Integration Period

Welcome to 2023! I am finishing up my 3 weeks of In-Service Training (IST). Prior, I was at my community site for 7 weeks from the end of November to mid-January.

I learned a lot from my integration period and it was eye-opening… hence, I could not determine where to start! So, now here we go~ During my integration period, I was not allowed to start any clubs or projects. Rather, this was a time to solely learn about the community and be integrated. Peace Corps provided us with the tools to conduct different assessments to then submit a report before IST.

Mango Season!

Overview of My Community

I live in a busier rural community that is off the main road between the city and a smaller growing town. Be careful to not drive right past my community! On the right-side of the road, one would find the primary and secondary school. The secondary school is well-known in the region, thus, some students travel as far as 1.5 hours away from their homestead one-way. My community has a Bomake (bo-ma-geh) market, where mothers and grandmothers would sell fruits, baked goods such as scones, candies, chips, ice blocks, and more. The location of the market is between the front of the school gate and the main road. A majority of the bomake make their business from the students during snack time or after school. The snacks range from 1 to 5 Emalangeni. Similarly, our community esitolos (stores) would get busy traffic from the children. However, when school is out and the children are back in their respective communities, my community becomes quiet and only 2 lone stands in the bomake market remain. I am reminded again that my community is rural.

Buckets + Jojo Tank

My community is spread out. While there are homesteads off the main road, there are many behind the road. There are community taps spread out and each is about 2 to 10 minutes’ walk away. People fetch water in the morning with their wheelbarrow and jugs. Each homestead can fetch a max of 5 jugs in the morning and 5 in the evening. Another source of water is rainfall collection into buckets or the Jojo tanks. Then, the people will also pour the bucket of waters into the Jojo tank.

In the 20 homestead surveys that were conducted, 20% reported having a car and 80% not having a car. Majority of people use khumbi (a 15 passenger van) or buses for transportation. The lowest cost is E10 and to the nearest city is E30. The cost varies on distance and the rates can go higher. 40% of homesteads do not have electricity. Lastly, the range of those reported working in each homestead ranges from 0-3 members working. The ratios below represent 1 family member working compared to the family composite size, to obtain a better representation of financial insecurity.

• 25% of homesteads reported zero family members working, with the range of family size from 6-9 members.

• 25% of homesteads reported a ratio of 1:10 members working.

• 15% of homesteads reported of 1:5 members working.

• 35% of homesteads reported about 2 of 5 family members working

A major limitation to this data is that people had different definitions of a job. Some included their piece job as a job while others did not. A piece job is work that does not have stable hours and income, or work that is for a temporary period. Some examples of piece jobs include selling fruits on the streets, braiding hair, or doing carpentry based on client requests. Thus, people did not consider a piece job as a job because they the money they earned were insufficient funds to provide for their family or they were return jobless once the temporary period was over.

The lack of job opportunities not only impact my community, but the country of Eswatini as a whole. The rural communities comprise of the majority of the country. There are only 3 developed cities and the rest of the country I would consider rural. According to the World Food Programme July 2022 Eswatini Country Brief, “69% of the rural population in Eswatini live below the national poverty line and 25% are extremely poor.” Another layer added is the globalization of the world, such as the use of technology, while some people are struggling to meet their basic needs. Thus, it creates an appearance of having the smart phones and clothes that fit the fashion trend, but when one delves deeper, one may find that the people are also hungry.

But, the Emaswati are strong. They continue to persevere and endure, though many probably do not see their own strength. It is not endurance that they are still standing where they are despite the limited resources that they have? The Emaswati know how to build their own homesteads. Only in the cities one may find a contractor that builds duplexes, but the rural homesteads are built with their own hands. Even if they cannot afford bricks to build another room, they will use sticks and mud. During my surveys, I asked the to identify a community strength. Many said that their community is filled with business minded people (thus, one can find a lot of bomake in the bomake market). However, the biggest barrier is the lack of capital and the cyclical cycle of poverty that prevents people to save. Most people spend their money on basic needs and may even send the money to extended family members who also lack employment. As a community member said, “People here in [the community] have dreams and visions. But we lack the capital. Without the capital, we cannot fulfill those dreams.”

Next Steps Ahead

I am really thankful for my IST where I met other Emaswati who were part of the Grassroot Soccer Training. Grassroot Soccer would be a club with 13 sessions

and encouragement for me. They were so passionate about the youth that I could not help but be ignited by their passion. I have only been in this country for 5 months, but they have lived in this country their entire lives. Despite all that they see, they continue to remain hopeful and know lives will change.

I recognize that my service with the Peace Corps will go by really fast as I can tap into many different avenues. Currently wrapping up my In-Service Training, I received tools and curriculums that I can implement into the community. Moreover, I can start other initiatives/projects that best fit the community’s interest. Seeing the counterparts, I am reminded that all these different social issues cannot be addressed at once. Rather, it is important to find a niche and thrive in it. Because change cannot be done alone, it is also important to collaborate with other organizations who are also passionate about their visions.

Lastly, sustainability is the most important key. Resourcing organizations and connecting them to the community is lasting as they remain in the country whereas I am only here for 2 years. Another sustainability component is to empower the community: to equip the people with tools and knowledge that they can apply now or use later. For example, I want to teach them the skills of creating a business plan. Maybe they cannot create the business now, but they have the knowledge to create one later. Lastly, sustainability includes empowering the people to recognize their own capability and be confident in it. I think many times as humans we think we cannot do it because we are not good enough or do not have the courage within ourselves, especially if those encouragements were never spoken in people’s lives. It is also crippling when others have done the skill for someone else, rather than empowering people to take the action upon themselves. We all are a whole lot stronger than we think.

I am looking forward to returning back to my community in T-2 days! I can now start teaching life skills in the high school. Moreover, my next step in the community is to mobilize the members and start asking them which projects they would like to begin with.

Reference:

https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000141939/download/?_ga=2.205082640.183347997.1675262472-1811961361.1675262472