Nomsa addresses the nation ... and her voice is heard.

 

On Wednesday, July 16th we celebrated the Grand Opening of the El Rofi (Hebrew name for "The God who heals) Medical Centre on Project Canaan. We were hononred to welcome the His Majesty King Mswati's wife named Inkhosikati LaMbikiza as well as the Honorable Minister of Health, Minister of Employment and Social Security and many other high ranking officials of the country.  We felt that it was important to have a speech given by someone who is in need of healthcare, not just those providing healthcare, so we asked Nomsa if she would speak.

She was terrified, but she said yes.  And with much help to get the right clothes and hair to make her feel confident she appeared before the crowd.  She was tired and each sentence took a lot of energy to get her breath through her Tuberculosis filled lungs, but she delivered a message that brought everyone in the tent to tears and then they stood to their feet at the end with a standing ovation.  The link to her speech on Youtube is at the bottom of this blog, but it is very hard to hear her, so I have printed her speech below.  Please be sure to read on.

I greet you all in the name of Jesus Christ.  

My name is Gcebile Mabuza (some people know me as Nomsa) and I am a child of God.  I am HIV positive and I have XDR-TB or Extremely Drug Resistant TB. I met Janine on the side of the road on December 13^th, 2012 when I was being taken to the TB hospital in Moneni.  I had given birth to twin girls on November, 19^th and we were all starving to death in my homestead.  The Social Welfare Office made arrangements for my baby girls to go and live at the El Rofi Baby Home here on Project Canaan while I moved in to the National TB Hospital for the next 18 months.  In June of 2014 when my weight was down to 82 pounds Janine and Ian made a room for me here so that I could come and live with dignity as I continued treatment for my conditions.

I was asked to say a few words today at the opening of the El Rofi Medical Centre because of my medical status and because my daughters live here.  I am thereby qualified to speak to healthcare and childcare being provided by the Heart for Africa team.

 

I would like to take this opportunity of the opening of the El Rofi Medical Centre to greet Her Royal Highness, Inkhosikati LaMbikiza and thank you for coming to this important event.  I also humbly ask you to go and visit the National TB Hospital one day soon to encourage the patients who are suffering there and the nurses and Doctors who are serving at their own personal risk to help the people who are sick.  I personally watched 70% of the people die horrible deaths during my time as a patient there and I beg you as our Mother to help get additional care for those who are suffering.

I would like to take to thank the Honorable Minister of Health, Mrs. Simelane, for all that she is doing to help the people of Swaziland who are suffering with HIV, TB and other illnesses that are plaguing our Kingdom. 

I would like to thank the Deputy Prime Minister’s office and Deputy Director Mrs. Maziya for their support of the El Roi Baby Home here on Project Canaan. I believe that my twin girls, Rachel and Leah, sitting over there, would not be alive today if it weren’t for this home for babies in great need. 

Thank you to Nurse Brooke Sleeper and all who have supported the building of the El Rofi Medical Centre so that excellent medical care can be provided to the people of Project Canaan and the children who call this “home”.

Lastly I encourage all of the workers at Project Canaan to know your status.  Be tested for HIV and TB and if you test positive and are put on medication you must adhere to the treatment and commit to safe behavior. 

The greatest photo of this amazing woman.

It is not right that people from other countries must come and look after our children. We Swazi’s should be raising our own children, but because of choices that I was forced to make when I was young, due to the death of my mother and the poverty I was left in, I have had to pass on my duty as “mother” to Janine and the Aunties at the Children’s Campus. 

As I sit here today I give thanks to the Lord for His love and care for my daughters and me. I am praying for a miracle and that El Rofi, “the God who heals”, will heal my body perfectly so that I may one day be able to care for Rachel and Leah as their mother and give them hope in their heavenly Father. Until that day, I give thanks for Project Canaan and all who are serving the Lord here in this place.

Social Welfare officer who placed Nomsa's twin girls with us.

I have been reading the book of Job lately. The book of Job has been giving me strength.  Job’s children died and he was left with nothing, but he sill believed in His Lord.  The devil saw that he was still believing in the Lord.  He was very sick as I am, and I must stay strong as he did.

Thank you.

 

No, thank YOU Nomsa for your courage, your strength and your love.

Live from Swaziland ... she is my hero.

Janine 

Thank you Briana Spohr for recording this video and posting it - 

http://youtu.be/VnEZBzTXE8E,

Young mother wants to kill her baby and herself – dumps baby then takes rat poison.

Teresa and Jared.

 This week we have a team of 70 volunteers who are here from the US and Canada.  We are always thankful to greet and serve with people who have worked so hard to raise the funds required to come and help “the least of these” in Swaziland, while also supporting the work of Heart for Africa.  One of our volunteers this week is my dear friend Teresa Birk.

On Tuesday I got a call from Social Welfare asking me if we have room for another baby (actually a toddler).  I asked Teresa to join Khosi and me and we headed in to town to learn about this child. Another sad situation, this time with a young mother who had been forced at the age of 17 years to sell her body to provide for food and basic necessities since both of her parents had died.  She desperately wanted to stay in school and was leaving the child alone all day locked in a room while she went to school (grade 8).  The school reported the situation and we were asked to help.  

I don’t often get to meet the mother or father of a child that we get as most of our babies are abandoned, but when I do it is usually a heartbreaking meeting, for me.  But typical of others, this young mother had no tears and quickly ran away after the child had been placed in my arms. Her relief was visible and she was “free”.  I always have a firm conversation about abstinence and/or safe sex when I meet young people at the Social Welfare office. But when a young girl is forced to have sex for food it is a hard, and maybe uncaring conversation to have.  

When we were only a few miles out of town I got a call from the same Social Welfare officer called and asked how far away I was.  A newborn had just been abandoned and he wondered if I could meet him while he gathered the report.  We turned around on the highway and headed back to town.   

The story was short, but not sweet.  A young woman went to a Daycare facility in the morning and quickly handed them her baby saying that she was late and needed to rush to work.  They only accept 3-month old children and she assured them the baby was 3-months old, then reluctantly gave her phone number and ran off.  When they went to change the baby’s diaper they saw that the baby was a newborn, the umbilical cord had recently fallen off, and it was bleeding a bit.  

They called the mother right away, but she refused to answer the phone.  They kept trying throughout the day, but finally got a text message that explained that she was not going back for the child. In fact, the mother claimed that she wanted to kill the baby and herself, but decided to drop off the baby and only kill herself.  Then they called the police, who called Social Welfare, who called me. 

The mother told the Daycare workers (through text) that she had given birth to the baby in the bush and that there was no healthcard/birthcertificate.  But when I examined the child I found that he had been circumcised (clearly a hospital job, I found a prescription from a local hospital AND I found Nevirapine, which is a drug used to give a baby when the mother has tested HIV positive.  Sigh.

It was almost 5PM and the Daycare was closing.   I was asked if I would take the baby to safety until a full investigation was done, hopefully resulting in a family member being able to take the baby.  We got back in the car and headed home with two babies.  Another surreal day in Swaziland. 

The next day was the official opening of the El Rofi Medical Centre (El Rofi is the Hebrew word for “the God Who Heals”).   It was day full of special preparation as we were welcoming the Inkhosikati LaMbikiza (the King’s wife who is the Patron of the El Roi Baby Home) and the Honorable Minister of Health Sibongile Simelane, along with many other dignitaries and special guests.  The event went off without a hitch and the highlight was definitely a speech given by “Nomsa” sharing her story of pain and suffering with the Queen and the other invited guests.  In next week’s blog I will share her speech. 

Nomsa addressed the crowd.

At the end of the speeches, ribbon cutting and a million photos,  I was chatting with Teresa who was holding the new little baby when he suddenly started to have seizures. We thought we saw seizures the night before when he first arrived, but then they passed. These definitely were getting worse so we quickly took our first patient in to the new clinic and called ALL the Doctors who were in attendance to help.  With the best medical minds together it was quickly determined that we must rush him to the hospital because he likely had Sepsis or Meningitis…not the way we wanted to end the special day, but thankful that the right people were there at the right time. In addition to the medical team, the Social Welfare officer who asked us to take the child was there and gave permission for us to seek immediate medical treatment for the baby.  This is an important factor in case the child passed away in our temporary care.

The party ended, the tents were taken down and Ian and I drove the baby to the hospital.  The baby is there still today receiving broad spectrum antibiotics through an IV.  He joins our boy Levi who has been in hospital for the past few weeks being treated for burns he received from an accident with hot water.  He had three small skin grafts this week and hopefully will come home next week.  

The mother of the baby has been found and is receiving counseling. We learned that she had attempted to drown the child in water and dettol (disinfectant) earlier in the week, but then realized that was wrong. She also has a 3-year old child who is suffering from extreme malnutrition. She took weevil tablets (like rat poison – and is the suicide “drug of choice” here in Swaziland) to end her life, but thankfully she did not succeed.  Social Welfare found her parents and there are conversations going on with them to see if anyone can help the young mother, the young child and the baby. At this point we don’t know if the baby will stay with us, but we are praying that the situation will be resolved in a way that everyone is helped. 

I will end the blog by telling you that we are happy to announce that we named our new toddler “Jared” in memory of Jared Birk who lost his life in a swimming pool accident a few short years ago.  Jared and his family were the inspiration for the town of Cape Girardeau, Missouri to fundraise for and build the El Roi Baby Home.  We will never have enough words to say “thank you” to all involved.  The little baby in hospital has been named “Enoch” – Jared’s son in the bible (Genesis 5:18).

Live from Swaziland … we are grateful.

Janine

PS – we join the families who are mourning the loss of the people on Flight 17 and specifically all of the HIV/AIDS researchers and experts who were going to Australia to help find a cure for the disease that has had an impact on so many of the children who now call Project Canaan “home”.