My Aha!momentm
Im so excited about this blog! My hope is that whatever I put in here inspires some African or Swazi girl somewhere in the village dreaming of a better future that nothing is impossible in this life or that it provides some insight about growing up in Swaziland. They say if you dream it you can have it! As I write this Iam in the USA and am due to be going back home in about two months. I came to the USA on a scholarship to study and I have since completed my program and am excited to be going back home. Whilst here I also got married and have a 17month old son who is my most prized possession. I would also like to post my experiences as I go back home after being away for two and a half years with so many changes in my life. That should be interesting. I have a passion for working with women and girls and improving their situation at home so I have a zillion ideas on how I will go about assisting where I can which I will be sharing with you. I would appreciate constructive criticism or suggestions. My email address is swaziwomenonthemove@gmail.com.
Snapshop about Swaziland
-small beautiful country in Southern Africa totally landlocked by South Africa and Mozambique on the eastern side.
-population of slightly over 1.3 million
-Social challenges include a deteriorating economic situation, high poverty rate (69%), high HIV and AIDS prevalence, high unemployment
-In all these social challenges, women and girls suffer the most due to social , cultural and patriarchal norms in both common law and customs which serve to subordinate them. They are discriminated against from a very young age and enjoy limited participation in economic and public life.
My life as a young girl in Swaziland
I grew up in a very rural and underdeveloped part of Swaziland. Iam the first born of six children, three girls and three boys. Anyone you ask in Swaziland about the village I grew up in will tell you that it is well known for traditional healers. Just like most girls who grow up in rural Africa, there was no electricity, no running water and a lot of things that are considered 'necessary' in society now were not there and are still not there. My head is filled with memories of me and my friends walking bare footed to school, or going to the river to fetch water balancing water containers on our heads or going to the forest to fetch firewood. I remember, if one owned a pair of shoes,you wouldn't wear those when it was raining because we were saving them for some special occasion. Please don't laugh. We would sometimes go to the fields with a group of my friends to pick greens that we would cook for dinner on that particular day. To me that was the best life ever. My parents have both never been to university but they emphasized education for all of us and wanted a better life for us.
Things changed when my dad moved me and my brothers from the rural school we were used to, to a school at the company where he worked. This was a completely different environment, very urban. I remember the first day we went to this school,it was raining and being the rural kids we were, we saved our shoes and went to school barefooted. Yes barefooted! You should have seen the embarrassment on our faces when we got to the school and everybody was wearing the proper school uniform,shoes and socks. We were a funny sight. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. Kids were speaking English and we couldn't even converse in English. For those who do not know,in African schools speaking English is prized, in those days we were severely punished if we spoke our vernacular. The first few weeks at that school were really horrible, comprised of us speaking Swangish (a funny mix of English and Siswati) and trying to fit in.
I did complete my primary education with flying colors though and high school too. At high school I was your typical well behaved girl, studied,spoke English and did right by my teachers. I did sail through with most of my subjects except for accounts and mathematics. Anything that has to do with figures has always been difficult for me for some reason. I did complete high school and was able to enroll part time at the local university. I remember most of my teachers were disappointed that I could not enroll full time at the time and advised that I wait until the following year. I refused to do that and went ahead and started my first degree part-time. That was the best decision I ever made in my life.
It allowed me time to work for an organization that dealt with abuse cases of mostly women and children. The organization was open to men too, but it is unusual for Swazi men to acknowledge abuse especially from women. Our cultures instils strength in men and showing of emotions is frowned upon. Voluntary work is something I encourage young people to do if they can, to gain experience and improve their resumes. If I didn't bore you to death do leave me a note or even if I did,do criticize. I will be sharing more in future.
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