Incarnational Ministry

Christmas may be celebrated world-wide, but in Swaziland it feels much different than it does in North America and Europe: The promise of snow is replaced with hot and humid days. The ideas of Santa Clause and Christmas trees and reindeer are largely unfamiliar. The pageantry and liturgy and traditions seem to be after thoughts if they are present at all. The holiday buzz is muted.

Even though many Swazis like to play Christmas carols this time of year, one cannot help but notice how foreign many of the themes are in a land of high poverty and oppressive heat: No one has ever seen a snow man or knows what sleigh-bells are. The giving of gifts is a luxury beyond the capacity of many. None of us can go “dashing through the snow” and there isn’t even the vision of what it would be like to dream of a White Christmas.

But despite all these things, people in Swaziland have the ability to grasp the true theme of Christmas in a way that very few can. Christmas, above all else, is about the incarnation. It is about Emmanuel – God with us. It is about God coming in the flesh to live among his people. Christmas reminds us that God does not come flaunting power and prestige, but rather comes in the most humble of circumstances to the lowliest of people. The omnipotence of God is revealed in the powerlessness and innocence of an infant.

The Swazis may not understand snow, or St. Nick, or presents stacked under a Christmas tree, but they can appreciate the incarnation in a very profound way. The idea of God in the Flesh walking among his people is incredibly profound, but it gains even more significance when one focuses on the people Jesus chose to walk. He came to be with those on the fringes, those who were broken, those who were utterly without power and those who had nothing to give. Emmanuel – God with us – all of us, regardless of our circumstance.

The concept of the incarnation is not just a one-time event that occurred a couple thousand years ago. Instead, the incarnation is about an ongoing promise and a revitalized way of viewing the world. It is about radical love that is lived out among the downtrodden and forgotten.

Hlobsile, a Cabrini nurse, practices incarnational ministry
as she provides training and treatment in the community.

The incarnation not only provides the reason for what we do at Cabrini Ministries, but it also provides the model by which we operate. Cabrini’s work is incarnational by its very nature. We work among the sick and the dying, provide love to those who have been forgotten, and offer our services alongside those whom we serve. Because Jesus demonstrated the need to go to the people, we try to do the same.

This Christmas season, we find ourselves renewed daily through service. Our clients and partners remind us that wholeness is found among brokenness, contentment is found in the midst of suffering and true power is found in weakness.

We would like to offer you, our friends, family and supporters, the opportunity to join us in the incarnational ministry of Cabrini Ministry. As God has blessed you, we ask that you consider blessing those around you. Jesus came to be with the “least of these” and all seek to live out the promise of presence in the days to come.

Merry Christmas to all, from the Cabrini Family.

Feast of Mother Cabrini Video

As promised, here is a video of the celebration of the Feast of Mother Cabrini at St. Philips Mission in Swaziland.  All of the groups that performed were either clients or staff of Cabrini Ministries.

As you can see, everyone had a great time and was excited to celebrate the lasting impact of Mother Cabrini.  Her legacy lives through those inspired by her faith lived out in bold service.

Feast of Mother Cabrini

The mission and work of Cabrini Ministries Swaziland has been shaped by the life and ministry of Mother Frances Cabrini.  Every year, the entire community St. Philips Mission comes together to celebrate her heritage and lasting impact.  This year, the Feast of Mother Cabrini was observed on November 12. 

This year took on special importance as it represented the 40th year of service from Cabrini Sisters to the people of Swaziland.  The Bishop was on hand to help celebrate the occasion.

Here are some pictures of the festivities:

Mass:

Feast:

Be sure to follow the blog as we will have a video of the festivities uploaded shortly.

New Video of Cabrini Ministries

Please click below to view this excellent video made by friends at Cabrini College- and share with friends! (It takes a little while to load as the video is about 5 minutes long.)
Thanks to all,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Volunteers & Visitors: Anna Brice, Cabrini College Faculty and Heather Anderson's Fundraiser

We like to collect stories and a keep a running photo-history of Cabrini Ministries in Swaziland on the blog, so here are some stories and photos from visitors we had last year.

Anna Brice, a Junior at University of Oregon, stayed with us for 10 weeks. Read her story below:

"With my goals set on medical school, I knew there would be so much to learn from working there. Not only directly medical things such as how to draw blood and treat wounds, but how, as a health care professional, to work in such a devastating environment. However, I was surprised to find that I was equally excited to have the opportunity to work with the children in the hostel. These children have been through things I could never imagine, and having the opportunity to simply put a smile on their faces was something I could not wait to do.

"Despite the fact that I was new, I was a foreigner, the entire community at Cabrini made me feel so welcomed. As I was accepted into the community, there were some interesting cultural things in Swaziland that I picked up on. One of which was even the people who know absolutely no English know 'How are you' and 'I am fine.' This always seemed weird, and at first I thought it was because people simply were not taught other responses, like 'good' or 'bad.' This may be true, but I found that many people truly are just 'fine.' The devastation HIV/AIDS and TB have brought to this society has been earth-shattering. Everyone has lost numerous friends and family members, and there is no recovery from this devastation; people simply move on.

"Much of my time there was spent helping in the clinic, mostly driving the nurses out for home-based care. This was where I truly saw the devastation of poverty and disease. Between giving patients daily injections and driving severe cases to hospitals, I was able to witness not only how the nurses provide medical care for a wide array of needs, but also how they were able to cope with all they were seeing. After dropping a patient off at the hospital that was HIV positive, had MDR and Kaposi Sarcoma, I hesitated as it began to sink in just how much pain this patient must be experiencing. The nurse I was working with caught on to my hesitation, and simply said, ‘We’ve done all we can do for him, and if you want to do your best to help the rest of the patients we meet today, you cannot dwell.’ This was a hard reality to face, but is one that I will keep with me for a long time.

"I was also able to see that these nurses are not alone in dealing with difficult cases – the clinic has truly made its own community. Together, they find support for dealing with the realities they must face every day, and I was fortunate enough to be able to experience that community for even a short time. Being new to the environment, they took me under their wings and helped me to cope with my personal difficulties, but more than that, between Braais and s’mores, they became my friends. Now that I am back, it is impossible to answer the question ‘How was Swaziland?’ There is no way to adequately express how much this trip meant to me, what I saw and how it affected me. The best answer I have found is simply to tell people, 'It was fine.’"

Beverly Bryde, a faculty member at Cabrini College, and five others from the college visited Cabrini Ministries in Swaziland, Beverly writes:

"As a Cabrini College faculty member, I was overwhelmed by the joy, spirit and life of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus as expressed by the work they are doing in Swaziland at Cabrini Ministries. Reflecting on my moments of connections, Cabrini Ministries is truly about restoring life and hope. The government schools in Swaziland are not free and Cabrini Ministries pays the tuition for their 120 children at the hostel to attend the government school on the mission. In every culture, we can understand how education is a hope for a child and for a nation.

"A special moment of the visit for me was observing the afterschool tutoring by the staff. As a story was read, the children talked about how they express themselves through dance. At one point the small group of children did a dance together as we observed them. The six of us from Cabrini however responded with a dance of our own… ‘The Hokey Pokey.’ Our dance needed work, but the moment was wonderful as it gave the children a chance to observe us and our ways. They giggled a bit but then joined in doing the Hokey Pokey themselves. The moment transcended our cultures and brought us into a space of celebrating our lives together….'that’s what it's all about!'

"One of last days on the mission was visiting the homesteads. This was the most difficult experience of the trip because you clearly understood the magnitude of the desperate living conditions. The families welcomed us on the straw mats and their homesteads had no running water, no electricity, no food and barely decent shelter. It was very difficult to comprehend.

"As we returned to the mission and walked around the hostel, I stopped to ponder the soccer game in the dry dirt field. There were about 20 kids playing barefoot and the field was marked by stick goal posts and dirt lines. They knew the game, direct kicks and all; it was a competition. It reminded me of my kickball days in the streets as a kid. It was fun, it was a good life, it was hopeful. And, that is how I felt for these children at Cabrini Ministries. They have hope, they have a good life, and with the education they are receiving, they can have a future…. That’s what it is all about!"

Finally a big thanks to Heather Anderson who biked 135 miles to raise funds for the high school education of Celamusa, a bright young man who has overcome many obstacles to succeed in school. Heather managed to raise over her goal and created a great travel blog where you can read more:

Cycling for Celemusa: Two Girls Take to the Road for a Boy's Education in Swaziland, Africa



Blessings, love, and big thank yous,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Mentorships and a Christmas 'Thank you'

Hi Everyone,

We want to share some recent photos of some of our older children and send everyone Christmas blessings.

Recently we had two children graduate high school, and we had about 8 who finished their 3rd year of high school, which is a terminal point in the education system in Swaziland. Several of those children are those which we have sent away to board at schools for talented and gifted children. We brought them back to Cabrini to stay with us during the last 6 weeks, to provide them a small apprenticeship opportunity to build practical skills that might be useful in their lives as they grow into young adults.

The experience was a great success. The children that go to outside schools were able to feel part of the Cabrini family again. We go and visit them and support them but during school breaks they visit their extended family like the other children, so it was a nice chance to strengthen our relationship, letting them know that they belong to us and we belong to them, and that they always have a home at Cabrini.

The experience also gave these young people a very nice sense of working relationships with adults. The managers in all our departments- maintenance, agriculture, health care departments- were very much willing to take these kids on, even though they knew nothing, which can be more burdensome than helpful. But all of the managers were kind to the children and said, ‘Yes, I’ll teach them.’ The one-on-one supervision and direction, and a sense of belonging, made the kids feel good about themselves.

Colani has lost both parents. At Cabrini he attended our Bridge School- which is for kids that are too old for their grade to accelerate them through a few grades at a time. He just finished grade 7 and he’ll be moving into high school. Here Colani is working on a new part of the hostel that we are expanding into, learning to set bathroom tile.

Vusi lost his father at age 13. He went to live with his mother and her second husband, but the husband was abusive. When Vusi stepped in to defend his mother the husband threw Vusi off the homestead. Cabrini supported Vusi to apprentice at a private carpentry factory. He’s been employed as a regular employee at Cabrini, but in January he’ll be going to a trade school for carpentry.

Celemusa has lost both parents, but he is our bright light. He attended our Bridge School as well, and did so well that he was able to attend Siteki Nazarene High School, which is considered one of the best schools in the whole country. We are so proud- he is number 1 in his class. We’re expecting him to do very well nationally and have opportunities open for him. Here he is learning to put in a ceiling.

Fanana lost both parents, and was also a Bridge School student. Several of the Bridge School students ended up going to Siteki Nazarene which is real triumph, including Fanana. He’s been doing well.

Ronnie goes to St Philip’s High School. He is an average student but a very good boy. Here he’s learning to lay tile.

Aretha, Sikholiwe and Dumile helped in the hostel, cooking mealy-meal for breakfast and cleaning up. They learned how to cook for large groups and about good nutrition.

Ever since we have known Thobile, she has wanted to be a nurse. So Thobile volunteered in the health department, which she loved.

She was able to take blood pressure, blood sugar, and check in the patients. She was a big help and was thrilled doing it. The staff there were really happy with her work. We’re hoping that her scores on her exams will be high enough for her to get in to nursing school.

A few children also worked in our agriculture department, doing overall planning, weeding, planting, and learning about cabbages and chili peppers which are our two big crops that are planted right now.

All of the children worked hard and they seemed to enjoy the tasks. They also got much more one-on-one attention with adults, and they really liked it and responded positively to it. We trusted them with something special that none of their peers were being trusted with, and they really did a great job. As co-parents we want them to feel responsible for Cabrini and what they have been able to do here, and the work helps connect them to that.

Finally we want to send special Christmas blessings to everyone. We do the work here but there must be 1000 people out there that keep us operating. We are aware of that and very very grateful. People who connect us with funding, or share the good news, or work on our part to donate services, or donate $10- whatever it is- it’s all that together that make Cabrini Ministries function. The fact that these kids are growing and thriving is part of the thanks that we give. To the hidden people out there that are part of our Cabrini Ministries family we wish a very Merry Christmas!

Love,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Write On Africa Mural Painting

Hi Everyone,

We've been keeping busy as usual. Sr. Diane recently traveled to Geneva, Switzerland as an invited guest to a World Health Organization/Stop TB two-day meeting, consulting on community-based organizations and running effective tuberculosis programs in the rural areas of developing countries. In addition we hired a medical doctor a few months ago, and we've been recently nominated for a couple of awards.

We wanted to share photos of the recent visit of the group Write On Africa who created murals on the buildings here with help from the kids. The children enjoyed the creative activity and our buildings have been transformed into colorful, cheerful works of art.

Day 1- unloading the supplies (all photos courtesy of www.WriteOnAfrica.org)

Meeting and greeting

"Before"

The children enjoyed the opportunity to be creative with colors and shapes.

Everyone was very committed to finishing the murals in two days, especially the children.

"AFTER"

The text reads: "Let this mural be a window into a world of imagination, inspiration, and hope."

We are so grateful for their visit and all our visitors. Read their story on the Write On Africa Blog by clicking here.
http://www.writeonafrica.org/travels/write-on-swaziland/day-5-mural-day/

Blessings,
Srs. Barbara and Diane