Swaziland

ON THE ROAD AGAIN WITH THE MACPYES!

Morning Ed! Not only our photographer but also our driver on this trip to Swaziland 

Another lovely lodge in which to lay our heads

 Just trying out the bed. surely he's not looking for the Sudoku!

Sunrise from our bedroom window

FRINGE NECKED COW 

The view from our bedroom window - Maguga Dam 

The Maguga Dam is a dam on the Komati River in Swaziland. It is 115 metre's high and is located 11 kilometres south of Piggs Peak in the north of the Kingdom of Swaziland The dam  was completed in 2001.

The dam embankment comprises approximately 800 000m³ of clay, 2 800 000m³ of granite rock and 43 000m³ of filter material. It has an overall height of 115 metres, a crest length of 870 metres and a base width of 400 metres.

Because the dam is located within a region influenced by cyclones, it has been designed to withstand a probable maximum flood of 15000 m³/s. The 180m long labyrinth spillway is designed to pass a flood of 7800 m³/s without damage representing a return flood of 200 years.

The Maguga Dam received the South African Institution of Civil Engineering award for most outstanding civil engineering achievement in the International Category for 2001. The Maguga Dam Joint Venture received the South African Association of Consulting Engineers (SAACE) Glenrand MIB Golden Jubilee award in the Technical Excellence Category for 2002.

The Komati river carries on its gentle way below the great Maguga Dam

The Spill way. Jessica heard from a local person that several months ago a large crocodile found himself sliding down the spillway! How's that for a water slide and he didn't even have to pay!

Hmmm! If a crocodile can do it maybe I can too?

Ed was one of the team of civil engineers who worked on the hydro power scheme which was made possible by the dam

The hydro power scheme which began operating in 2011 

The main purpose off the dam was to harness the river in order to make possible a steady and controlled flow of irrigation water for plantations of sugar and other crops in Swaziland, Mozambique and South Africa - water of life indeed. 

Housing for those who worked on the dam

Building a dam means building a community. Thousands of people worked on the project over many years and an infrastructure of housing and hospital, school and leisure faciltities had to be provided for them in the small town of Piggs Peak before any work on the dam begun. But what is so commendable is that once the dam was completed a wonderful legacy of all those facilities has been left to the local people and the local indigenous community.

Terry and Ed with one of the local personages Revd Jameson Mcina - a bishop in a local Zionist church - but also a restauranteur at the local look out point.

And how's this for one upmanship?
Jessica and Gay with Princess Ntfombindzi (tall lady) being the daughter of the late king Sobhuza II and therefore the sister of the current king Mswati.
(By the way the photo was not free!)

Visiting Maguga Dam was a bonus on a weekend of which the real purpose was to visit my dear friend Sphiwe Ngwenya who haeds up Bibel Society in Swaziland. We werere last herere 6 years ago and it was a real joy to meet Sphiwe again.

Sphiwe and Musa

and two of their lovely children - Lami and Sandi 
Six years on it was good to talk to them about bible Society 's current projects to produce a sign language for deaf people and a Siswati study Bible which Sphiwe says might take as long as ten years. She told me that there is more support now from local churches but they could do with a lot more. They need to expand their premises. The issues for the country remain much the same - one of the most pressing being HIV/AIDS. There are now more AIDS orphans than ever before. The need for better and good government remains an ever present concern. Swaziland is a beautiful country with gentle and gracious people but it is fragile and very needy.

FINNISH CAT! 

We had a wonderful lunch together at the Guava Restaurant which we can totally recommend to anyone near Mbabane. It is run by the Honourable Consul of Finland - Toure Thatcher - where her husband makes the most exquisite jewellery.

....and where the bougainvillea was exceptionally resplendent! 

On our way to the border we drove through splendid forests used for paper and props for mining throughout Southern Africa


THE STORY OF BULEMBU......

Between 1939 and 2001, Bulembu operated as a chrysolite mine.  The mine encountered heavy losses in the late 1980s and subsequently went bankrupt in 1991. The company was liquidated and the assets purchased in 1991 by HVL Asbestos Swd. Ltd. who changed the name of the mine to Bulembu Mine. HVL Asbestos ran the mine until it went into liquidation in 2001.

Bulembu is a small town located in northwestern Hhohho, Swaziland, 10 km west of the town of Piggs Peak. Located above the Komati Valley in Swaziland’s Highveld, Bulembu is named after the siSwati word for a spider's web.

The town of Bulembu is privately owned by a not-for-profit, Bulembu Ministries Swaziland.

Upon liquidation the 10,000 residents of Bulembu soon deserted the town in search for employment elsewhere and the town became a ghost town with little more than 50 people remaining there. This was during the time that Swaziland was (as it continues to be) ravaged by the HIV/AIDS virus. There was a 900% increase in infection in one decade with the infection rate sitting at 3.9% in 1992 to 38.6% in 2002. Today over 40% of the population is infected and the result is a nation-wide orphan crisis.

The assets were purchased by Bulembu Development Corporation who sold the town and its 1,700-hectare property in 2006 to a not-for-profit: Bulembu Ministries Swaziland.

Bulembu was purchased with a vision to rejuvenate the town to a self-sustaining entity that combines sustainable, innovative enterprises with orphan care for 2,000 of Swaziland’s most vulnerable children. The two-pronged approach of coupling community enterprise with community care is what will carry Bulembu toward its goal of achieving self-sustainability by the year 2020.

Bulembu Ministries Swaziland functions on the premise that the creation of sustainable enterprises can be the solution to Swaziland’s chronic poverty and even the country’s AIDS pandemic. With the right sustainability models and entrepreneurial leadership, the vision is for Bulembu’s enterprises to generate $6 million in profits annually and thereby ensure Bulembu becomes an economically self-sustaining community. Examples of current enterprises include Timber, Honey, Water, Tourism, Bakery, Dairy and Mills.

Community Care

Bulembu Ministries Swaziland has a goal to support the ongoing care of 2,000 of Swaziland’s orphaned and vulnerable children by 2020. By November 2009 there were 108 orphans under Bulembu Ministry Swaziland’s care.

Instead of living in an institutional orphanage each child lives in a home with a caregiver and a group of five other children. The program is set up this way to ensure that each child becomes a part of a family and the social fabric of the country begins to be rebuilt. The children in Bulembu’s care receive medical attention, an education, and a hope for their future.

Approximately 70% of Bulembu’s Orphan Care Program is funded through child sponsorship. Sponsors send funds each month to provide support for the sponsored children so that the children may go to school, receive medical attention, and have a holistic childhood.

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Just beyond Belembu - I hope you have read the story of the town - we crossed the border back into South Africa. 

Until next time because Swaziland is a kingdom of mountains all waiting to be climbed......