Mbabane, Swaziland - August 1, 2003
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Six weeks have come and gone, and as I reflect on the time in Swaziland I am in awe at how quickly it passed. Our objective was to work with the clinical and policy-developing institutions to understand the HIV epidemic in Swaziland. We wanted to learn, but it was just as important for us to make a difference in the lives of the Swazi citizens we interacted with.
Our team of 14 students worked in various health care non-governmental organizations (NGO’s), hospitals and clinics. Every day we encountered new challenges that prevent Swazi citizens from achieving their highest state of health. At Hospice at Home we saw patients living in extreme poverty, so much so that accessible, clean water and nutritious food were rare in the rural areas. The Women’s Resource Center lacked the funding to teach Swazi women, living in rural areas, the realities of HIV/AIDS. The hospitals were remarkably understaffed—an average of 10 physicians for over 500 patients. Individually, patients struggle with cultural mores that question HIV transmission and treatment, and women are in a constant battle for sexual empowerment. The sheer number and magnitude of these trials was overwhelming. It wasn’t long until we began to wonder what we were doing in Swaziland.
But we are optimists and we believe that every problem has a solution. We knew we were not going to raise the standard of living for everyone, or secure full funding for HIV outreach programs, or even recruit sufficient numbers of health care professionals. However, we also believe our work made a difference. We shared medical, social, and cultural knowledge with our Swazi peers. The realization that HIV/AIDS is more than a medical problem finally sank in and we needed to use our education and energy to demonstrate the urgency of combating HIV at the individual and societal levels.
The most beneficial experience in the Swaziland/OSU program was the ability to discuss how various Swazi institutions were addressing the HIV plague. We shared this information with our internships and with local students who will be developing behavior change/ awareness programs. Although most of us did not see immediate results, we have faith that our work will continue to help the Kingdom of Swaziland.
A significant component of this faith is the continuation of the OSU- UNDP-NERCAH collaboration in the upcoming years. Every time we established a new internship placement, befriended local students and conducted research, we paved the way for the next team of students to make a difference in Swaziland. To ensure this program has a future the UNDP set up a meeting to solicit feedback. We discussed a more formal approach to team preparation, securing sustainable housing and transportation, revising our objectives and internship placements, and changing the team demographics. This meeting left us with a feeling of accomplishment and hope for the next generation of student volunteers.
"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."
-Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
Allison R. Webel, OSU College of Nursing