to flood Christians with more distressing religious opinions.
Whatever avenues of approach the public takes in interpreting the Satanism wave, the fact remains that Christians are not condemned to a fate of fear of spiritual powers, but are promised victory through Christ. They must therefore rid themselves of all the obsessive fear of evil and discover in the incarnate Christ the God who is in ontological solidarity with their human destiny. Sadly, this obsession can have far reaching repercussions on the Christian fraternity; it can divert the Christians’ focus to become ‘devil conscious’, at the expense of more threatening issues to the survival of the Church, like ecumenism, morality, poverty, economic recession, and so on. Also it can lead to people engaging in a ‘witch hunt’ to discover who does this and who does not do that. This can have serious implications on interpersonal relationships amongst Christians, thus threatening the unity of the church. Lastly, as much as we can not undermine and trivialize the experiences of some people with the mystical world, and the operations of evil on earth, we would like to maintain this profound truth that Christ gained victory over all evil.
Submitted by: (Mrs) Sonene Nyawo UNISWA Lecturer, Faculty of Humanities
The other day I had a severe headache and I asked my son to buy me some tablets from the shop. Before I could take the tablets he gave me a brief lecture; ‘mummy you must pray for these tablets first, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, not in the name of Jesus.
My friend at school told me the devil also produces some tablets in the world of spirits, where there is a different Jesus, not the one from Nazareth.’
I could sense that my son was engulfed by fear of some mystical powers which are capable of inhabiting anything, even pills.
The public is once again gripped by fear caused by a recurring wave of evil cult revelations. The recent confessions reported in the local media have sparked various reactions from the public.
It is, therefore, imperative to seek a sound balance between the two extremes of on one hand denying the very existence of the evil spirits and on the other demonising everything. One possible approach to this subject would be to explore our ‘world’ as Africans to be able to appreciate the predicament we are grappling with now.
Like all Africans, the Swazi indigenous religious orientation is based on a certain consolidated worldview, which is as old as humanity itself. A worldview refers to a comprehensive conception of the world by an individual or a group, from a specific standpoint; it is his/their way of understanding reality.
The beliefs, values and behaviours of a culture stem directly from the worldview. The African worldview is very distinct in its approach in that it makes no clear-cut separation between what is secular and sacred; the world is one, interconnected and indivisible. As one African proverb has stated, ‘our world is like a drum; strike any part of it and the vibration is felt all over.’ Hence, for Africans everything is looked upon in a religious perspective and every form of behaviour is imbued with religious significance. In a succinct analysis of the African worldview, African scholars have identified a six feature framework which explains the salient features underlying an indigenous conception of the world.
Belief
For the purposes of this discussion I will just mention one of these aspects, which is the widespread belief in the existence of the world of spirit power. From a primal perspective, a Swazi cannot be alone in the universe; he/she is part of a heavily populated spiritual world of powers or beings, even more powerful and ultimate than himself/herself. For that reason he/she has to live in harmony with the universe, obeying the laws of natural, moral and mystical order. The spirits that populate the universe have different but related classifications. You find them everywhere; in persons, trees, mountains, waterfalls, animals, sun, moon, and so on.
Notable about these spirits is that they are both benevolent and malevolent. The malevolent comprise evil spirits, demons, and occult powers of wizards and witches, which always threaten society with destruction. For an African nothing happens by accident; there are always causes and reasons for whatever misfortune, and a scenario must be established in which the malevolent powers are exposed and subsequently placed in a position where the community can deal with them accordingly. For example, a car accident cannot be caused by bad driving because the driver was drunk; there must be some spirits involved which ultimately caused the accident. Religious personages are, therefore, consulted to analyse events in order to determine cause and effect connections. The prescription that they would make would then provide an escape from the terrors of the evil forces.
Worldview
What happens, therefore, at conversion, when a Swazi with such a developed religious sense and thought patterns, has an encounter with Christ? He/she does not discard these traditional religious thought patterns; instead he/she interprets this new data in the light of some frame of understanding. This suggests that one’s worldview provides him/her with a ready made key to an understanding of the nature of the universe. Any new religious orientation would appeal to his/her religious instincts and susceptibilities that already existed. To be more precise, for a Swazi who co-exists with a variety of sources of power which impinge upon him/her, what happens at the level of these powers when he/she is converted to Christ? His/her conceptions of evil are not altered, but they are reoriented by Christ who enters the convert’s cosmology as a primary source of power.
To be continued...
I am convinced that for a sustained conversion experience, a person must elevate Jesus Christ to a position of Lordship in his/her power constellation, and keep him there through a Christ honouring lifestyle. Failing which, Christ is reduced to being simply an additional helpful source of power, perhaps equal in power with other lesser spirits. Without being judgmental, it is true that in this era of power hunger, fame and prosperity, it is not easy to ascertain the place of Jesus in another person’s conversion experience; some Christians would no doubt score high on a commercial gospel questionnaire as to the person of Christ.
If Christ has assumed Lordship in your life, and He has assured you protection from all the powers of darkness, that you consciously know, heavily populate the universe, why should you be enslaved by fear? ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me.’ Such a declaration does not suggest that one denies the operations of evil forces, it just stretches your world further to realize that ‘greater is He that is in us than the evil one that is in the world….’ After the costly, but necessary Calvary experience of Christ, more than two thousand years ago, Christians pain Christ when they emphasize the ‘spiritual war path’ element than the celebration of His victory over evil. On the other hand the devil is tickled and amused to see Christians frustrated and threatened by his presence. I guess he interprets this special attention given to him to be like glorifying him more than Christ.
I know that if Sigmund Freud and Erik Erickson, some renowned psychological theorists were to resurrect from their graves they would give a different interpretation of this Satanism saga. They would attribute the behaviour of the teenagers alleged to have participated in occultism to the many complexities involved in the development and maturational stages of adolescence. They would analyse the scenario in terms of one’s identity at this transitional stage, whereby all earlier crystallizations of identity formed during childhood come into question, with the overwhelming combination of physical changes, increased sex drive, expanded mental abilities, and increasing and conflicting social demands. The theorists would claim that this is a critical stage for adolescents, to an extent that they can even reject their parents, and all that they stand for so that they can make a clean break from childhood as they attempt to form an identity of their own. With their sense of identify influx, they would find a sense of belonging in peer groups. Some would even engage in cult-tendencies as they journey to self-discovery. In the process there would be some ‘control freaks’ who would take advantage of the teenagers’ vulnerability and insecurities to serve their selfish ends.
Another person can give a different perspective of this Satanism saga in relation to the competition within the Christian fraternity, which unfortunately becomes a negation of the universal ontological solidarity revealed and realised in Christ. The competition for members and the money that goes with an increased affluent membership may tempt some Christians to engage in character assassination and blacklist others, thus corrupting the ‘Good news’ of Christ to be portrayed as ‘bad news.’ It is high time that every Christian, the men of the cloth in particular, reassess their vocation and break the chains of mammon and throw off the impediment of this ‘fashioned’ gospel. One even wonders if these new trends are not an indication that the country is now over evangelised, thus risking opening doors for impostors to flood Christians with more distressing religious opinions.
Whatever avenues of approach the public takes in interpreting the Satanism wave, the fact remains that Christians are not condemned to a fate of fear of spiritual powers, but are promised victory through Christ. They must therefore rid themselves of all the obsessive fear of evil and discover in the incarnate Christ the God who is in ontological solidarity with their human destiny. Sadly, this obsession can have far reaching repercussions on the Christian fraternity; it can divert the Christians’ focus to become ‘devil conscious’, at the expense of more threatening issues to the survival of the Church, like ecumenism, morality, poverty, economic recession, and so on. Also it can lead to people engaging in a ‘witch hunt’ to discover who does this and who does not do that. This can have serious implications on interpersonal relationships amongst Christians, thus threatening the unity of the church. Lastly, as much as we can not undermine and trivialize the experiences of some people with the mystical world, and the operations of evil on earth, we would like to maintain this profound truth that Christ gained victory over all evil.
Submitted by: (Mrs) Sonene Nyawo UNISWA Lecturer, Faculty of Humanities
Monday, January 24, 2011
Counting Down to Return to SD
Teresa, Danielle, Nathanael, and Joelle are back in southern Africa after some excitement at the airport in Washington. Nathanael was dropped from the flight from Dulles to Johannesburg for some reason. Teresa managed after much cajoling (and I’m sure tears) to convince them she wasn’t going to leave her 16 year old at the airport to figure it out.
I (Daran) will be in the States through February 20. I am still looking for opportunities to share the vision for a clinic to serve the HIV population in Swaziland with any groups, small or large, church, home or civic. I would be grateful for any meeting that can be organized for us. I’m committed to traveling to where ever meetings can be organized.
Scheduled travel so far: January 23 - January 27 – Baton Rouge, LA
January 28 – January 29 – Shelby, NC
February 1 - February 4 – San Antonio, TX
February 17 – 20 – San Antonio, TX
February 21 - SWAZILAND!!!
My number while in the US is (978) 558-3251.
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who helped set up the meetings we’ve already had. They have been a blessing to us and hopefully a blessing to those who were there.
Mission Trail Rotary, San Antonio, TX
Covenant Love Church, Fayetteville, NC
Messiah Lutheran Church, Coatesville, PA
Divinity Lutheran Church, Towson, MD
Woodbrook Baptist Church, Baltimore, MD
Leon Springs Baptist Church, San Antonio, TX
Capital City Rotary, Baton Rouge, LA
Baton Rouge Round Table, Baton Rouge, LA
University Presbyterian Church, Baton Rouge, LA
First Presbyterian Church, Morgantown, WV
Bauer’s Women’s Bible Study, Baton Rouge, LA
Hosanna Christian Academy, Baton Rouge, LA
Broadmoor United Methodist Church, Baton Rouge, LA
We have a vision for developing a holistic medical clinic in the Maphiveni area to proactively cater to the HIV+ population there. In addition, to help address the long term poverty issues there, we want to begin developing a community centre that will help empower the most vulnerable to provide for themselves and give them control of their lives in a Christ centred environment.
God is good! He demonstrates His faithfulness to us in both big and small ways.
Blessings!
Daran & Teresa Rehmeyer
African Leadership Partners
Subtle Health Rationing
CHIPS Clinic
CHIPS - Children’s HIV Intervention Programme in Swaziland
I (Daran) will be in the States through February 20. I am still looking for opportunities to share the vision for a clinic to serve the HIV population in Swaziland with any groups, small or large, church, home or civic. I would be grateful for any meeting that can be organized for us. I’m committed to traveling to where ever meetings can be organized.
Scheduled travel so far: January 23 - January 27 – Baton Rouge, LA
January 28 – January 29 – Shelby, NC
February 1 - February 4 – San Antonio, TX
February 17 – 20 – San Antonio, TX
February 21 - SWAZILAND!!!
My number while in the US is (978) 558-3251.
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who helped set up the meetings we’ve already had. They have been a blessing to us and hopefully a blessing to those who were there.
Mission Trail Rotary, San Antonio, TX
Covenant Love Church, Fayetteville, NC
Messiah Lutheran Church, Coatesville, PA
Divinity Lutheran Church, Towson, MD
Woodbrook Baptist Church, Baltimore, MD
Leon Springs Baptist Church, San Antonio, TX
Capital City Rotary, Baton Rouge, LA
Baton Rouge Round Table, Baton Rouge, LA
University Presbyterian Church, Baton Rouge, LA
First Presbyterian Church, Morgantown, WV
Bauer’s Women’s Bible Study, Baton Rouge, LA
Hosanna Christian Academy, Baton Rouge, LA
Broadmoor United Methodist Church, Baton Rouge, LA
We have a vision for developing a holistic medical clinic in the Maphiveni area to proactively cater to the HIV+ population there. In addition, to help address the long term poverty issues there, we want to begin developing a community centre that will help empower the most vulnerable to provide for themselves and give them control of their lives in a Christ centred environment.
God is good! He demonstrates His faithfulness to us in both big and small ways.
Blessings!
Daran & Teresa Rehmeyer
African Leadership Partners
Subtle Health Rationing
CHIPS Clinic
CHIPS - Children’s HIV Intervention Programme in Swaziland
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Back in the USA!
So we are back in the US until the 22nd of January. Gabby stays on to acclimate to US culture (get a driver’s license, get a car, get a job, etc) before starting college here in the fall. Please pray for her as transitioning from Swazi pace and culture to the US can be difficult.
Teresa and the other children return to Swaziland January 22 while Daran will be staying on for a number of weeks to continue raising funds for both our family support and the projects we continue to develop in Swaziland.
We are still looking for opportunities to share the projects God has given us the privilege to develop with any groups, small or large, church, home or civic. We would be grateful for any meeting that can be organized for us. We’re committed to traveling to where ever meetings can be organized.
Our number while in the US is (978) 558-3251.
We have made several recent posts to our blog that we would invite you to view:
CHIPS Children’s HIV Intervention in Swaziland
We have a vision for developing a holistic medical clinic in the Maphiveni area to proactively cater to the HIV+ children and caregivers in this area. In addition, to help address the long term poverty issues there, we want to begin developing a community centre that will help empower the most vulnerable to provide for themselves and give them control of their lives thru micro finance and personal income generation projects (like making jams, harvesting moringa, quality handcrafts….).
God continues to be very good to us! We are looking forward to continuing the work and ministry in Swaziland with your prayers and support.
Blessings!
Daran & Teresa Rehmeyer
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Subtle Health Rationing
Whiteside was gloomy about the future of Swaziland's AIDS response "now that the money's running dry".
"I think it means that we'll start rationing - it'll be a subtle form of rationing where we'll say we'll provide treatment in [the eastern provincial capital] Siteki and if you live 30km away you won't get treatment because you won't be able to get there; or, you used to have to wait four hours to see a doctor, now you have to wait 12 and some of you die in the queue," he said.
"We don't have the courage to ration in an explicit manner, so we will do it in an implicit manner."
Swaziland: Declining Customs Union Revenues Threaten Aids Response,16 November 2010There was some shock registered as I read this. Maphiveni is 50km from Siteki. The CHIPS programme was developed because effectively, the people in this impoverished community were already being denied access to care at Good Shepherd Hospital in Siteki only because there was no way they could afford the transport to the hospital.
But to read a prognosis from one of the premier HIV/AIDS researchers here in southern Africa stating explicitly what would be the outcome of even further reductions in government support for combating HIV/AIDS was still a shock. The children, mothers and people of Maphiveni deserve better.
Please join us in praying for the funds to move ahead with a dedicated clinic in Maphiveni to serve the HIV population in this area.
Monday, November 01, 2010
Homeward Bound
We are beginning the process of planning for our (short) seven week trip back to the States: December 5 thru January 22. While we will be spending time with family and saying goodbye to Gabby, we would welcome the opportunity to share what we have been doing and our work going forward.
URGENT: understanding that this trip straddles the holidays, we would still welcome any opportunities to address groups (Bible studies, prayer groups, civic organizations, etc) over this period that would be interested in what is going on in Swaziland. We have been promised ‘frequent flyer’ miles so any trips off our scheduled itinerary are still possible.
We have made two recent posts to our blog that we would invite you to view:
and
CHIPS Children’s HIV Intervention in Swaziland
We have a vision for developing a holistic medical clinic in the Maphiveni area to proactively cater to the HIV+ children and caregivers in this area. In addition, to help address the long term poverty issues there, we want to begin developing a community center that will help empower the most vulnerable to provide for themselves and give them control of their lives thru micro finance and personal income generation projects (like making jams, harvesting moringa, quality handcrafts….).
God has been very good to us! By His grace we have survived many rough spots here over the past few years. We have been blessed to be able to join in prayer for requests from some of you in the States. Life can be challenging whether you are at home or in a foreign culture. We look forward to continue to work and minister in Swaziland with your prayers and support.
Blessings!
Daran & Teresa Rehmeyer
www.AfricanLeadershipPartners.orgSunday, October 24, 2010
CHIPS Clinic
What can I say? Valleys, deserts, furnace, pain, despair, brokenness, hurt, sorrow. These are all emotions or emotional states that many of the Swazi people face on a daily basis. God has allowed our family to suffer just a little bit of some of these over the past two years. Maybe God allowed some circumstances to happen to strengthen our faith, or to help us be more empathetic to others who are hurting. Of course our suffering is nothing in comparison to what many people face on a daily basis.
Our work with the CHIPS program in the rural areas of Vuvulane and Maphiveni has not been without its challenges, but God has allowed us to reach the forgotten poor people in these areas with much needed medical assistance for HIV/AIDS and TB. We would like to see this work expand from just in-community testing, counseling and transport to an actual holistic clinic where all of the medical needs of our patients can be met.
We had the opportunity to visit the St. Phillips Mission last week with our CHIPS team. It was an awesome experience sharing with our dear friends Sister Diane and Sister Barbara, who also have such vision and passion for helping the people of Swaziland! They have developed a system there where they work in the nearby communities making sure that no one goes without medical assistance for HIV/AIDS, placing orphans in school, and caring for the poor. The clinic there for HIV/AIDS patients takes care of all of their medical needs, whether it be TB, diabetes, or high blood pressure. They also have staff that are called 'default finders', who go out and get the patients who miss their appointments and bring them in. They have a staff of about 13 people working with them for this medical mission. They are really making a difference in the communities that they work in.
We as CHIPS would love to duplicate this program in the area that we work in. As of now we have 2 staff, 2 missionaries, and have just hired a 3rd staff who will start in December. So we would have to grow in staff and in funding to make this work. We would also like to see a community center where income generation projects can take place, as well as English literacy training and day care. These are the dreams we have for our program for the future. We place these dreams in God’s hand and ask that His will be done and doors open as He sees fit for this work that is HIS in the first place. We want to go the direction that He wants. Please help us pray for His will and His hand in all of these things.
We covet your prayers for our family. It has been a difficult 2 years for all of us, as well as a time of growing and drawing close to the Lord and to each other. Satan would love to discourage us and cause us to lose our faith, but we know that all things work together for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. What Satan means for destruction, God will use for His glory and honor. So although we are tired and weary, our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is strong by His grace and mercy. He is always faithful!
Our work with the CHIPS program in the rural areas of Vuvulane and Maphiveni has not been without its challenges, but God has allowed us to reach the forgotten poor people in these areas with much needed medical assistance for HIV/AIDS and TB. We would like to see this work expand from just in-community testing, counseling and transport to an actual holistic clinic where all of the medical needs of our patients can be met.
We had the opportunity to visit the St. Phillips Mission last week with our CHIPS team. It was an awesome experience sharing with our dear friends Sister Diane and Sister Barbara, who also have such vision and passion for helping the people of Swaziland! They have developed a system there where they work in the nearby communities making sure that no one goes without medical assistance for HIV/AIDS, placing orphans in school, and caring for the poor. The clinic there for HIV/AIDS patients takes care of all of their medical needs, whether it be TB, diabetes, or high blood pressure. They also have staff that are called 'default finders', who go out and get the patients who miss their appointments and bring them in. They have a staff of about 13 people working with them for this medical mission. They are really making a difference in the communities that they work in.
We as CHIPS would love to duplicate this program in the area that we work in. As of now we have 2 staff, 2 missionaries, and have just hired a 3rd staff who will start in December. So we would have to grow in staff and in funding to make this work. We would also like to see a community center where income generation projects can take place, as well as English literacy training and day care. These are the dreams we have for our program for the future. We place these dreams in God’s hand and ask that His will be done and doors open as He sees fit for this work that is HIS in the first place. We want to go the direction that He wants. Please help us pray for His will and His hand in all of these things.
We covet your prayers for our family. It has been a difficult 2 years for all of us, as well as a time of growing and drawing close to the Lord and to each other. Satan would love to discourage us and cause us to lose our faith, but we know that all things work together for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. What Satan means for destruction, God will use for His glory and honor. So although we are tired and weary, our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is strong by His grace and mercy. He is always faithful!
Saturday, October 02, 2010
Liyana the Movie
Here's an exciting development! Perhaps you can help.
Many have seen the award winning film Peter & Mary Jean Kopp's son Aaron made about New Life Homes. It has been selected for screening at several international film festivals. It has also been an outstanding tool for ALP to give people a good look at what ALP is doing in a remote corner of Swaziland. As a result, a broad spectrum of people have been drawn into the circle of knowledge, on-going interest, and support.
For some time Aaron's dream has been to develop a full length documentary that accurately depicts the lives of orphans and vulnerable children in Africa. The message would flow from the lives of the children in our care at New Life Children's Homes.
This venture is close to becoming a reality! He plans to do the first and major portion of the filming in December and January.
He has had amazing interest and support from across the spectrum. One of the ALP Board members, Dr. Bob Beilke, Pediatric Psychologist at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma, Washington, who has worked with the New Life Homes children and caregivers several times is very keen on this project. He believes it could significantly help the children process their experiences through the story-telling approach Aaron has in mind. Bob expects the children will make progress in their own healing from their traumatic backgrounds.
In addition, awareness of this successful model for orphan care will be significantly extended. We expect to see more resources made available for future developments.
We need some help to get this off the ground. The goal is to raise close to $25,000 before the end of October. The good news is that we are already more than half way there!!
Please visit the wonderful website, www.liyanathemovie.com You will find a number of great images, entertaining and informative video clips, and interviews.
You can make a difference by helping to get the message out through a donation, joining close to a hundred motivated partners. Pledge right on-line, or by mailing a check to African Leadership Partners, designated for "Liyana the Movie".
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Vusile & Jabu
We had a chance to visit some of the areas helped by CHIPS in Lubombo this week. Especially gratifying was visiting Vusile and Jabu. Both live at the same homestead. Jabu is being treated for Kaposi Sarcoma (an opportunistic HIV related cancer). She had begun treatment with the help of CHIPS, but quit because of the side effects of the chemotherapy. CHIPS Jabulani and Mary convinced her to restart treatment last week. She met someone in the treatment center who was suffering worse side effects than she had been. I think it help her realize she could do it and see it through. Jabulanii commented that the blemishes typical of KS were beginning to fade and shrink..jpg)
Vusile, on the other hand was scooting about, happy and smiling in the walker donated for him by Cindy Martin with All for Jesus. Vusile has cerebral palsy and with no care or treatment available, was left to craw on the ground.Please pray for Jabu's continued recovery and treatment, that Vusile would have access to proper medical intervention and for our continued ability to show God's love and compassion to these communities in a powerful and real way.
Sunday, August 01, 2010
CHIPS Picts
Here are some recent pictures from Maphiveni and CHIPS. Thanks to Ian and Jenn! They show a community volunteer that has helped us greatly by identifying people who are sick who are part of CHIPS and those who would benefit from being part of the program. We supplied the fencing to help her protect her garden (the chickens and dogs were ruining it before).
Also shown are Mary and Jabulani (and a cute baby). 
Friday, June 18, 2010
June Rehmeyer Update
It has been a few months since we sent an update. That means we need your prayers even more as we have all been exceptionally busy (overwhelmed sometimes?).
This past month ended on a very tumultuous note. A dear, sweet, Godly mother of three passed away after a very short illness. We had both worked with her while we were a part of Children’s Cup. Gugu Dlamini was one of the most vibrant, alive, joyous people we knew. She was a very dedicated mother. When we moved last year, we had given her two of our dogs. Her kids were overjoyed to have them as pets. We will miss her infectious laugh and quick smile. We know the staff at Children’s Cup will miss her tremendously as well. She was a special lady. We are in the process of setting up a memorial fund for her three daughters to help cover university tuition after they complete high shool.
This month started with Daran beginning a new term at the Lighthouse Ministry Training Institute, teaching Money Matters: God’s Answer to Poverty to the newest class. Unexpectedly, there were about six students re-attending the class from the previous terms (which means it was either very good or they are really boredJ). The glass etching is still being used as an integral part of the Life Skills Training. We are hoping to move the glass kiln to the site next month to start experimenting with slumping glass.
We welcome the addition of Ian and Jenn Stephens to work with us in Tambankulu and CHIPS (Children’s HIV Intervention Programme in Swaziland). Ian and Jenn are here serving under TEAM. They have been in Swaziland for a number of years and specifically moved to Tambankulu to assist us with CHIPS. We are thankful for their commitment and confidence in the programme.
Teresa is currently serving as the Executive Director of the Swaziland Breast Cancer Network. Please pray for her as she strives to walk the line between pushing for progress on providing cancer diagnoses and treatment here and not offending the powers that be in government (that neither move very quickly or have the same priorities) by pushing for progress on the new cervical clinic that the Network has the funds to build, but can’t seem to get permission from the government to move ahead with the construction. Equipment for diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer has been provided by WHO. Training is being funded by UNFPA, but nothing can move forward until approval is given. Women are dying every day from cervical cancer here in Swaziland, unnecessarily. It is extremely frustrating to know that many lives can be saved, but not be able to do anything about it!
All the kids are back in school beginning the second term. Gabby just finished a 4000 word paper that is a huge part of her grade for this year. She has been working hard, and is now looking at a few Universities in the states that she will apply to. We are praying that she can get a good scholarship. Danielle is also doing well in school. She plays the keyboard for church and is becoming more and more confident. Nathan is excelling academically, and he is also playing the bass and electric guitar at church. Joelle is very busy with sports and activities, as well as academics. She is playing field hockey, netball, swimming, tennis, cross country, judo, and gymnastics. She is also in the school choir and has a lovely voice. They are all getting so big, It’s hard to believe it sometimes! We are very blessed!
Thursday, May 06, 2010
The Talking Bible
We met today with the head of a missions group called Cross Connection Outreach. They are working in Mozambique to put the New Testament into an audio player for each of the native languages in that country (they have finished 3 of the 40 some odd languages spoken there). This is primarily for distribution to illiterate and blind people living in relative isolation. Their trip to Swaziland was to make connections to distribute the newly released siSwati Talking Bible to non-English speaking and illiterate people here. Each Bible is also distributed with a small solar panel so relying on batteries and that cost burden is overcome.
We are looking forward to being able to distribute these Bibles to the members of CHIPS in the Maphiveni and Vuvulane communities. Many of the people in these communities speak little or no English and are illiterate as well. We are trusting that being able hear God's word in their own language will be a huge blessing and in turn bring them to a saving knowledge of Christ!
We are looking forward to being able to distribute these Bibles to the members of CHIPS in the Maphiveni and Vuvulane communities. Many of the people in these communities speak little or no English and are illiterate as well. We are trusting that being able hear God's word in their own language will be a huge blessing and in turn bring them to a saving knowledge of Christ!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Update on Hope
By the time Hope got to South Africa (SA) on the 15th of January, she was 32 weeks into her pregnancy and she was too sick to receive chemotherapy. She had to wait there until the baby was 38 weeks. She had a C-Section on the 4th of February and had a healthy baby boy, Praise the Lord!
I received an email from her doctor on the 11th of February saying that she was waiting for payment from the government so she could start treatment on her. At that point I sent an email to the Director of the Ministry of Health and made some phone calls and prayed. She did finally receive her first treatment a couple of weeks later.
Hope came home from SA the first week of March. The baby died on the 4th of March for unknown reasons. She said that the baby was not sick. When I received the message through my Swazi staff, they said that she believes that the evil spirits killed the baby because she had traveled with him before he was a month old. Traditional Swazi’s don’t take their babies out of the home before they are a month old because they believe that they are vulnerable to these things, which is very sad.
She was scheduled to return to SA for her second treatment on the 11th of March. However, government transport is not running again and she can’t get there. Unfortunately, this is the end of the government fiscal year and they have run out of funds. I have tried every way that I know to get her there, but I can’t pay for her to go, because if I do, I will have to do it for all of the others and I can’t do that. There are 33 patients right now that need to get to South Africa for treatment or doctor’s appointment. Ten out of the 33 are cancer patients, who need care and treatment. It is so sad to have to tell them that there is nothing I can do. Many of them are very sick.
I just got word today, 18th March that the government is releasing some funds to start transport again next week, after not running for 3 or 4 weeks. They usually run on a weekly basis, except for holidays. However, it will take many weeks to catch up and get 33 patients there. The ambulance only seats 6 people. Starting on Monday, they will reschedule all of their appointments and then make the transport schedule. I have asked them to please give my cancer patients priority so that they can get back to their treatments, which are supposed to be on an every 3 week schedule in order to be effective. I was told to call back on Monday. Please help me pray that this process will go smoothly and quickly for the sake of the lives of Hope and the other patients here in Swaziland.
I received an email from her doctor on the 11th of February saying that she was waiting for payment from the government so she could start treatment on her. At that point I sent an email to the Director of the Ministry of Health and made some phone calls and prayed. She did finally receive her first treatment a couple of weeks later.
Hope came home from SA the first week of March. The baby died on the 4th of March for unknown reasons. She said that the baby was not sick. When I received the message through my Swazi staff, they said that she believes that the evil spirits killed the baby because she had traveled with him before he was a month old. Traditional Swazi’s don’t take their babies out of the home before they are a month old because they believe that they are vulnerable to these things, which is very sad.
She was scheduled to return to SA for her second treatment on the 11th of March. However, government transport is not running again and she can’t get there. Unfortunately, this is the end of the government fiscal year and they have run out of funds. I have tried every way that I know to get her there, but I can’t pay for her to go, because if I do, I will have to do it for all of the others and I can’t do that. There are 33 patients right now that need to get to South Africa for treatment or doctor’s appointment. Ten out of the 33 are cancer patients, who need care and treatment. It is so sad to have to tell them that there is nothing I can do. Many of them are very sick.
I just got word today, 18th March that the government is releasing some funds to start transport again next week, after not running for 3 or 4 weeks. They usually run on a weekly basis, except for holidays. However, it will take many weeks to catch up and get 33 patients there. The ambulance only seats 6 people. Starting on Monday, they will reschedule all of their appointments and then make the transport schedule. I have asked them to please give my cancer patients priority so that they can get back to their treatments, which are supposed to be on an every 3 week schedule in order to be effective. I was told to call back on Monday. Please help me pray that this process will go smoothly and quickly for the sake of the lives of Hope and the other patients here in Swaziland.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Aggressive Anti-Viral Therapy Could Derail Spread of AIDS - Health News | Current Health News | Medical News - FOXNews.com
Treat HIV infection to stop spread vs. just treating a late stage disease! We've often wondered why this approach hasn't been taken to decrease the number of new HIV infections.
Aggressive Anti-Viral Therapy Could Derail Spread of AIDS - Health News | Current Health News | Medical News - FOXNews.com
Posted using ShareThis
Aggressive Anti-Viral Therapy Could Derail Spread of AIDS - Health News | Current Health News | Medical News - FOXNews.com
Posted using ShareThis
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Hope
I am writing today about one of the breast cancer patients, who we'll call Hope. She is 38 years old and was diagnosed with breast cancer last year in September. She came with a large tumor and she was also pregnant. The Cuban oncologist and surgeon wanted to abort the baby right away to save the mother. She already has 3 other children, and they thought that it would be better for the other 3 children to have a healthy mother. You see, the same hormones that are high during pregnancy, also feed the breast cancer and make it grow and spread. So, we had a meeting with the oncologist, surgeons, and gynecologists at the government hospital. The gynecologists did not want to abort the baby, mainly because it is against the law in Swaziland and they did not want to have to plead her case with government. They didn’t believe that it was a matter of life or death for the mother, which is the only way the government would allow an abortion. The oncologist and surgeons did believe that it was a matter of life or death for the mother. We decided to get a second opinion from an oncologist in South Africa.
The oncologist in South Africa said that she could give her chemotherapy since she was in her second trimester of pregnancy. So, the mastectomy was done first on September 10th, and the paperwork for getting her to South Africa was started. During this time, the oncologist in South Africa had stopped taking patients from Swaziland because the government hadn’t payed her in 5 months. It was becoming very expensive for her to continue buying the chemotherapy without reimbursement. So there were many patients waiting to go to South Africa for treatment by the time things were settled between the oncologist and the Swaziland government. The hospital transport was really busy and patients had to wait a long time for the appointment for transport. Patients need to start chemo within six weeks after the mastectomy. Many of them were way over that time frame. Hope was one of these, but the doctor said to send her anyway and she would see her. By the time she got to the doctor in South Africa, on the 2nd of December, she already had metastatic disease, which means that the disease had spread to her lungs and to a lymph node in her left clavicle area, above her chest.
The doctor was planning to start treating her before Christmas. She was scheduled to take hospital transport on the 21st of December. She traveled across the country to the hospital, ready to go, and there was no transport (the driver never showed up). Then she was scheduled again for the 4th of January, again, no transport (same story). By the time we saw her in clinic again on the 14th of January, she was very weak and short of breath. Also, we found something suspicious in her other breast. When we checked with the hospital transport, the next available date was the 26th of January. She was so afraid, weak, and crying. By this time, she was 32 weeks pregnant.
We (oncologist, nurses, and surgeon) all sat and felt like crying ourselves! What do we do now? Then I remembered that Daran (my husband) was going to South Africa the next day to pick up friends from the airport. I decided that I would go with him, and take the patient. I called the oncologist in South Africa, who was on leave, but had been corresponding with me via email. She told me to bring her and she would make the arrangements with her partner.
So, we started our trip to Johannesburg, South Africa the next day. I was able to talk to her about the Lord, a little bit, enough to understand that she does know Jesus and to tell her that we have people all over praying for her and her baby! That brought a big smile to her face. She was also complaining of sharp pains in the area of her mastectomy. At the border, she was so weak, I had to help her walk, and she couldn’t stand in line for very long. By the time we made it through the border, she was exhausted, especially since she had already made a 2 hour trip with public transport that same morning just to get back to Mbabane. She slept in the car. About an hour into the trip we had car trouble, but praise the Lord, we finally made it! She was admitted to the maternity ward, and I had to leave her soon after arriving to the hospital. We still had to go get our friends and get back to Mbabane before the border closed at 10pm and it was getting late. She didn’t want me to leave, but I told her that we were praying and that I would call and check on her. She is in good hands, the Lord and the doctors there!
Please keep Hope and her baby in your prayers! I believe that the Lord will protect this baby and bring healing to this mother, in the Name of Jesus! I will keep you posted on the progress of these two who are both very precious in the eyes of our Savior!
The oncologist in South Africa said that she could give her chemotherapy since she was in her second trimester of pregnancy. So, the mastectomy was done first on September 10th, and the paperwork for getting her to South Africa was started. During this time, the oncologist in South Africa had stopped taking patients from Swaziland because the government hadn’t payed her in 5 months. It was becoming very expensive for her to continue buying the chemotherapy without reimbursement. So there were many patients waiting to go to South Africa for treatment by the time things were settled between the oncologist and the Swaziland government. The hospital transport was really busy and patients had to wait a long time for the appointment for transport. Patients need to start chemo within six weeks after the mastectomy. Many of them were way over that time frame. Hope was one of these, but the doctor said to send her anyway and she would see her. By the time she got to the doctor in South Africa, on the 2nd of December, she already had metastatic disease, which means that the disease had spread to her lungs and to a lymph node in her left clavicle area, above her chest.
The doctor was planning to start treating her before Christmas. She was scheduled to take hospital transport on the 21st of December. She traveled across the country to the hospital, ready to go, and there was no transport (the driver never showed up). Then she was scheduled again for the 4th of January, again, no transport (same story). By the time we saw her in clinic again on the 14th of January, she was very weak and short of breath. Also, we found something suspicious in her other breast. When we checked with the hospital transport, the next available date was the 26th of January. She was so afraid, weak, and crying. By this time, she was 32 weeks pregnant.
We (oncologist, nurses, and surgeon) all sat and felt like crying ourselves! What do we do now? Then I remembered that Daran (my husband) was going to South Africa the next day to pick up friends from the airport. I decided that I would go with him, and take the patient. I called the oncologist in South Africa, who was on leave, but had been corresponding with me via email. She told me to bring her and she would make the arrangements with her partner.
So, we started our trip to Johannesburg, South Africa the next day. I was able to talk to her about the Lord, a little bit, enough to understand that she does know Jesus and to tell her that we have people all over praying for her and her baby! That brought a big smile to her face. She was also complaining of sharp pains in the area of her mastectomy. At the border, she was so weak, I had to help her walk, and she couldn’t stand in line for very long. By the time we made it through the border, she was exhausted, especially since she had already made a 2 hour trip with public transport that same morning just to get back to Mbabane. She slept in the car. About an hour into the trip we had car trouble, but praise the Lord, we finally made it! She was admitted to the maternity ward, and I had to leave her soon after arriving to the hospital. We still had to go get our friends and get back to Mbabane before the border closed at 10pm and it was getting late. She didn’t want me to leave, but I told her that we were praying and that I would call and check on her. She is in good hands, the Lord and the doctors there!
Please keep Hope and her baby in your prayers! I believe that the Lord will protect this baby and bring healing to this mother, in the Name of Jesus! I will keep you posted on the progress of these two who are both very precious in the eyes of our Savior!
Monday, January 18, 2010
CHIPS Moves into Macethuka
A week ago we made our first official CHIPS visit into Macethuka. Macethuka (which means 'sleeping on your back') is a settlement of sugar cane farm workers who work in Vuvulane, a sugar cooperative. The people here are living as squatters, but allowed to stay as long as they work in the fields. Over seventy people attended our CHIPS introduction meeting. Teresa discussed the purpose of CHIPS and who is eligible to participate: primarily HIV+ children and/or HIV+ caregivers to the children.
Daran took the opportunity to address the men of the community to encourage them to take responsibility for their health. They, like most men around the world, wait till they are literally on death's door step before they will admit they need help and seek health care. It is a sign of weakness to seek medical help! For many that means a death sentence. In early January we received another message from Jabaulani that yet another man from Maphiveni (in his early 40's) had died just a week from being initiated on Anti-Retro-Virals (ARV's) with CHIPS. He had waited too long to seek help.
This past Friday, Jabulani and Mary visited Macethuka again to begin the process of registering people into the program (those who may already know they are HIV+) and to begin the process of educating and identifying children and caregivers who should be tested (because of ongoing health issues, family history, etc).Mary was hired in November to give CHIPS the capacity to expand into additional communities. This is the first of two additional communities we'll move CHIPS into this year. Mary also brings the expertise to begin HIV testing in the community. If we can test in the community, it will reduce the number of people-trips required to Good Shepherd Hospital's HIV testing centre and make more seats available on the khombi (passenger van) for other CHIPS participants. We do however need to purchase an additional vehicle so Mary can get to these communities. We would ask that you would consider partnering with us to facilitate this. A decent vehicle that will survive the gravel roads will cost us about 35000 Emalangeni (about $5000 USD). CHIPS saves lives.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Syncretism
Syncretism - Reconciliation or fusion of differing systems of belief, as in philosophy or religion, especially when success is partial or the result is heterogeneous. Free On Line Dictionary
Christianity in Swaziland is a mix of traditional religions (primarily ancestor worship) and the fundamental principles or concepts of Christianity. According to the CIA World Fact Book, the Religions in Swaziland are: Zionist 40% (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship), Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, other (includes Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish) 30%. What these "official" statistics fail to show is that large percentages of the non-Zionist sects are still influenced greatly by ancestor worship: maybe not at an official level, but by a large number of the adherents in each of the other groupings. We have come across many people in working here that will consult a sangoma, go to the hospital, and also have a Christian pastor pray for them. It's called covering all your bases. A sangoma is different from an inyanga. An inyanga is primarily an herbalist: using medicines made from plants, herbs and animals. A sangoma relies on (ancestral) spirits to guide them in finding a cure. A Swazi pastor we respect greatly has told us he refuses to consult an inyanga because he is unsure where the spiritist and the herbalist draw the line (he is also in line to be a chief but has totally turned his back on his family line because of the ancestor worship and spiritual aspects of becoming a traditional chief).
So why this discourse?
I sat in a meeting yesterday where a very educated Swazi woman told her story of becoming a sangoma. It was interesting and she has every right to make those choices. However, the one thing that I found astounding was her proclamation that she was also a born-again Christian and saw no conflict between the two: a follower of the risen Jesus Christ, son of the Living God and listening to spirits of dead ancestors who guide her. Syncretism. Her defense was a reference to John the Baptist and that we still read what he said in the Bible 2000 years later(?). (I don't think most of us made the connection.)
From the beginning, Judaism had to battle the pressure of the "chosen people of God" to remain faithful and separate from the pagan religious practices of the nations that surrounded them. Ultimately the vast majority of them failed: thereby the judgment from God and the destruction of their temple and deportation to various other kingdoms. Christianity, whether Western or Swazi faces the same pressures: being faithful and separate from the practices of the surrounding pagan or Godless culture or trying to syncretize the two. The synctretization of Christianity and traditional Swazi ancestor worship flies in the face of Biblical truth. We have met very few Swazi's who are still not influenced by it at a high level and many less who will denounce it outright.
But, even as westerners, we probably do the same thing with different inflences, only more subtly. We need to be on our guard to protect the truth the Bible teaches without selectively ignoring or diluting it to match our selfish preferences!
I would ask that you pray for the nation and king of Swaziland. There are many examples in Kings and Chronicles of kings who chose righteousness and a break from the pagan practices that preceded them and the blessings that flowed because of it. 'nough said
Christianity in Swaziland is a mix of traditional religions (primarily ancestor worship) and the fundamental principles or concepts of Christianity. According to the CIA World Fact Book, the Religions in Swaziland are: Zionist 40% (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship), Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, other (includes Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish) 30%. What these "official" statistics fail to show is that large percentages of the non-Zionist sects are still influenced greatly by ancestor worship: maybe not at an official level, but by a large number of the adherents in each of the other groupings. We have come across many people in working here that will consult a sangoma, go to the hospital, and also have a Christian pastor pray for them. It's called covering all your bases. A sangoma is different from an inyanga. An inyanga is primarily an herbalist: using medicines made from plants, herbs and animals. A sangoma relies on (ancestral) spirits to guide them in finding a cure. A Swazi pastor we respect greatly has told us he refuses to consult an inyanga because he is unsure where the spiritist and the herbalist draw the line (he is also in line to be a chief but has totally turned his back on his family line because of the ancestor worship and spiritual aspects of becoming a traditional chief).
So why this discourse?
I sat in a meeting yesterday where a very educated Swazi woman told her story of becoming a sangoma. It was interesting and she has every right to make those choices. However, the one thing that I found astounding was her proclamation that she was also a born-again Christian and saw no conflict between the two: a follower of the risen Jesus Christ, son of the Living God and listening to spirits of dead ancestors who guide her. Syncretism. Her defense was a reference to John the Baptist and that we still read what he said in the Bible 2000 years later(?). (I don't think most of us made the connection.)
From the beginning, Judaism had to battle the pressure of the "chosen people of God" to remain faithful and separate from the pagan religious practices of the nations that surrounded them. Ultimately the vast majority of them failed: thereby the judgment from God and the destruction of their temple and deportation to various other kingdoms. Christianity, whether Western or Swazi faces the same pressures: being faithful and separate from the practices of the surrounding pagan or Godless culture or trying to syncretize the two. The synctretization of Christianity and traditional Swazi ancestor worship flies in the face of Biblical truth. We have met very few Swazi's who are still not influenced by it at a high level and many less who will denounce it outright.
But, even as westerners, we probably do the same thing with different inflences, only more subtly. We need to be on our guard to protect the truth the Bible teaches without selectively ignoring or diluting it to match our selfish preferences!
I would ask that you pray for the nation and king of Swaziland. There are many examples in Kings and Chronicles of kings who chose righteousness and a break from the pagan practices that preceded them and the blessings that flowed because of it. 'nough said
Monday, November 23, 2009
Fana 1981 - 10 November 2009
The young man we spoke about in the last update passed away on November 10. We visited him on Friday, prayed with him and tried to teach his family how to care for him. One thing Teresa stressed to them was how important it was that he continue drinking. He had already stopped eating because of the sores in his throat and mouth. On Saturday we got a call that his family had called and he had stopped drinking as well. Jabulani put him in the CHIPS khombi and took him to Good Shepherd Hospital in Siteki. He was admitted.
We got the call on Tuesday that he had died.
He was slated to start on ART (Anti Retro-viral Treatment) on Thursday.
It is a shame that most men (and plenty of women as well) will live in denial until they are too weak to even respond to treatment. At that point HIV really is a death sentence.
Our hope and prayer is that even for those who choose to ignore the situation (and maybe the obvious), we will still have the opportunity to minister and demonstrate Christ's love to them and their family in an obvious way.
We got the call on Tuesday that he had died.
He was slated to start on ART (Anti Retro-viral Treatment) on Thursday.
It is a shame that most men (and plenty of women as well) will live in denial until they are too weak to even respond to treatment. At that point HIV really is a death sentence.
Our hope and prayer is that even for those who choose to ignore the situation (and maybe the obvious), we will still have the opportunity to minister and demonstrate Christ's love to them and their family in an obvious way.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Children's HIV Intervention Progam
On Friday's we typically head to Tambankulu to visit with Jabulani (and recently hired Mary) who do the day-to-day operation of C.H.I.P.S. Yesterday we caught up with them at Good Shepherd Hospital (GSH) in Siteki. They had brought 6 people to the VCT for initiation, CD4 results, and doctor visits.
While there we visited with Sikhumbuzo, a 7 year old boy on CHIPS. He had been admitted earlier in the week for yet another bout of bronchial pneumonia. Teresa went to see him in the children's ward. He was eating with the other children and watching TV. Teresa gave him a hug and commented how clean and fresh he smelled. He was being taken care of by a person on the hospital staff, who also cares for upwards of fifteen other children. His mother doesn't come visit him at all. We were thinking he is taken better care of at the hospital than at home. He was recovering well and would probably be released next week. CHIPS will help cover his hospitalization costs.
From there we went with Mary to visit a bed ridden man on CHIPS in Maphiveni. His wife has been with CHIPS and on ART for several months and is doing very well; she is healthy, (very) pregnant and very close to her due date. He on the other hand has (like most men) lived in denial of any health problems (and maybe especially HIV) till it is almost too late. Now completely bed ridden, barely eating (because of sores in his throat), he is wasting away. We delivered adult diapers, gloves, and Oral Rehydration Salts given to CHIPS by the Home Care outreach at GSH. His CD4 count was 130 at the last test. He is scheduled to be initiated on ART next week.
Teresa knelt by his bed (blankets on the floor) with Mary to go over his medical condition and giving his wife and relatives instruction on how to best care for him. He should have been admitted to the hospital, but there are no free beds.
Teresa took the opportunity to talk with him about Jesus. Mary interpreted. He was too weak to respond.
Given he won't even be initiated on ART till next week and he is already so weak and has progressed so far with the disease, his chances of survival are small. We honestly don't think he will make it till next week but are hoping he makes it to ART initiation and begins to recover once on drug.
Please partner with us so we can reach children and caregivers much earlier in the disease progression. Their survival depends upon reaching them early and beginning ART early.
While there we visited with Sikhumbuzo, a 7 year old boy on CHIPS. He had been admitted earlier in the week for yet another bout of bronchial pneumonia. Teresa went to see him in the children's ward. He was eating with the other children and watching TV. Teresa gave him a hug and commented how clean and fresh he smelled. He was being taken care of by a person on the hospital staff, who also cares for upwards of fifteen other children. His mother doesn't come visit him at all. We were thinking he is taken better care of at the hospital than at home. He was recovering well and would probably be released next week. CHIPS will help cover his hospitalization costs.From there we went with Mary to visit a bed ridden man on CHIPS in Maphiveni. His wife has been with CHIPS and on ART for several months and is doing very well; she is healthy, (very) pregnant and very close to her due date. He on the other hand has (like most men) lived in denial of any health problems (and maybe especially HIV) till it is almost too late. Now completely bed ridden, barely eating (because of sores in his throat), he is wasting away. We delivered adult diapers, gloves, and Oral Rehydration Salts given to CHIPS by the Home Care outreach at GSH. His CD4 count was 130 at the last test. He is scheduled to be initiated on ART next week.
Teresa knelt by his bed (blankets on the floor) with Mary to go over his medical condition and giving his wife and relatives instruction on how to best care for him. He should have been admitted to the hospital, but there are no free beds.
Teresa took the opportunity to talk with him about Jesus. Mary interpreted. He was too weak to respond.
Given he won't even be initiated on ART till next week and he is already so weak and has progressed so far with the disease, his chances of survival are small. We honestly don't think he will make it till next week but are hoping he makes it to ART initiation and begins to recover once on drug.
Please partner with us so we can reach children and caregivers much earlier in the disease progression. Their survival depends upon reaching them early and beginning ART early.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Moringa Study
As a supplement to the CHIPS program, we are growing a new food supplement, called Moringa. It is a tree that grows green leaves that are full of vitamins and minerals that act as a wonderful food supplement, especially to the HIV positive population. We have a crop that was planted in Pastor La'Salettes garden in February. We just harvested our first crop last week. The leaves are dried and pounded into a powder to be used as a food supplement. We are planning to distribute this powder to the surrounding communities through La'Salette's church. Once people start using it and see the benefits, we would like to teach them to plant a crop and take care of it and possibly be able to harvest for their own use, as well as be able to sell it as an income generating project for their families. Assistant Pastor Jabulani at Christian Family Church in Swaziland has been tasked with taking care of the plants, harvesting and drying the leaves, and pounding them into powder.
Ed Lin, with Impala Development Services has helped spearhead introduction of Moringa in Swaziland. He would like to do a research study with the children in our communities comparing the differences in body weight, arm circumference, disease assessment, etc. He would like to compare children taking Moringa on a regular basis with those who are not. This should be an interesting study. We will do monthly assessments for 6 months, hopefully utilizing a student nurse to assist us.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Kudvumisa Glass - Life Skills Training
These are some of the primary challenges youth face in Swaziland today:
We want to impart and establish lasting Godly principles in these youth that will change their lives by teaching sustainable business and personal skills; for these youth to move from a position of poverty and dependency to self reliance and confidence.
So I'm putting this out for prayer. I believe that art (art therapy?) can play an important role in reaching the goal of #3 above. If you have that skill and the desire to use it in a completely different arena than where you are right now, would you consider praying how God may be able to use you here in Swaziland? The youth in this program (and pretty much country wide) have experienced deep trauma due to loss of parents, siblings, exploitation, and drug and alcohol abuse. I'm an engineer with an engineer's approach. It would benefit the youth in the program to have art taught by someone who can use it to help heal the wounds of everyday life here.
- A culture that stifles innovation and creative thinking.
- An education system that does not have the infrastructure or capital to educate the children through primary or secondary grades.
- Rampant under and unemployment.
- Children growing up lacking the moral and social knowledge and life skills normally passed on to children by parents because of the loss of all or nearly all family members to AIDS.
We want to impart and establish lasting Godly principles in these youth that will change their lives by teaching sustainable business and personal skills; for these youth to move from a position of poverty and dependency to self reliance and confidence.
So I'm putting this out for prayer. I believe that art (art therapy?) can play an important role in reaching the goal of #3 above. If you have that skill and the desire to use it in a completely different arena than where you are right now, would you consider praying how God may be able to use you here in Swaziland? The youth in this program (and pretty much country wide) have experienced deep trauma due to loss of parents, siblings, exploitation, and drug and alcohol abuse. I'm an engineer with an engineer's approach. It would benefit the youth in the program to have art taught by someone who can use it to help heal the wounds of everyday life here.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
CHIPS program
The Children’s HIV Intervention Program Swaziland is growing! We have approximately 150 to 200 patients on the program now. This includes children and caregivers. There are also many challenges with this program. Many of the adult patients that we have enrolled on the program have advanced disease, and many times it is too late for the ARV’s to be effective. We need to start doing more education in the communities to promote early diagnosis. Another challenge is to decide when a patient is dying, is it better to leave them at home with their family, or admit them to the hospital, where the care is sub-standard to die alone? Also, how much responsibility should we take, as far as paying for hospital admits, expenses surrounding death, such as casket, morgue fees, funeral, transport for family members, etc. This gets very expensive, and we need to manage what God has given us for this program appropriately.
We are now beginning year 2 of the CHIPS program, and we are ready to hire a second person so we can further expand. Jabulani has done an excellent job running the program. He is a patient advocate in many ways. When there is an issue with a patient or with the system, he isn’t afraid to go to the top to get the issue resolved. He contacted the TB Coordinator for the region, when he didn’t get the solution needed for the care of our patients. He helps at the hospital with counseling in the HIV clinic, which helps move our patients through faster, and also builds alliances in the system. The staff know they can count on Jabulani to pitch in and help them, so they are willing to help with our patients as well.
We have begun interviewing for the second position. Please pray for wisdom for us as we interview and choose our 2nd counselor for CHIPS. We want the person that God wants for us.
We are now beginning year 2 of the CHIPS program, and we are ready to hire a second person so we can further expand. Jabulani has done an excellent job running the program. He is a patient advocate in many ways. When there is an issue with a patient or with the system, he isn’t afraid to go to the top to get the issue resolved. He contacted the TB Coordinator for the region, when he didn’t get the solution needed for the care of our patients. He helps at the hospital with counseling in the HIV clinic, which helps move our patients through faster, and also builds alliances in the system. The staff know they can count on Jabulani to pitch in and help them, so they are willing to help with our patients as well.
We have begun interviewing for the second position. Please pray for wisdom for us as we interview and choose our 2nd counselor for CHIPS. We want the person that God wants for us.
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Two Steps Forward; Ten Steps Backwards
I found out last week that the mastectomy specimens at the government hospital, which have for the past year been sent to the private lab and been paid for by Breast Cancer Network, are now being sent to the government lab again. The reason we send them to the private lab is that the government lab takes months to get results back, and we get results back from the private lab in 7-10 days. For Zodwa, it took the government lab 11 months before her pathology report was available. This is just not acceptable for cancer specimens. Evidently, the pathologist has convinced the powers that be, in the government system that he is able to get reports back in 15 days. I spoke to the surgeon and told him, this just isn’t true. The last one that was sent on the 30th of July still wasn’t ready on the 8th of September. This is extremely frustrating to me, especially since it causes our patients treatments to be delayed. Please pray for wisdom for us in this situation! We are planning to keep track of the data, when specimens are sent and when reports are available and report this to the Principle Secretary of the Ministry of Health. I am just concerned about how many patients treatment will be delayed and outcomes affected!
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Ethical & Moral Dilemma
We are doing two weekly breast cancer clinics in Mbabane and Manzini each week. This is an opportunity for women to have examinations free of charge . A lady in her mid-to late thirties that has just been diagnosed with breast cancer, just informed us that she is 3 or 4 months pregnant. She has small children at home to take are of as well. This is a very difficult situation, because the same hormones that sustain the baby, also cause the breast cancer to grow and spread. So if she continues with the pregnancy without treatment, the cancer grows and spreads. However, if we give her treatment during the pregnancy, the baby is compromised. I am very much against abortion, however, in this case, I don’t know what the right answer is. I have discussed my feelings with the doctor, but ultimately, the decision is not mine. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors and the lady in this situation, and for God’s perfect will to be done!
Late addition: we had a special meeting on Saturday with the doctors to discuss her case. It looks like we will be able to give chemo in the third trimester that may not affect the baby!
Late addition: we had a special meeting on Saturday with the doctors to discuss her case. It looks like we will be able to give chemo in the third trimester that may not affect the baby!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
3rd World Medical
Working within the government medical system in a third world country is quite challenging, I must say. The chemotherapy program still isn’t up and running. For a while I kind of lost hope that it would be. We recently had a meeting with a private oncologist in Jo’burg, thanks to my friend who works with a pharmaceutical company in South Africa. This meeting was very encouraging. This doctor has worked in the government system before and is well aware of budget constraints and other limitations that we are facing. He is willing to assist us with fund raising, and training our nurses in mixing and administering chemotherapy. We are now working on getting approval from the Ministry of Health here in Swaziland to partner with this oncologist for the chemotherapy and breast cancer program.
Last week at the breast cancer clinic at the government hospital, we saw a lady that literally crawled into the clinic, because she was too weak to walk any further. This lady has advanced breast cancer. The cancer has actually caused the breast to turn inside out and is now growing into the chest wall. She had been admitted to the hospital just the week before and had fluid drained off of her lungs and sent to the lab. The report came back that it was metastatic breast cancer. She was now at the point that she had so much fluid on her lungs that she could hardly breathe. We sent her to x-ray via wheelchair with her family to have another chest x-ray done. We received word that she had collapsed in x-ray and was brought back up to the outpatient department. The doctor and I went over to check on her and we found her lying on a exam table with an oxygen mask blowing 02 in her face. No one had noticed that she was already dead. No respirations, and no pulse. We took the oxygen off. Her daughter was sitting in a chair in the next room and she asked me if she would be OK? I had to tell her that we had lost her. The young girl (probably early 20’s) dropped her phone and everything in her lap and screamed and cried! I took her in to see her mother. She just kept saying “Make, Make” (which means mother in SiSwati). She asked, “How could God let this happen?”I was able to talk with her and comfort her and pray with her. I helped her call her family members on my phone. She had no airtime on her phone. Her brother and her uncle came, and I was also able to talk with them. Later that afternoon I received a call from the uncle thanking me for being with them and helping them. Praise the Lord for the opportunity to minister to the broken hearted!
Last week at the breast cancer clinic at the government hospital, we saw a lady that literally crawled into the clinic, because she was too weak to walk any further. This lady has advanced breast cancer. The cancer has actually caused the breast to turn inside out and is now growing into the chest wall. She had been admitted to the hospital just the week before and had fluid drained off of her lungs and sent to the lab. The report came back that it was metastatic breast cancer. She was now at the point that she had so much fluid on her lungs that she could hardly breathe. We sent her to x-ray via wheelchair with her family to have another chest x-ray done. We received word that she had collapsed in x-ray and was brought back up to the outpatient department. The doctor and I went over to check on her and we found her lying on a exam table with an oxygen mask blowing 02 in her face. No one had noticed that she was already dead. No respirations, and no pulse. We took the oxygen off. Her daughter was sitting in a chair in the next room and she asked me if she would be OK? I had to tell her that we had lost her. The young girl (probably early 20’s) dropped her phone and everything in her lap and screamed and cried! I took her in to see her mother. She just kept saying “Make, Make” (which means mother in SiSwati). She asked, “How could God let this happen?”I was able to talk with her and comfort her and pray with her. I helped her call her family members on my phone. She had no airtime on her phone. Her brother and her uncle came, and I was also able to talk with them. Later that afternoon I received a call from the uncle thanking me for being with them and helping them. Praise the Lord for the opportunity to minister to the broken hearted!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Swaziland Update
Greetings in the precious name of Jesus!
The past 12 months have been most eventful: defining our place within a new organization and our own ministry goals, computer crashes, forced eviction (by none other than our own embassy), vehicle challenges, ……
But, we are thankful that our God is faithful and that everything we go through works to our good. And while we can attest that we don’t see the good immediately, looking back, we can see His hand in everything:
· Working with African Leadership Partners (ALP) has enabled us to focus on the programs and ministry that God has uniquely given us.
· Being forced to move actually has worked to our benefit. The rent on the house we moved to is significantly cheaper than the house we’ve been in. The house we’ve moved to feels more like a home, more so than the other one ever did. There are enough room
s in this house for all the kids to have their own bedrooms and for Daran to have an office as well.
Ministry Projects
CHIPS: we are finishing up the first year of the Children’s HIV Intervention Programme in Swaziland. Over 400 children and caregivers have tested for HIV through the program this year. 7.3% of the children we’ve facilitated testing have tested HIV+. 49.5% of the caregivers have tested HIV+. CHIPS has allowed us to facilitate life giving care for these children and caregivers. Without it, these children would have faced debilitating disease and certain death. Without it, these caregivers would have succumbed to the disease and left even more orphans. We have had painful experiences during this year as well. Several participants have died, having been brought into the program too late to be able to help medically. But through that, there have been many opportunities to minister to the ailing children and caregivers and to their families and relatives. As we start year 2 of CHIPS, we ask you to continue to pray for wisdom for us to manage and expand the program to new areas and to effectively and personally share the hope found only in Jesus. Regardless of the outcome of any disease or circumstance in any of our lives, the only thing that really matters is that Hope.
Kudvumisa Glass: The youth “skills training” program has continued to develop this year. We have taken the Money Matters course developed and taught by Peter Kopp of ALP and taught it at both full day seminars and weekly classes. We have developed a Money Matters II course as well. Both of these courses have become the core of the skills program. The goal of our skills program was never to ONLY teach a hard skill, but to help effect life changing attitudes relating to personal responsibility, creativity, and recognizing the unique mix of talents, abilities, and dreams God has placed into every one of us. We have teamed with Hawane Lighthouse to implement the Kudvumisa Glass program. Young adults enter the facility through Teen Challenge at Emafini, older orphans from the Lighthouse Care Centres, and referrals from churches around Swaziland. They live at Hawane attending Bible training classes and learning basic life skills (gardening and small livestock). We began teaching the Money Matters courses this term at Hawane and to teach and train on the glass art skills (glass etching, blowing, slumping, beadwork, etc). We hope to move all of the equipment on site over the next few months. This is a huge step forward as we now have a “captive audience” to implement the program, real classroom and real computer lab space to teach the glass skills, and space to set up the equipment on site. We can’t express how excited we are to be able to work with Hawane Lighthouse to offer this program and to further develop what we can offer.
Swaziland Breast Cancer Network: Teresa continues to work with SBCN to help develop a breast cancer care program here. There is no point in trying to develop a first world program in a third world country. Besides impractical, based on standard of care, it would be impossible due to budget at all levels. So SBCN is trying to develop a basic program that will begin the process of developing first class care. Working in a system that often is dysfunctional and even more often doesn’t seem to really care at all about the outcome for a patient can be extremely frustrating. But even in this Teresa has had many opportunities to minister to hurting women and their families. That is a blessing.
The Rehmeyer Family
All of the kids continue to work hard at school. We have Gabby here with us for one more year as she completes the International Baccalaureate program at Waterford. We would ask you to keep our children in your prayers: that they can do their best in school and also develop a heart for ministry. They are learning to play various instruments which is allowing them to help play for worship at church. This is a tremendous opportunity and responsibility for them.
Support & Help
We want to thank everyone who has helped support us here. There have been many donations of one time support and many monthly contributors. We are reliant on everyone who prays for us here. You are all a part of this work. Please continue to lift us up in prayer and prayerful support.
We are asking for a different kind of donation at this point. Teresa and the kids would like to return to the States for Christmas this year. Financially we don’t think it is feasible based on our current support levels. We are asking for donations of frequent flyer miles so that they can afford to return for a few weeks. If you have been able to accumulate points from travel or possibly from a credit card, we would ask that you see what you could donate to us. It would be a tremendous blessing to Teresa, the kids, and family in the States.
Blessings in Christ!
Daran & Teresa
Gabrielle, Danielle, Nathanael, & Joelle
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Kaposi’s Sarcoma
We have two patients on the CHIPS program who have Kaposi’s Sarcoma. This is an opportunistic cancer that is common among HIV positive people. It causes big dark ugly skin lesions to form on parts of their bodies. One of the ladies has it all over her face as well as her body. It can become painful and infected. If a person has this, they are considered stage 4 HIV disease. The only treatment is chemotherapy. The government hospital in Mbabane tries to treat these patients, but frequently run out of drugs and are unable to complete their treatments. There is a list that the patients are placed on to wait until they receive drug in order to get treatment. The last I checked about 2 months ago, the list was over 100 people. In the mean time these people die, without treatment. The only way to get the drug right now is to pay for it yourself. Many people are not able to do this, as is the case with our patients. We are not able to pay this for them, as we are not set up financially to be able to take care of this.
Along the same lines of the government hospital not having drugs; I was on the surgical ward yesterday seeing one of our breast cancer patients who had just had a mastectomy (removal of the breast), the day before. She was in severe pain, and I asked what they were giving her and was told, Panadol or Tylenol. When we looked at what the doctor had ordered, we saw an anti-inflammatory drug called Voltarin. I asked if she was receiving this and was told that it was OS (out of stock). So I asked, “What about Ibuprofen?” The nurse called the pharmacy and they said that is out of stock as well. They don’t have any idea when they will receive it. I went to the doctor and asked him to please order something stronger for her. These are such simple drugs, so easy to get, if you can pay for them. It is such a shame that people have to suffer unnecessarily!
Along the same lines of the government hospital not having drugs; I was on the surgical ward yesterday seeing one of our breast cancer patients who had just had a mastectomy (removal of the breast), the day before. She was in severe pain, and I asked what they were giving her and was told, Panadol or Tylenol. When we looked at what the doctor had ordered, we saw an anti-inflammatory drug called Voltarin. I asked if she was receiving this and was told that it was OS (out of stock). So I asked, “What about Ibuprofen?” The nurse called the pharmacy and they said that is out of stock as well. They don’t have any idea when they will receive it. I went to the doctor and asked him to please order something stronger for her. These are such simple drugs, so easy to get, if you can pay for them. It is such a shame that people have to suffer unnecessarily!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
CHIPS – Mbabane Chapel 13.Sept.2009
1. HIV in Swaziland. Everyone knows the extent of the problem here through a constant barrage of advertisement and news articles. There is no need to belabor the issue of HIV in Swaziland.2. And there are many groups and organizations here doing exceptional work in the areas they have budget and mandate to work.
3. But, because of the size of the problem, it has completely overwhelmed all coping mechanisms and service delivery in the country; whether these are cultural, social or governmental.
4. So there are still many gaps and holes in care and service delivery.
5. Our original work here was focused primarily on children and youth in the urban and peri-urban areas.
6. What we found was that even in these areas, excellent HIV care, while readily available, was not necessarily easily accessible. Especially for children.
7. As we moved to work in more remote and rural areas, we found the problem of accessibility exacerbated.
8. Last year, about this time, we approached Pastor Ken with a proposal to Claypotts Trust to fund a pilot program to address the issue of accessibility for isolated groups of children. In “isolated” we mean isolated from available heath care.9. We chose to begin the project in the Maphiveni area which is at the junction of the road past Simunye to Lomahasha and the road coming past Mhlume from Tchaneni. This may not sound like an “isolated” community. Until you look at the economic make up of the community and the distance and therefore cost of transport to the available HIV care, which in this case is in Siteki.
10. From an economic standpoint, the community in general is impoverished, made up of displaced sugar cane worker’s families and refugees from Mozambique. They are typically assigned plots that are nowhere near the size required for subsistence farming.11. Good Shepherd Hospital has several community outreach initiatives. They are limited to an area of roughly 30 km around Siteki. Maphiveni is closer to 45km away. There are clinics at Simunye and Mhlume. However, these tend to be more of a dispensary than true clinics.
12. To give you an idea of cost to access the care at Siteki, consider the following scenario:
A caregiver has a sickly child and wants to have the child tested for HIV
The trip from Maphiveni to Good Shepherd for both the caregiver and child is around 50 Emalangeni if the child is under eleven, over 100 otherwise.
Let’s assume the child tests positive. There are typically at least 5 trips required before the child will start on ARV’s. And then a monthly trip for drug refill and adherence checking.
That is a huge burden on a family that may not have the means to put a regular meal on the table.
So given the scenario, will the child be tested or treated? Probably not.
And if not, what is the outcome for the child?
13. So our program, dubbed, CHIPS for Children’s HIV Intervention Program in Swaziland was started to address this issue.
14. The program serves two primary purposes: to manage the HIV care of children and to bring awareness of HIV treatment for children to the community.
15. The program includes training for community workers: teachers, health motivators, and caregivers, providing transportation to Good Shepherd, managing appointments, continuous counseling for strict adherence to drug schedules, an advocate for the patients at the Hospital.16. What have we found?
PMTCT has seemed to help reduce the number of children being infected at birth! Older infected children are followed by younger siblings who are HIV free! (Good news!)
The “C” in CHIPS has moved from children only to children AND caregivers. Leaving a caregiver to cope with the disease will invariably lead to disablement and death and ultimately more orphans and uncared for children. So we’ve expanded the nature of the program to manage the care of caregivers as well even if the children in their care are HIV free. 5% child infection rate, 50% caregiver infection rate. (Bad news!)
17. Our three year goal is to move out into squatter and informal settlements in Vuvulane and Lomahasha. Ultimately to have a model that can be replicated in other regions of the country
18. We appreciate the confidence placed in us by Pastor Ken and would covet your prayers for wisdom to see CHIPS grow and provide care on a larger scale!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Zodwa!
Praise God for success stories! Let me give you an update on Zodwa, the lady with cervical cancer that was in the hospital earlier this year. She was so sick, she could barely walk, sit, or urinate, without extreme pain. She was sent to Jo’berg where she received chemotherapy and radiation treatments. I ran into her in the grocery store the other day and I couldn’t believe my eyes! She looked great, no more pain, and she is back to work! We have asked her to speak for us at the end of this month at our cervical cancer program launch.
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