World Aids Day

It’s the 1^st of December and it’s World Aids Day. World Aids Day is all about raising awareness  to stop the spread of HIV /AIDS and working together to do this. Stephen Lewis, a former  United Nations' special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa who has seen the bigger picture of what HIV/Aids is doing to people and nations and has been persistent in trying to stop this devastating disease.  In Stephen Lewis’ World Aids Day Message last year, he stated “prevention is not yet working. For every two people whom we put on anti-retroviral treatment so that they might live, there are five new infections. Prevention remains an elusive goal in the high-prevalence countries.” It is becomingly more widely known that Swaziland has the highest HIV/AIDS rate in the world. Therefore it is a central focus to many of the projects and strategies in Bulembu. To give more information on what Bulembu is specifically doing to help fight against HIV/AIDS, we interviewed Niel Geldenhuys, manager of the Bulembu Clinic. 

How many medical staff work at the clinic?

“Wiseman a nurse, and myself, Margret who is a Midwife and Vera who is funded by ICAP (Aids Care and Treatment Programs) from Columbia University but works for us.”

How is Bulembu clinic dealing with HIV AIDS problem in Swaziland on a day-to-day basis?

“ Bulembu Clinic offers volunteer counseling and testing for any and every patient in the community at no cost. If they want to come to the clinic for an HIV test then they don’t pay anything for it. What happens when patients tell us they want an HIV test done, we open a file for them and there is a woman here that specifically works with HIV/AIDSpatients. She is called an expert client which means her HIV status is positive and she is on anti-retrovirals herself. She gets paid to speak to people about her HIV status, how the drugs are affecting her, how she is getting better and that it actually works. That is her job, so any of us, either the nurses can do the testing or counseling, but she is here full time to council and she is effective because she can relate to the patients.” 

How do you test for HIV/AIDS and how do you deal with AIDS patients?

“The Aids test is a finger prick test. We use two different rapid tests just to make sure that the results are accurate. If both rapid tests are positive then we tell the patient their status. We do pre-test counseling and post-test counseling, explain to them what it means and what the road forward looks like from here. From then onwards whoever does the test would bring the patient to me and I will do a general examination of the patient and clinically stage the patient, see how sick the patient is, determine what stage of the disease the patient is at, then we also take bloods from them and run tests on them e.g. test their liver, test their kidneys, check their CD4 count. “

“We then follow them up and so it’s patient dependent. If I have a patient with a CD4 count of 1000, I tell them to come back in three to six months, set a date for them and test them again and see if their CD4 count is lowering or if they need any other medicine to keep them healthy. Once we make a decision that a patient needs anti-retroviral therapy they go to Piggs Peak Hospital for the first initiation day of therapy then they will initiate them there and start them off on medicine and every time from then on a monthly basis the patience come to Bulembu. We do a full medical workup on them, check that they are taking their tablets properly, actually count their tablets make sure that they are taking the tablets at the correct time that they don’t build up resistance, draw bloods here and monitor their CD4 counts and if we need to, their viral loads. That is all for free of charge.”

Who is subsidizing all the HIV/AIDS tests and anti-retroviral medication?

“Everything is run by the Swazi government. Apart from that everything else is private at the clinic. Most of the patients however that we do test come in with another opportunistic infection. In other words they have some infection that they are prone to have because they have HIV/AIDS. While dealing with that we usually suggest to them that they need to have an HIV test and we council them through it.They would still pay the $1.50 for the consultation of the other problem but all the HIV is free of charge. Donors from Canada and around the world fund the Clinic general operations, indirectly by supporting Bulembu.”

What do you think can reduce the HIV rate in Swaziland?

“I believe that an effective way of tackling AIDS in Bulembu, instead of having mass campaigns like they have been doing, putting posters up and handling out pamphlets is to speak to people one-on-one. So every patient that comes through here gets offered an HIV test. If they don’t want to do it, they don’t have to do it but to me it’s made a big difference. When I started off here, we did about 12 to 15 HIV tests a month and at the moment we test roughly 60 to 80 patients a month. We are encouraging them on a one-on-one basis to take the test. If they want an HIV test done, they will ask the nurse and have an  HIV test done but more often than not, if you don’t ask a patient and say: listen I really think you should have an HIV AIDS test done. Nine out often would be too scared to have it and not do it. We also council the patient on prevention of HIV and family planning.”

“Females are usually more willing to test than what men are. Men are usually a bit more stubborn when testing. A lot of the times we will have the women coming and we would suggest that they bring their boyfriend or husband when they comet o the clinic and the guys don’t want to test. We probably have more women on anti-retroviral medication than men.”

The Bulembu Clinic sees a large number of patients every day and administers medical care and medication to the community and the greater population of Swaziland. Niel and his staff are filled with hope and expectation to help many more lives in the years to come as the clinic’s capacity to treat more people is increasing and meeting an ever growing need. “Of course we can turn the tide on AIDS in Africa. It just takes your help, sprinkled with a touch of imagination and love.” – Stephen Lewis

Full of Beans

Bulembu lodge cappuccino

The fresh smell of peculated coffee is an inviting smell that greets you when you are in close proximity to Bulembu Lodge. If you ever come to visit Bulembu, you will be able to have the best cup of coffee in Swaziland!

I visited the Lodge to see how they have mastered the art of making coffee, and I must say I was impressed. Sibosiso, the Lodge manager, stood confidently behind the coffee machine, while he explained to me how to make a cappuccino and how the coffee machine works.

The coffee machine was purchased in February 2009 and from then on, was visited by all who live in Bulembu. A barista from the UK came out to Bulembu to teach the Lodge staff how to use the coffee machine and make good coffee. 

We use a three coffee bean blend from Avanti Café, which we buy from Elite Food Suppliers in Mbabane. The beans are poured into a blender-looking container and the beans are ground to a specific texture. The ground coffee powder is poured into a small black cup and the powder is then tapped - tapped meaning compressed. As the hot water seeps through the ground coffee powder, the brewing process occurs, which amplifies the coffee aroma. The texture of the ground coffee, and how the coffee powder is tapped, affects the taste of the coffee. It is, therefore, really important to find the perfect balance between the two, in order to make the best well-brewed coffee. 

Four years ago the Bulembu Country Lodge offered only a few different meals and standard coffee and tea. But as progress is constantly being made through service and product improvement, more people are noticing and enjoying all the Lodge has to offer. Although a cup of coffee seems like a small change, if you were to pick one up on your way to work, you would agree, it is a great step forward.  

Brewed coffee pouring into mugs

Bulembu lodge cappuccino

Dairy Expansion

Expanding the Bulembu Dairy pastures are the order of the day. Over the last year, the dairy has really shown tremendous success.  It has proven to be a sustainable and successful business, which is exactly the culture that Bulembu is trying to cultivate. Due to the growing herd of jersey cows and the future prediction of another further 100 over the next few months, the Bulembu Dairy  is increasing its pastures. An area of grassland has been cleared in the village and is currently being prepared for planting, which is scheduled to proceed in the next four weeks. Two grass types are going to be planted, Rye and Kikuyu grass, which will produce luscious fields for the new herd. Both grass types grow well in the Bulembu’s type of climate and will provide the cattle with part of the nutrition that they require. By expanding the herds and pastures, Bulembu Dairy will significantly increase its profit, adding needed funds to the community for future growth.

Mine Tailings Rehabilitation BEGINS!

Upon acquiring the Bulembu property in 2006, Bulembu Ministries Swaziland (BMS) conducted a series of tests in order to assess the liveability of the property.  It was important to understand exactly what the charity was getting into after the decades of neglect under the management of the mining company that had operated the town for 60 years.  All tests indicated that any risk of exposure to the chrysotile that was mined on the property over the previous decades was negligible.  Still, BMS has been mindful to take the necessary steps to appropriately rehabilitate the property and create safeguards for all of the residents of the town. 

One of the most important stages in our rehabilitation plan began last month with the $1.2 million rehabilitation of the old mine tailings dump.  This project has been made possible with support from funders and experts in Canada and South Africa.

 

The current timeline calls for all of the required activities necessary to rehabilitate the mine tailings to be completed in 14 months.  During this time BMS will be monitoring closely the water, soil and air quality, ensuring that the rehabilitation of the tailings has no ill effects on the community.  Bulembu is home to over 2,000 enterprise employees, community care workers, children and Bulembu administrators and leadership all of who live, work and play in town.  We are always mindful of this reality when making decision about our community.

Follow along over the next 14 months as we regularly post mine rehab updates on the blog. 

 

The first step in the rehabilitation process: re-sloping.

 

The Royal Rangers

Royal Ranger leaders

It was an exciting week for the Bulembu children as they went “Royal Ranging” at a new campsite established for the program. The camp has been established in a stunning part of a forest near a steady flowing stream.

Royal Rangers is a Christian-based scouting and discipleship program. It has been introduced to the kids as an extra-mural of Bulembu Christian Academy. Children are embracing the program as they learn scouting, camping and leadership skills. Royal Ranger also provides them with a safe environment to tackle the tough issues that come with growing up.

The national leaders of the Royal Rangers program in South Africa are Gerhard and Tammy Uys. They have been involved in training up leaders and running camps all over South Africa. They have been instrumental in establishing the program in Bulembu.

This fall the children in the program were assigned to a team of eight fellow Rangers. There were approximately 12 teams this time around. Each team was tasked with establishing their own team camping area. They were trained to build their own shelter, fire table and picnic table as they had to cook their own meals. Other activities included first aid classes, learning how to tie knots, making different fires, learning how to use a compass and identifying certain trees and indigenous plant life. 

They also had a wonderful time singing songs around the campfire at night. The highlight for the children was the spiritual fire evening where the Royal Ranger leaders performed a skit. This year the highlight was a huge heart that was lit to show God’s love for the children. The evening ended with an intense time of prayer and ministry. God touched the lives of many!

I asked Gerhard if he sees potential for Royal Rangers and he said: “Yes, big time. I have seen the kids the way they are. They are naughty but very lovable. Many of the kids are really bright and need a chance to reach their full potential; and this program gives them the opportunity to do so..

Royal Rangers is just one avenue to teach leadership skills. It is giving the kids in the Child Care Program an opportunity to grow individually and as a part of a team. We look forward to next year’s camps!

Gerhard & Tammy

One of the campsites

A fire table

Gerhard & kids having fun

CIDA and vocational training

If you attended an event at this year’s “Voices for Bulembu”, or if you have read the 2010 Yearbook cover to cover, then you’ve likely already heard the good news.  But it’s certainly worth sharing with everyone.

In 2009, Bulembu International applied to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for a $500,000 grant to build the Bulembu Vocational Training and Conference Centre (VTCC). In April 2010, CIDA approved the project and construction began on the facility that will become the VTCC. 

The Vocational Training Centre will focus its curriculum on the training of tourism professionals. Although tourism is the third largest industry in Swaziland, the system for educating and developing tourism professionals in Swaziland has capacity to train only 25 students every 3 years and is vastly underdeveloped. Bulembu has seized the opportunity to be a leader in tourism training, producing outstanding tourism professionals to serve in Bulembu, as well as greater Swaziland.  Intake of the Training Centre’s first students is scheduled for February 2011. The Vocational Training Centre is also the first step to providing valuable post-secondary educational opportunities to the young men and women transitioning out of the Bulembu Child Care Program. Training for a successful career is central to Bulembu’s education planning and vision of growing a generation of Swazi leaders. 

 

The Conference Centre will work in concert with the Vocational Training Centre, providing hands on experiential learning for the students in the program.  The VTCC as a whole will partner with the Bulembu Country Lodge (BCL) to establish Bulembu as a viable conference destination, both in Swaziland and in the South African region. Already the BCL has seen an increase in traffic, resulting in increased stays and total revenues. With the VTCC scheduled to open its doors at the beginning of next year, there are plans to expand the BCL’s room offering. The 50 room hostel will soon undergo a complete renovation to upgrade the facility to hotel quality rooms. This will more than double the Bulembu Country Lodge’s room offering.

Thank you to CIDA and our many partners who are working with us to ensure the 2020 Vision becomes a reality.  

Dairy Development

Bulembu Jersey Cow

As we roll into October the Bulembu Dairy continues to prove that converting the town golf course into a community dairy, was a step in a great direction.  Bulembu Dairy currently has a herd of 78 Jersey cows, 39 of which are ‘in milk’.  Schalk de Klerk, the new dairy manager has  increased milk production to 21.4 liters per cow per day from 14 liters, which has pushed overall milk production up to 820 L per day. This is outstanding output compared to dairy farms across Swaziland.

Milking takes place twice a day at 5:00 AM and at 4:00PM.  Seven dairy workers make sure that cows are milked and fed at specific times each day.

One of the primary motivators for establishing Bulembu Dairy was to supply children in the Child Care Program with milk and dairy based products at a reduced cost. Due to the increase in milk production we have exceeded original expectations.  Not only are we producing enough milk to serve our Child Care needs, but the rest of the Bulembu community are able to purchase locally produced milk products as competitive prices.  As well, we have been able to increase our market share outside of Bulembu and are now supplying an extra 14,000L of milk based products into the Swaziland market per month. The Bulembu store in Piggs Peak is our primary point of product distribution and is contributing just over 50% of the sales.

Future expansion of the dairy will include a goat herd which will supply to the child care program. The prime reason for taking on the goat project is to replace the formula for the lactose intolerant babies. 

Cows are fed while being milked.

Cows being milked.

This is where the milk is collected after milking.

Dairy pastures.

Dairy pastures.