Mbabane, Swaziland - July 1, 2003
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On the evening of June 18, after 30 hours of flying, our group of 14 OSU students touched down at Matsapha International airport in the Kingdom of Swaziland. We were met and interviewed by a reporter and photographer as we deplaned. The UN Development Program (UNDP) sent representatives to the airport as well and they assisted us in settling into our new home for the next six weeks. We were awoken quite early the next morning and were whisked around the capital city, Mbabane (pronounced: ba-bab-ne). We had meetings all over town including UNDP, the US Embassy (where we met with the Ambassador), NERCHA (Swaziland’s National AIDS Council), and a roundtable with the numerous organizations that we will be working with for the next six weeks. In the evening we had a cocktail party with a variety of officials representing a wide cross-section of the health care support and policy organizations in Swaziland. The US Ambassador, the UNDP director, and Andrew Suchocki, the OSU trip leader, spoke at the reception.
The next day the OSU students spread around the country (about the size of New Jersey, and has the 2nd highest HIV infection rate in the world- 38.4% of the population) working at a variety of sites. In the public policy sphere, OSU students are working at UNAIDS, NERCHA, and the US Embassy. In the clinical realm, OSU students are working with the Salvation Army clinic, the Government Hospital in Mbabane, the Mbabane Private Clinic and Hospice at Home. Finally, several students are working with a researcher at the University of Swaziland, traveling throughout the country and learning from and teaching the traditional healers (80% of Swazis will consult a traditional healer before going to the clinic). We will continue to update this webpage with reports from the various different areas where we are working in.
Besides our clinical and policy work, we are traveling throughout Swaziland and the region on off days. We attended the Swaziland-Botswana soccer match along with several braais (barbecues) with Swazi friends we have made. We hope to visit several game parks and also to travel to Mozambique for several days.
Overall, our trip has started out with much success. We are in good spirits and are learning volumes everyday.
Andrew Suchocki, Med 2 (Class of 2006)