Buyani’s Got Soul

Soul.  That’s what this 26 year old Rotaracter says is his favorite part of being a Swazi.  “You feel like you’ve known another Swazi forever…  there’s just a connection, even if you’ve never met before,” he says.

Buyani- you’ve said it best.  My first real introduction to the Rotaract club of Mbabane-Mbuluzi was on a three day retreat where I was the only non-African.  By the end of the three days, it really was like we had known each other forever.  The hospitality, warmth, and “soul” of the Swazi people are a main draw to the Kingdom.

Buyani Fakudza was one of the founders of the Rotaract club of Mbabane-Mbuluzi.  Rotaract is like Rotary, but for young adults.  Buyani’s first introduction to Rotaract was as a university student, where he majored in GEP (geography, environment, and planning).  From his first meeting, Buyani was hooked and after graduation, attended the Manzini Rotaract club where he was president.  Commuting to Manzini became taxing and Buyani saw the need to start a club where he lived, in Mbabane, so start a club he did! 

Currently, Buyani works as an Assistant Geologist for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy.  Recently a blaring headline in the Swazi Times stated the IMF recommended civil servants in Swaziland should not paid due to the extreme financial crisis gripping the country.  In fact, there is only enough in the natinal budget to pay civil servants for three more months.  Buyani seemed concerned about this, as a civil servant, but stated this is not a new issue.  Recommendations like this have happened in the past, but there always seemed to be a solution at the last minute, and civil servants were paid.  Will it work this time?  How can you run a country without civil servants?  Why work for the government at all, if this is a fairly common threat?

I sit across a calm, but firm Buyani, who argues that despite these issues, the government still has the best job security, good pay, and options for advancement and further education than a job in the private sector.  But he also holds his government responsible for the financial mismanagement and asks hard questions about priorities and budgets.  I wish I wasn’t the only one hearing his honest and intelligent assessment of the issues his country faces and areas where government needs to be more responsive.

You find that it’s in his nature to work hard and be concerned about the welfare of others.  From the choice of his major, to his work as a secondary school teacher and football coach, to his involvement in Rotaract and an NGO called REASWA (renewable energy association of Swaziland), Buyani embodies the Rotary commitment of service above self. 

As I quiz Buyani about his hobbies I realize that we have more in common than we are different.  He likes reading, sports (soccer), and traveling.  I ask, “Where do you want to travel?” 

            He replies, “All over Africa.”  Hmmmmmm.  Anyone else seeing where my mind is going?

            His favorite book is “I Read What I Like” by Steve Biko, the man known for developing Black Consciousness during apartheid.  His favorite food?  Emasi, which is sour milk which is usually eaten with stiff porridge.  O.K., now I’m starting to see some differences between us!  Emasi and ligusha are the two Swazi foods that I don’t do well with. 

We continue our conversation, I learn that Buyani has never been on an airplane.  Really?  Hmmm, we just might have to fix that.  Buyani, my brother from another mother, I am so glad that I met you during that crazy weekend at Mlawula, and that you have continued to befriend me and share your Swazi soulful nature. Ngiyabonga kakhulu umngani wami.

Multi Purpose Vuvusela

You may remember the vuvusela from the World Cup.  At least I know my grandmother does- she watched the entire World Cup with the sound down, as these popular horns were too irritating for her to listen to. 

I’ve seen my share of crazy vuvusela’s in Swaziland.  I’ve seen beaded ones, giant ones, and ones used by companies as a marketing tools.

Before Christmas, I went to a Rotary sponsored Christmas Carol Night where Rotarians sang carols and had gifts for children at a local orphanage.  I nearly died when Santa emerged with, you guessed it, a vuvusela!  No one batted an eye, except for me, who was laughing hysterically at the back.  I suppose that sleigh bells aren’t really relevant in a place with no snow, so why not a vuvusela?  The South African flag was painted on it, so it was actually red and green- how perfect! 

            Christmas time was a bit challenging for me in Swaziland this year, as so many of our traditions in the US aren’t really celebrated here, and Swazis don’t have a lot of their own traditions.  But celebrating with Rotarians, singing carols, and meeting up with them for a lunch and afternoon of fun/crazy games helped me celebrate.  At first I thought, how can I celebrate without my family, with no stockings, and when it’s hot?  I guess the answer is, you bust out a vuvusela!  Kisimusi lomuhle- Merry Christmas!

How We Roll

        Some of you know that coming to Swaziland ended up being a stressful decision.  I had just found a rhythm in my life in Kansas City the last year before coming to Swaziland.  I felt I was in a very good place in my career and in my personal life.  I had also gone through some drama with my scholarship- getting a scholarship, then having it taken away, then applying for a different kind of scholarship and waiting anxiously to see if it was accepted. 

My first day of data collection made all of the stress, work, and anxiety of the last year totally worthwhile.  In fact, the whole month of data collection went off almost flawlessly and put a lot of things in perspective.  All the work I put into the research and moving to another continent seems incomparable to that experience.

        I was blessed with a charismatic and hard-working team of data collectors, and we went all over Swaziland together.  When I worked with the RHMs (the population I was surveying in my study) as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I had an impression of their work and their burden, which prompted the study.  But as the time neared when the study would actually take place, I started to worry.  Am I, as a foreigner missing the point?  Are my impressions off?  Am I doing this study for nothing?  Will there actually be a change coming out of the work I am doing? 

        All of those fears came to rest when I went to a preparation meeting where I asked the RHMs if anyone had ever asked how they were doing.  All 100 women responded loudly, “Kute!” which means that no one had.  Countless times when we were surveying the RHMs, they came up to me afterwards and thanked me for coming, for caring, for paying attention to their needs.  Participants called me “Sibusiso” meaning blessing, or gift from God. (Now, this could have been because all of the participants received an incentive of E25!)

        Apart from the satisfaction of doing something meaningful, it was extremely fun and an incredible learning experience  going out every day with my team to do the research.  I rented the University kombi (15 seater van) and met half of the team at the University.  Mary, one of the data collectors, insisted we pray before leaving.  The driver would even turn off the engine while we prayed for a safe journey and successful work.  If we forgot to pray, Mary would remind me, and the driver would pull over on the side of the road so we could pray.

        We would pick up two more data collectors along the road, and met the final group in Manzini, and then proceeded to wherever the destination was for the day.  It usually took us more than an hour to get to our destination, and in some cases it took 2.5 and up to 3 hours because we went to very remote places.  When the data collectors asked why we were going so far, I always remembered my experience of being a frustrated Peace Corps Volunteer in Mambane, which was so remote, most NGOs would not come to help me on projects.  I didn’t want to be like them! 

        The long journeys felt like a mini road trips, and afforded me the opportunity to have long discussions with the data collectors.  It was cool seeing them get into the research.  Some of them discovered they have a natural aptitude for research and community work.  Many of the data collectors were from urban areas, and it was interesting seeing how much they learned about the challenges in their own country, and as always it was a wonderful learning experience for me too. 

They were also incredibly patient with me, as it can be challenging to design and implement a project in another country and culture.  I never knew exactly where we were going, and relied heavily on our driver to get us places.  Misunderstandings occurred, including forgetting to tell the research team that we were headed to an umphakatsi (the chief’s place), where certain attire needs to be worn.  This made the women scramble at the last minute to find cloth to cover their pants and their heads with.  Opps!  They were yelling, “you didn’t tell us!” and answered, “I didn’t know!”  Afterwards we all had a good laugh.

        Surveying 930 participants in one month all over Swaziland was exhausting, and we often had to change our plan on the fly and be flexible.  I have learned a great deal about communication, flexibility, and perseverance.  Most of all, I learned to listen.  The data we collected was at times very sensitive information, including illnesses (many had HIV) and depression.  We asked about their sex life and other personal questions.  So I really wanted to make sure participants were surveyed in as confidential setting as possible.  I knew that most of the time the surveys would be done outside, under a tree, and you can’t always control if people walk past.  But I was determined to make the settings as confidential and consistent from place to place to make sure the data was valid.

         But I learned a remarkable thing about Swazi culture verses American and Western culture in this respect.  On the very first day, the data collectors started to interview 2 participants at once.  I quickly told them to stop and do them individually because I was afraid that participants would not feel comfortable being completely honest with another participant listening in.  A data collector pulled me aside and said that the participants had asked to go together.  Not only does it save time, but doing a survey was new to them, so they felt more comfortable doing it with a familiar person.  When I brought up confidentiality, the data collector stated that he asked the participants, and they said that they all know about each other anyway, and that they don’t have a problem.  I was skeptical.  Are they really going to be honest?  Will my data be valid?

         I could see that this was something the participants had asked for, so I allowed them to be surveyed in groups.  I asked the data collectors afterward, and they responded that many participants were open and reported HIV+ statuses, and that they found that they were more honest in the groups.  What they found was that the participants knew each other so well, that they would call each other out if they were lying!  How remarkable! 

         This example and many more taught me that while I had graduated from university and had experience in research, my data collectors were experienced in ways I was not.  I learned to listen and change my perspective based on their recommendations.  I felt there was a healthy give and take among us where we questioned and pushed each other to make the study better and more relevant. 

As is almost always the case, I learned much more from my Swazi counterparts than I taught them, even if I was the “boss” of the research.  I know I have been enriched by this experience and I hope they were too.  Who knew research could be this fun?

Data Collection

Data collection: November 2010

Nuts and Bolts:

-11 Swazi data collectors

-11 days of data collection

-900 participants surveyed

-13 sites: 11 Tinkundla, 3 clinics, all 4 regions of Swaziland

-sites included:

Hhohho region: Mbabane East and West Tinkundla, Mhlaganatane Inkundla, Mahwalala Red Cross clinic

Manzini region: Manzini North and South Tinkundla, Mafutseni Inkundla, Ludzeludze Inkundla, Sigombeni Red Cross clinic

Lubombo region: Siphofaneni Inkundla, Dvokodvweni Inkundla (met at the Malindza Umphakatsi)

Shiselweni region: Shiselweni II Inkundla, Sandleni Inkundla, Silele Red Cross clinic

Description:

Participants were Rural Health Motivators and Care Facilitators in Swaziland.  RHMs and CFs are community care-givers.  We surveyed them during their monthly meeting.  I randomly selected sites, choosing 2 per region for the RHMs.  For the Red Cross Care Facilitators, we went to the 3 Red Cross clinics in Swaziland, in the Hhohho, Manzini and Shiselweni regions.  The goal was to survey 100 RHMs during each meeting, totaling 800 RHMs.  There are 200 CFs in Swaziland, so our goal was to survey as many of them as possible.  The grand total being 1,000 participants.

Since not all of the participants are literate, I hired data collectors to read the questions to each participant and assist them in filling in the answers.  I held a training for the 11 data collectors before going out to do the surveys.  A good part of the training was held in siSwati!