Last week was terrible in almost every way possible. Work, family, friends, life in general. You name it, it went wrong. But I won’t go into any details so as not to bore you. It was just “one of those days” every day.

The weekend was slightly better. A few going-away parties and some time spent with my best friends.

The final week was extremely busy. Very similar to final exams in college. I simply forced my mind and body to work like a madman, since I knew I would be able to rest once I flew out of the country.

So it goes without saying that I am definitely ready to leave this place and return home. After eleven months of grueling hard work, my spirit needs time to recover. But this in no way means that I regret this past year. I am absolutely sure that I have learned more about myself and the world around me than ever before in my life. I have experienced relationships with numerous incredible people who have forever changed my life. Through my work, I pray that I have offered a glimpse of hope to those around me.

My time in Swaziland cannot truly be described in words, but I have tried my best to share with you some of the events and stories that have been influential for me. I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

Signing off,
Jesse “Sifiso” Grimes

My friend Patrick is an amazing person. He was originally diagnosed with TB of the spine more than three years ago. Doctors told him that he would never walk again. He waited for months to receive a special grant in order to have surgery in South Africa, and afterwards commenced a grueling process of physical therapy for over a year. This rehabilitation phase took place at my organization, Cheshire Homes. Now he is walking with only the minor aid of an elbow crutch.

What might be more amazing is that Patrick will be filling my position when I leave. This is quite ironic since I have been doing vocational training with Patrick the past few months in attempts to prepare him for re-entry into the work environment. The plan was to look for job opportunities outside my organization, but it soon became apparent to my boss and me that Cheshire Homes equally needed a member of staff like Patrick. So he is officially being hired as a Peer Educator / Administration Assistant. The peer education role is due to the fact that he previously attended Cheshire Homes as a long-term client and has been volunteering with the current residential patients. The administration side of his work revolves solely around the training I have done with him (including intensive handover training these last few weeks I am still around).

So obviously I am very happy with this whole arrangement, not only because Patrick will inevitably do a good job, but also because he deserves to have something go right in his life after all the recent struggles he has been through. He once told me that he considers me his brother since none of his real family would help him after he acquired a disability. I then told him that he also has helped me immensely by giving deeper meaning to my volunteer time in Swaziland. By loving and serving others, I find greater fulfillment in life. I hope this is true for you also.

Last weekend I went bike riding with my friend Trevor through a game park. We were mauled by a lion. Haha…yeah right, but that would be a great story! We did go mountain biking, though, but the animals we saw were mostly tame (such as zebra, impala, and warthogs). I tried to instigate a stampede with a pack of wildebeests, so that was somewhat dangerous. I also wanted to throw a stone at a few sleeping crocodiles, but Trevor advised me not to on the principle that “nobody likes to be suddenly awakened by a rock to the head.” All in all, it was good exercise and great fun. Unfortunately no pictures could be taken since we were soaring through the savanna and flying over rocks at breakneck speeds.

After the game park extravaganza, we stopped at a local craft center to pick up some souvenir gifts for my family back home. With little regard to common sense, I decided to purchase an engraved wooden chair for myself. Now I’m going to have to use more than common sense to figure out how to get it on the plane with me. Trevor is having a similar problem with a surfboard he bought while traveling in South Africa. Both of us independently came up with the idea to donate most of our clothes to local friends. That should at least help with the weight limits for luggage.

My office also did a bit of riding last week. Horse riding that is. Actually, therapeutic horse riding with the children who attend Cheshire Homes. I have been advocating for this activity ever since I arrived in Swaziland, and we finally were able to coordinate all of the logistical details. Most of the mothers were initially worried, but it turned out to be a resounding success. Therapeutic riding will now be a monthly event for these children with disabilities. Check the pictures below.

One of my favorite children, Thotho, being helped by one of my favorite adults, Sicelo.

In the past critiques which I have written concerning life in Swaziland, I have refrained from discussing the most publicized topic of interest, that of political crisis. There have been many reasons for my relative silence on this subject, but primarily it is because I wanted to investigate the situation on-the-ground rather than blindly believe what international scholars and media report. In all actuality, the problem is fairly complex, and I do not presume to have discovered the truth. But I do think that I have an adequate enough understanding of what is going on in order to share a few thoughts with you.

As many people know, Swaziland is ruled by a king (Mswati III) who holds absolute power. He is not subject to the law of the land. He is one of the richest men in the world in a country where approximately 70% of the population live on less than 1USD per day. He is a dictator, but he is not a bloody one like neighboring Robert Mugabe. Mswati doesn’t need to overtly oppress his people because Swazis have never organized well enough to challenge his sacred status (part of the reason for this is because all political parties are banned). Most Swazis actually believe they are living in a democracy since elections take place every so often to appoint members of parliament. (I won’t go into the boring details as to why these elections are meaningless, but trust me when I say they result in no reforms or systemic changes). Furthermore, those running for office might possibly be more corrupt than the king himself.

There is an extremely frightening cultural belief among many of the politicians who campaign for seats in parliament. It is called muti, a demonic practice whereby local thugs are hired to murder and mutilate innocent victims (usually women and elderly) for the sake of whichever politician is doing the bidding. Body parts are collected and ancestral spirits are captured in an attempt to spiritually sway the election process in favor of one candidate. During the season of national elections, such as the present time, hundreds of people go missing and never return home again. One such person was my best friend’s sister-in-law who was killed near my house only a few weeks ago. She was the wife of a pastor. (Tragedies like this cause me to question our collective sanity. Evil is so pervasive. It punches you in the face and sometimes I have difficulty knowing whether to punch back or simply turn the other cheek. Well, maybe turning the other cheek is a form of fighting back. You don’t give the enemy the satisfaction of having an enemy. You show him unconditional love. You show him Christ.)

I have heard many influential Swazis state that their country is worse off than Zimbabwe because at least Zimbabweans are actively trying to reform their government, whereas Swazis fail to even recognize the political crisis erupting in their midst. I’m not sure if I agree with this statement, but what I do know is that if the status quo doesn’t change soon in Swaziland, the problems which I referred to above will increasingly get worse and worse. But all hope is not lost. I know of many activist organizations and leaders who are putting their reputations and lives on the line to speak out against the current regime. Many of them are priests from the Anglican Church, with which I have been proud to associate myself. This is appropriate, too, because if any lasting change does come about, it is bound to be from God above, and by relation from His church.

It is winter now in Swaziland and very cold for African standards. Let us hope that the winds are changing and that once summer arrives, the powerful will be brought low and a spirit of truth will spread across this suffering nation.

P.S. Information about what is going on in Swaziland is hard to come by, but there are two excellent blogs from a British professor who has been teaching here the past few years. They can be found at these addresses: http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/ and http://swazielections.blogspot.com/. Another source of good information is a recent documentary about King Mswati titled Without the King. Because it criticizes the monarchy, owning a copy is illegal in Swaziland and can be construed as an act of sedition.

Isn’t it ironic how one of the least appreciated sports in America is far and away the most popular sport around the world? I am of course referring to soccer, not tennis (although I would argue that the latter falls under the same category). As I did in my previous sports post concerning tennis, I will begin with the local scene and move on to the international level.

This weekend I attended a charity tournament in which my organization, Cheshire Homes, was being represented by one of the teams who happened to advance all the way to the finals. The team was comprised of members from a local drinking club who love to donate things to Cheshire. Yes, they are in fact a drinking club with a social conscience. It was a fun event to be at, especially because they won, but mostly because the whole group would sing and dance after every goal. They allowed me to join in some of the excitement, and no fewer than ten inebriated old guys hugged me and said how happy they were to win the prize money for Cheshire. It was also enjoyable because I was able to share the experience with my favorite co-workers.

The weekend prior to this, I went to WorldCup Qualifying match with my friend Trevor. It was Swaziland versus Zambia. The whole country has been very excited about the possibility of moving forward in the qualifying rounds. We arrived at the national stadium plenty early and were rewarded (or punished depending on which way you look at it) with seats smack-dab in the middle of the soccer hooligans section. Craziness ensued. We both almost got crushed at one point. Thankfully the score ended in a draw which is probably the only reason why we survived.

And finally, the biggest international game in the past month was the UEFA Championship between Manchester United and Chelsea. Obviously I didn’t attend this one, but I did watch it on TV. The main reason why I mention it, though, is to tell about the friend who watched it with me. His name is Wamukelwe and he has been going through rehabilitation at Cheshire Homes since February. He is a young guy who likes to joke about things, so we get along quite well. We even used to play wheelchair basketball together, but as you can see from the pictures below, he’s progressed to the point where he no longer uses a wheelchair. So now we just joke together and quote rap lyrics. We also talk about girls. And by the way, he’s an amazing dancer…even when he was in a wheelchair.

his name is pronounced MOO-GHELL-OH

one of his famous dance moves