SCHOOLS OPEN-SORT OF
Schools were due to open for the third term on Tuesday, September 13. The thing is, the government promised to pay for the orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs), and government still owes E80 million (about $11.5 million) to the schools. It is rumored that some schools have not received any OVC money for two years. So the principal's association decided not to open schools until the money is paid. Bottom line-we are still not teaching all the form 1, 2, and 4 students. We are teaching the form 3 and 5 students, because they take their big and important tests beginning in about 1 month. It's Monday morning when I'm writing this, and we'll see what the plan is in about an hour when the students assemble.
Opinions on the matter vary. Some say that the students are losing out (of course that's true, though I saw few long faces on the form ones when they were told last week to come back Monday); others say schools simply cannot run without money (a teacher colleague has a friend who is a principal in a school around Manzini; the principal showed my friend a bank balance for the school, which stood at a whopping E2000. Who among you could run a high school indefinitely on less than $300?). One can hope the government will learn not to make promises it cannot keep.

UPDATE: "Sidziniwe kunatsa incwancwa ekhaya"
This means "We are tired of eating thin porridge at home". A form 1 student uttered that just minutes ago after assembly was dismissed. The Deputy had announced that nothing has changed and that only the form 3 and 5 students will receive instruction while the Form 1, 2 and 4 students will again go home. They received a letter to take to their parents before they left, explaining that the schools are still waiting for the government to pay and that everyone should listen to the radio for further information. School is indefinitely closed. Interesting times.

E2400 A MONTH
I met a student (Bongani Shongwe) on the road last Wednesday and had a good chat. He owns a digital camera and used to take photos of students, charging E6 a photo. He would take the shot, travel to town and print the picture, then come back to the school to give the photo and collect the money. Students know we have a digital camera and sometimes come to us and ask for a photo. We steadfastly refuse and send them instead to Bongani, hoping that we can encourage private enterprise. I asked him if he was taking any photos these days at the school. He said he had given up on the students, as Bongani would often take the photo and return with print in hand, only to have the students never pay (future government officials?). But, he continued, he can make E600 (just under $100) on a Saturday taking photos of folks in town. He simply stands around on various streets and runs the same operation he does at school, though folks in town pay. Ingeniously, one of his locations is a small tree nursery where his sister works. The customer may arrange a backdrop consisting of vegetation of his or her choice; it's a sidewalk photo studio! With siblings to watch over at his homestead he can't go to town every weekend, but he sure has found a money maker.

INGUBO AYINAMALI
Last week Make Silolo (widow of Abner Dlamini) came for a visit. She explained that she wants to build a second garden, and sought some help with supplies and labor. We sent her off with a promise that Rudy would come over on Friday with pesticides (to kill bugs in the garden she's already planted), fencing nails, and a hammer. When he did get over there about 7:30AM, Make had already moved 20 wheelbarrow loads of cow manure from the corral onto her fields for fertilizer. "Ingubo ayinamali", she said, meaning "There's no money in the blanket", meaning "Get out of bed and get to work if you want to eat or buy anything". Good for her.Make Silolo and Jabulile. The black clothing is what widows traditionally wear for several months after the death of their husbands.
Grace and Siphesihle, Make's daughter

RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS
On Thursday last week Kit and I went collecting cow manure on the soccer field. I truly enjoy this job, as it makes the soccer field nicer for the players and provides good nutrients for our plants.
We found two boys and a girl at the field, just out having a good time. After a few minutes one of the boys walked over to us with a half-dozen dry cow pies skewered on a dried tree branch. He pushed and shook the manure off the stick, just like you'd remove the meat and veggies from a shish-ka-bob. Later the girl helped out too, picking up manure with her bare hands and depositing it in the barrow. I did not expect this. I'm not sure the word "heartwarming" goes with cow pies, but it was touching.

SPONSORED RIDES AND NEW WHEELS
I mentioned in a previous newsletter that some folks spotted me the entry fee for a mountain bike race in the lowveld on Saturday, 10 September. Friends in town let me spend Friday night in town so a guy who works for Inyatsi Construction company could pick me up at 5:45AM to get us to the starting line on time. The ride there and back with Vitor Oliverra was great (Vitor even brought me all the way to our house), and the race was a blast. Vitor and I dueled for a while on the course, but he eventually left me in the dust. It seemed I could catch up and pull ahead of him going up hills, but he recovered and went ahead on the flats and downhills. I passed another guy twice-twice!-on uphills, and we were wheel-to-wheel for about 6km on some flats (with me in front). But I knew I didn't have the energy to keep up that pace, and after a while he went ahead of me and I never saw him again. I suspect this has to do with bike race strategy (something like let your opponent lead for a while then pass him), which I know nothing about.
So I spent the last few kilometers by myself-until about 2km remained. I saw behind me two guys I had passed quite a time before, and I did NOT want them to catch me so close to the end. I am making an effort not to be very competitive about this biking thing (partly because I'll never win anything anyway), but really-that would have been too much, to have left these guys behind so long ago just to lose to them at the end. So I really pushed hard the last km or so, at the risk of leg cramps. I didn't look back (I know that much is important in a sprint) and indeed crossed the finish line ahead of my would-be overtakers. A small success! I was position 26 out of 28-yikes, I thought I'd done better than that! No matter-it really was fun.
The race passed through 3 game reserves; one guy said he saw a giraffe. I did notice that the manure along the trails was neither cow or dog (call it hillbilly awareness), and I did see some bleached-out animal bones. It did cross my mind a couple times, What if there's a lion in one of these reserves? They are predators, I'm distracted (creaking bike, hot and sweaty, I'm trying to see the trail markers), and I'd be an easy take. I talked to someone afterwards about that who had the same vague, disturbing thought. Fortunately, no one suffered such an incident.
That race was on Saturday. On following Monday (the day before school was supposed to open), I put Jabu on my back and went for a ride. By the time we returned to the house, the back sprocket wouldn't turn the wheel when I pedaled; my transmission was shot. I thought "Hmmm, don't know how much this will cost; the shocks are failing; and the rear gear shifter is also going out. And there's an E1400 ($200) second-hand bike at the bike shop for sale, which I've pedaled around the parking lot and liked." My dad was in sales all his life; I approached Ruth, hoping I had inherited a some of his skills. "Ruth, my back sprocket doesn't work..." etc. I could see she knew where I was headed. "Is the bike still at the shop?", she asked. I quickly called and confirmed that it was. "Hold on to it for 10 minutes, guys, I'm negotiating with Ruth!" They chuckled on the other end and said they would. We looked at the finances and determined that I would go into debt a little bit, while Ruth most generously offered to give me some of her discretionary money. The deal was set. I called back the folks at the shop and told them I'd pick up the bike Saturday. Ah, what a great wife I have!
As we did not teach that week of school, I picked up the bike on Wednesday instead. I also caught a lift with Mamba to town on Thursday and deposited the old bike there; they'll fix it up and resell it. Eddie (employee at the shop) said I should get about E1000 out of it. That will cover Ruth's generosity and most of the debt I incurred. Hot diggity!
When I picked up the new bike, the shop owner asked "Do you want to ride in the Siteki race on October 1st? Some folks have volunteered to pay your entry fee." I was happily shocked. "Why do they do this?" I asked. "I sent out an e-mail and folks volunteered", is what the owner said. I was thinking it would be nice if the rest of the family could come, so I asked if there would be kiddie things (jumping castle, food, etc.) at the finish line. I got a lukewarm answer on that, and decided I would have to put this one to Ruth gently and not expect too much, and not get bummed if she said no. She said that it's actually easier if I just go by myself, as it's a bit of a logistics puzzle getting everyone moved around. So, she let me go. What a great wife again. I hope I help her even a fraction of the amount she helps me. Accommodation in town the night before is arranged, and Vitor will again pick me up on the way (he'd already planned to do this race). As this is a road race and I'll be riding the "Silver Queen" (that's the name Ruth gave it; she had dibs on naming it, as it would not be here without her generosity) with fat dirt tires and low gearing, I'll be dreadfully slow; anyone who wants to pass me with their thin-tired, high-geared, sleek-frame road bikes will leave me far behind. But the experience will, I suspect, be fun again.
Ruth heard many years ago that one trick for living overseas for a long time is to have hobbies you can only do overseas. I know there's lots of biking in America, but I don't think I'd get as many "free rides" there as I do here. Neither do I think I'd be able to collect cow manure with my girls as much as I do.

NSUKUMHILLBILLY
Your 4 year old daughter, while helping you collect cow manure on the soccer field, has this to say about the quality and quantity of bovine-generated fertilizer: "This is the bomb!"Hillbilly pre-teenKit with a load of hand-picked free fertilizer
Have a nice day,Rudy for the gang

The rock that defeated daddy. I got 2 hands and one heel on it, but no more. Cub is 3ft, 10in. tall

"Where's the trail, Dad?" asks Grace.

Would you hike 6 hours with this troupe?

Walkin' down a country road.

On the way down Sibebe.

Marathon women. From left, Cub, Grace, Kit

Water tank.

Enjoying well-earned pizza and soda.

Cub self-portrait

Cub early in hike.

The bug Grace was gleefully smashing.

Exultant hikers.

SIBEBE MOUNTAIN MARATHON
Last year Grace and Cub both got individual hikes up to Sibebe with dad. Monday (Aug. 29) we decided to send the three oldest girls (Grace, Cub, and Kit) together with dad. IT WAS A GREAT SUCCESS. I had planned to carry Kit (4 years old) on my shoulders the whole way, but in less than a mile I decided my knees would not agree. "Hey Kit, how about you do a little walking right now?" I told her that on the flat/slightly downhill portion of the road leading away from the school. I only carried her two or three times after that, either for safety purposes or for getting us moving faster.

The day started out cloudy but by mid-morning turned sunny (my favorite kind of weather). We stopped for about an hour and played in the river atop Sibebe. Rudy tried scaling a boulder, but failed. We may have caught a glimpse of the national bird of Swaziland, the purple-crested lourie. Man is it beautiful!

After descending Sibebe (using the path my Peace Corps group did 20 years ago), we caught a kombi into town. We quickly purchased two 2-liter bottles of soda, oranges for our hosts the Rehmeyers, and two pizzas. A short taxi ride later we were sitting in the Rehmeyers' house enjoying our soda and pizza. I remember that combination being my favorite meal after a soccer game, and I want to pass the tradition on. We spent the night with our hosts, and returned to school Tuesday morning.

The girls and I spent just over 7 hours outside, and all but one of those hours hiking; not once did they complain, and we had a great time all along the way. I am very proud of them.



AQUA COMPLETE
Our hike took us past the intake pipe (what we call "the source") for the water system. We found that although water was still going in, the level of the water was just over the pipe. This might mean trouble later. I noticed that a lot of water was running under the small dam built to feed water into the source. On Tuesday morning after our hike I bought (for just E3 each, about 42 US cents) 6 woven plastic bags (the kind you get flour or fertilizer in) with 45kg capacities.

Sure enough, when we got to the house Tuesday morning the water was out. I took my bags, zip ties, shovel, wrench and cell phone and headed out. I got to the source, put on some shorts, and waded around until I found where the water was escaping; I found what felt like a rip tide-strength flow about three feet below the water surface. I loaded two bags with soil and wedged them into the spot where the water was moving fast. I changed back into my long pants and headed back down along the water line, adjusting (as best I could) valves along the way.

I didn't adjust well enough; we had no water that evening. So I went back Wednesday morning and found, much to my satisfaction, that the filtration tank was full and overflowing. I'd blocked the escape route well!
Part of the filtration tank. This is how we found it Monday. By Wednesday, water was flowing out of the hole at the top of the photo.

So, the problem was not lack of water from the source. I turned a couple other valves and we had water. One valve I opened spilled most of the water out of the system and onto the ground-nice job, Mr. Roto-Rooter! I had to go back to the big tanks Thursday (when the water went out again, thanks to my opening this particular valve); but once I closed that valve, the water came back-and remains on, here on Friday afternoon.

Though it took me way longer than it would have taken Mamba to do this, I did it all myself. That sure is a satisfying feeling. It's also humbling, because I know I couldn't have done any of it without years of shadowing Mr. Stanford Mamba. I feel I've earned my associates degree from Stanford University.

PRAYER FOR FRIENDS
Some friends of ours have an adult child who has suffered from cancer for a number of years. The prognosis is not good, as the cancer has spread to both lungs and has appeared in some lymph nodes. Your prayers for healing, and for grace to cope with what is to come if healing is not God's will, are very much appreciated.

MAKE SILOLO (from Ruth)
A few days ago a student showed up hoping to get money to go to town. He had been having seizures and wanted to go to the hospital to get medication. Rudy told him that we would give him the money, but he had to promise to come on Thursday at 6:30AM (a couple days after his hospital visit) and work off his debt from previous loans. He understood that if he didn't show up, there would be no loans in the future. At 6:30 Thursday morning we were happy to hear him knock on our door.

He and Rudy headed over to Rudy's Swazi homestead. They went over the help Make Silolo (Abner Dlamini's widow) finish up a fence. She and Lungile redeployed some fencing to make an enclosed garden by their house to do commercial vegetable production. The Dlamini homestead has a long history of growing and selling vegetables, so Make already has contacts for buyers and experience with several crops. A couple days later she came over to explain their plans and see if she could get a loan for the 700 green pepper transplants that she wants to put in. I appreciate her. Since Abner had his stroke, things have been tough at the homestead. After he died things got very tough. She has needed some extra help, but she always tries to see how much she can do for herself. She wants to get back on her feet and she wants to honor Abner's desire for her to make her living through agriculture. In our community most agriculture is for home consumption. Few people use it as an income source, so we are glad to be affiliated with this homestead. She said she has to do well this year because next year there is a big function: the widows will remove their black mourning clothes. This custom requires her to provide a cow for slaughter. Cows cost almost E3000 (about $500). The family has no livestock. I don't think they even have chickens. Fortunately, a relative of Abner has volunteered to pay all the expenses for her to grow sweet corn this year, which makes good money and is easy to sell. I think she will be able to do it.

HAPPY GAMA (from Ruth)
Happy is the local preschool teacher and a friend of ours. She came to ask for help composing a letter to UNICEF requesting a permanent structure for her community feeding center and preschool. The community got organized and arranged temporary housing for these projects this year. It was nice to help her put together a request which highlights the group's accomplishments. I think it will put their request at the top of the stack. She has a nice personal garden. She was approached by the local community leaders to put in a funding request for a loan for fencing and irrigation so that she can expand her garden and do some commercial production. I got to help her fill out that application and gave guidance on how to prepare the quotations for the expenses. It would be nice to see her able to expand.

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY (by Ruth)
Rudy has a new phrase: "Reality bats last". You can do stupid or ineffective things only so long before reality catches up.

The Swazi government has been struggling to cut expenses to get the budget closer to balanced. Unfortunately, no one wants to have their pay/jobs/benefits cut (no surprise there). But the government made one really positive step recently. Most university students receive government "loans" which pay not only tuition and educational expenses, but provide E25,000 (in one lump payment) for housing and food and personal expenses each year. Since many of these young people have never handled more than E200 at a time in their life, you can imagine how wisely much of this money gets spent. It is a ridiculous amount. A large proportion of working adults are making E800-E1600 per month, so for university students to receive over E2000 per month is quite bizarre. Sadly, w hen they finish university, they have a huge debt to pay back. Government collects this debt by garnishing their paychecks after they start working.

The government recently announced that new students would get just E10,000 and that it would be paid in installments. This is a much-needed change. The students are all crying and screaming now, but they won't be after they finish and compare their payroll deduction with those who got the cushy living allowance.

There are many reports of how lack of funds are hurting government services. Some of our neighbors needed a civil servant to come from Mbabane to do something for the water system. The neighbors had to have someone pick up the person because there is no gas for government vehicles. The headmasters of the schools say that the schools will not reopen until government pays the scholarships for OVC's (Orphaned and Vulnerable Children). At our school 75% of the students are on these OVC scholarships. Reports in the paper tell of government meetings where there is no tea or coffee. Higher authorities have announced that the government will provide employees with hot water, but they will have to bring their own tea bags and sugar. There are dark murmurings that it would not be appropriate for Junior Officers to go without hot drinks if they were still available at meetings for Senior Officers.

This is an interesting time. Up to now the government hasn't enacted any pay decreases or job cuts; it appears that the political cost is too great to do so. But when over half of your budget is salaries, reducing sugar expenditures won't balance it. Years ago, a Swazi told me that firing someone was like killing them. In a country where jobs are hard to find, job security is very important. If that perspective is common, and I think it is, you can understand the protests.

CIVIL AIR PATROL
One evening recently after dinner I (Rudy) heard tappings on the windows. I went to see what was going on, and found an eruption of some sort of flying insect underway. These bugs are a little beefier than wasps; but they do not sting (good) but they are not edible like tinhlwa (the flying termites the girls like to eat). These bugs are drawn to light. Grace opened a door and let them swarm in, then went about smacking them down with various items (like her flip-flops) and smashing them on the floor. Shouts of excitement filled the room, and joyous smiles spread across the faces of all the girls. I must admit it concerns me a little that the girls get kicks out of suckering insects to their demise, but I suppose it's better than first-person shooter computer games. All the same, I'll try not to let her do this again.



A SINCERE THUMBS-UP
I just love standing in line at the bus rank, wondering when the next kombi will arrive and I'll get to try to smash my way past mothers toting babies and 10kg bags of sugar to find a seat next to an inoperable sunny-side-of-the-bus window to spend the next 45 to 60 minutes (with my feet going numb under the weight of corn meal or with my knees shoved beneath my chin) on dusty, bumpy roads. Actually, this ISN'T my favorite pastime. I do like riding my bike, though, and and I've found a way around purgatorial transportation. I ride my bike to the beginning of the tarred road in Pine Valley (near Sibebe), lock the bike there, and take a kombi (these are frequent, clean, uncrowded, travel on paved roads, and require but 10 minutes to reach town) into Mbabane. On the way back to school I just reverse the process. I get to enjoy the great Swazi outdoors, get some bike fitness, and kiss the transport hassle a sweet farewell.

Thing is, most Swazis-and especially rural ones-are not accustomed to folks in bicycling regalia (those too-tight shorts and funny polyester shirts with loud color schemes, with the helmet to top it off). We have slowly realized that we will always be outsiders here, and dressing like an astronaut doesn't further our chances of mainstreaming. Still, we get treated far better than we deserve; people almost always give me a smile and a word of encouragement (which I try to return, although moving at 20 miles an hour down a gravelly dirt road with watering eyes makes me reluctant to take a hand off the handlebars to wave).

On Saturday the 3rd of September I took the "bike route" to town. Pedaling up a hill on the way home, I approached a 3 or 4 year-old boy on the side of the road. He stared me in the eye with grim determination, and had one arm fully extended towards me with a thumbs-up at the end. Something in his facial expression and thumbs-up communicated genuine approval and respect. It reminded me of the scene in an episode of M*A*S*H when Radar O'Reilly salutes his outgoing commanding officer just before the CO boards his ill-fated helicopter. I pedaled slowly towards him with a corresponding thumbs-up, and we touched thumbs. He followed me for a short distance; and I stopped and talked a bit, then turned and pedaled on. As kind and heart-warming as folks' greetings are out here, there was something extra special about this one. Swaziland is quite a place.

Have a good day,
The Poglitshs