1

SICHUMANE Coordinating Assembly of Non-Governmental Organisations

Email:cango@cango.org.sz

Website: www.cangoswaziland.wordpress.com

Change Growth Empowerment

Carcasses are now a common sight in open fields where cows used to graze

Change Growth Empowerment

Newsletter October 2015

“We now burry our cattle”

CANGO Director Speech 2

Drought causes forced auctions 3

International Day of The Girl Child 6

World Diabetes Day 8

CANGO staff “Brave The Breast” 9

INSIDE

UPCOMING EVENT:

16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM

FOR NO VIOLENCE

AGAINST WOMEN AND

CHILDREN: 25 NOVEM-

BER—10 DECEMBER

Page

2

The Director of CANGO, Emmanuel Ndlangamandla, speaks about the mandate of NGOs

“The CANGO mandate is broad, especially captured through its different con-sortia which covers various issues. It could be gender, human rights viola-tions, children’s rights, disability and vulnerable groups that exist.

Basically, NGOs are the arm of civil society that really look into development and the empowerment of people.

As NGOs then, and as CANGO in particular, our collective voice to articulate understanding of people’s issues is significant. That is why we have got the gender consortium that is purely looking at issues of gender inequality and particularly women emancipation.

Women have been faced with so many issues such as access to land, credit, gender-based violence, sexual rights, HIV, etc. Even today, women are still the face of poverty, hunger and many other social ills. That is why the gender consortium is focused on changing the landscape so that women are able to fully enjoy their citizenship in our country. And I think we have come a long way with our campaigns. We now have a national gender policy; a constitu-tion that has given women rights; our country has signed so many conven-tions, including the SADC Gender Protocol which is binding to states to im-prove the environment for women and girls. These are good promises that we have made as a country.

We then have the Food Security consortium that is looking at food access, issues of quality of food and nutrition.

These issues are very relevant in situations where other communities are going through right now, facing severe drought. They are seeing their cattle die whereas that is the key livelihood for poor communities. If they lose such assets, it automatically drives them into the dire spectrum of poverty because they do not have a fall back plan. If a family member gets sick they would sell a cow, a sheep, a goat or a chicken. But if they lose that asset it becomes dan-gerous.

There is also the Children’s consortium. Children have gone through a lot in the last decade or so.

Because of the HIV pandemic, we have households led by children; violence against children; and corporal punishment which we think we have aligned ourselves broadly with the Convention of the Right of the Child. Corporal punishment should be done away with because in a way it entrenches vio-lence in society.

We are saying if you are wrong, the only way we correct you is to inflict phys-ical pain on you. That is wrong. Some people then grow up with this, thinking it is normal that if I disagree with you I should punch you. That is not how society should be like. There are many ways of disciplining a child without inflicting pain.

We also have the HIV/AIDS consortium. This deals with issues of HIV/AIDS and prevention; access to treatment; and testing of people. There are also rights involved in this which we focus on.

We also have a Human Rights and governance consortium because we found that there was a gap in our scope. We were looking at all these other rights but there was no connection on the entire gamut of rights. We felt we needed to have a fully fledged consortium that is going to assist us looking at all these other consortia and NGOs feed into that and the overall rights of people whether these are socio-economic, political rights.

These consortiums are sort of the vehicle for coordination and the voice of the voiceless.

Change Growth Empowerment

2 ASICHUMANE

EDITORIAL

There are many challenges fac-

ing our society today. Econom-

ic recession and drought are

arising. Also; high unemploy-

ment, malnutrition, gender-

based violence and high HIV

prevalence rate are some of the

social problems on which Civil

Society Organisations have in-

terventions implemented.

Of all the social ills, drought is

more significant, adding to

food-insecurity. Lubombo has

been hard hit. There have been

alarming rate of cases of loss of

livestock, the Swazi asset. It

calls for action from govern-

ment and Non-Governmental

Organisations and all stake-

holders. CSOs and the public

are concerned about govern-

ment’s support on this. Can this

drought not be declared a na-

tional disaster?

Not in any way are these issues

raised seeking to undermine

but seek to complement policy.

As a nation, we should put our

heads together to improve hu-

man livelihood.

We start this month keeping in

mind the numerous protocols

signed and rectified and

whether we still adhere to

them as a country or not. 16

Days of Activism Against Abuse

should go beyond that period

to say society no more should

we tolerate violence, especially

against women and children.

For what it’s worth, I think it

should just be 365&1/4 Days of

Activism Against Abuse.

Enjoy.

3

Swaziland. She was accompa-

nied by her cousin Tjengisile

Magagula.

With the estimated 50,000 peo-

ple (Vulnerability Assessment

Committee Report, 2015), in-

cluding women and children,

that are affected by the drought

and food shortages, Lubhuku is

one of the communities most

hard-hit by the current drought

situation, as most of the local

dams and rivers have dried up,

and livestock and human beings

greatly affected. There is no

sight of grass, at the dusty Dip-

ping Tank where the auction is

held and surrounding areas.

Prior to the drought, Ntombika-

LUBHUKU: "I never thought I

will have graves for my cattle,

but now I do. Most of us now

opt to bury our dead cows to

prevent foul smell and disease.

What is happening to us and

our livestock is very painful,

we feel so powerless about

this situation," Ntombikayise

Magagula said.

Ntombikayise, a mother and a

farmer, spoke at an impromp-

tu auction of livestock necessi-

tated by the escalating number

of livestock as a result of se-

vere water shortages and sub-

sequent drought in the

Lowveld area of Lubhuku in

the Lubombo region, East of

yise had 19 cattle, seven (7) of

which have already died due

to lack of food and unavaila-

bility of water, as tempera-

tures soar. Today she has

brought three (3) of her cattle

to the auction. "The reason I

am selling the cattle I brought

here today is that I want to

buy hay bales to feed the re-

maining cows before they die.

I chose the better ones so that

people can buy them. Even

though the value has depreci-

ated but I am hoping for the

best. We also need food at

home and the children are

really affected by this. At least

they have a feeding scheme at

Change Growth Empowerment

3 ASICHUMANE

“We now burry our cattle”

Drought Forces Lowveld’s auctions

4

Change Growth Empowerment

4 ASICHUMANE

rently, farmers are buying bales

at E550 (US$42) each.

According to John Tsabedze,

one of the farmers at the auc-

tion, just last week he bought

bales for E500 (US$38) each,

but this week the price has es-

calated to E550 (US$42).

"We are not sure how much the

price will be in the near future

and most people do not afford-

ing them. Another challenge is

the availability. In most cases

the bales are not available local-

ly and the Swaziland Dairy

Board imports them from South

Africa," he said.

Cattle no longer have the luxury

of feeding ad libitum as each

bale of hay is averaged to last

not more than 2 days for 10

cows feeding twice day.

The effects of the demise of

most cattle in Lowveld Swazi-

land extends beyond livelihoods

for Swazis, as cows are not only

food, economic source and long

term investments for High

School and tertiary education,

but also affirm wealth and high

societal standing of most house-

holds. The old Swazi adage:

“buhle bendvodza tinkhomo

tayo” loosely translated “the

beauty/wealth of a man is in the

number of cattle he owns”

stands true throughout rural

Swaziland.

THE SITUATION

Swaziland is currently faced

with a food shortage and

drought situation in the

Lowveld and part of the Mid-

dleveld of the kingdom of

1.1million. About 5.5% of the

population are hard-hit by this

calamity as the staple food is

the rain-fed maize crop. Accord-

ing to the VAC Report (June

the school," she said before

the auctioning of her three

cattle.

All three were sold at the auc-

tion for E9, 650 (US$742) col-

lectively. Prior to the drought,

the three cattle could have

easily fetched E18 000 (US$1

385), almost double what she

received today. Cows usually

cost E5, 500 (US$423) each, on

average, but the drought has

brought down the value to as

little as E2, 000 (US$154).

She sought solace in the little

gains from the auction which

also enabled her to register for

bales of hays through Govern-

ment Agricultural Extension

Workers. "I cannot say I am

happy, but under the circum-

stance I am grateful that at

least I will be able to buy

mealie meal and food for my

children and family, and possi-

bly save the rest of my cattle,”

she said. Mpaka is the nearest

Shopping Centre in the area,

about five kilometres away.

IMPACT

The community of Lubhuku is

arid and most of the rivers and

dams have all dried up. This

has affected both people and

livestock. According to

Lubombo Regional Animal

Inspector, Dumezweni Sime-

lane, in September 2015 alone,

over 360 cattle died in this

area, due to water and food

shortage.

David Mavuso, the Regional

Senior Inspector announced to

the farmers that government

has authorized the import of

hay bales from South Africa on

condition that a minimum of

60 farmers pay a stipulated

amount before release. Cur-

2015) a total of 2,593 cattle

with a cost estimate of E13

Million (+-US$1M) have died.

This has dire economic impli-

cations to families in the af-

fected areas that rely on live-

stock for livelihoods.

HAZARD MAP: (VAC 2015)

A situational analysis con-

ducted by World Vision Swa-

ziland reveals that a total of

10 World Vision Swaziland

Area Programs (APs) with an

estimated population of 8,729

in survival deficit, 2,524 of

which are Registered Chil-

dren, and a further 33,109 in

livelihood deficit, are affected

by the drought. Of the 10 APs,

5 fall in the Lubombo region 3

in the Shiselweni region, and

2 in the Hhohho and Manzini

regions respectively.

As previously projected

through the VAC, food re-

serves from the 2014/15 har-

vest would last for 5 months,

at most.

Worsening the situation will

be the forecasted El Nino in

December 2015/January

2016, which will see these

figures increase significantly,

rendering the people in liveli-

hood deficit in survival deficit.

The affected APs are

5

Change Growth Empowerment

5 ASICHUMANE

Madlangempisi, Mkhiweni, Shiselweni, Sithobela, Shewula, Mpolonjeni, Lubulini, Matsanjeni, Somntongo, and

Ngudzeni.

ARTICLE CONTRIBUTED BY: WORLD VISION SWAZILAND

Everyday cattle are dying in their numbers in the Somntongo Area Program. Those than remain have no grass to eat and severe water shortages

Farmers loading bales of hey for their cattle

Three cattle brought to the Auction by Ntombikayise a woman farmer from Lubhuku

A dried out river at Lubhuku

6

International Day of the Girl Child

“One in three girl children have experienced some form of violence by the time they are 18,” the UN Gender Theme Group’s Phumzile Dlamini said. This violence manifests itself in forms of sexual, physical, financial and emotional abuse. Compared to boys, girls are 10.2 percent susceptible to forms of violence, Dlamini said. Violence at home, school, church amongst other places is one of the worrying things that take away the safe space for young girls in the society and push them into a cor-ner where they are stereotyped and marginalised. The general wor-ry is that there is no longer a safe space to run to. In light of lack of such safety, the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Paul Dlamini said “it could be over-whelming to a young girl.” Adolescent girls cannot escape the realities of our societies today. They are included in high unem-ployment, experience climate change, and have a leading rate in the already high HIV prevalence rate. These create challenges for the younger generation. Girls are faced with challenges mostly when they enter into the second decade of their lives, in-cluding but not limited to accessing full secondary and higher educa-tion, avoiding child marriages, im-pacted with sexual comprehensive education and services related to puberty, access to reproductive health services, protecting them-selves against teenage pregnancies and gender-based violence. Speaking in Matsapha on October 14 during the commemoration of International Day of The Girl Child (IDGC); “The Power of the Adoles-cent Girl: Vision for 2030”, the PDM said the issue of violence against women was a reality.

It would seem, however, that pro-gress has been slow from policy-makers hence violence has taken its toll in the country. Economists say if girls stay longer in school than dropout earlier, as it has been in the norm in developing countries such as Swaziland, there should be a positive turn. Those in the birth-populations are likely to have 2.2 chil-dren per woman in their lifetime which is much better. One could afford to look after her children as the number is man-ageable and lower, even as a single parent. According to a national violence surveillance system, the country has slipped into a violence spree society. On an av-erage day, there are about 10 newspaper articles on gender-based violence and violence in general published. Most of these are reported cases which presents a worrying factor of how many remain con-

cealed forever. The DPM concurred that there is no longer ensured safe haven for young girls. However, it is with observation that this is especially true in the absence of strong violence prohib-itive laws. One of these has been the stalling

of the enactment of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence act.

Change Growth Empowerment

6 ASICHUMANE

Creating a safe heaven for young girls

7

The IDGC since inception in 2012 has given focus to the vulnerable girl child under annual themes. This year’s commemoration proved to be highly spirited as a number of girls from 18 national schools got the hotel experience, among many. Golden Girls They also got to be mentored and empowered by the “Golden Girls”, these being high-profile women who hold decision-making posi-tions. This included the women’s regi-ment leader, Bella Katamzi, the only Anglican female Bishop Wamukoya and Matsapha Munici-pality Chief Executive Officer, Gciniwe Fakudze. The DPM said government was committed to international under-takings such as IDGC which is a vision for a society that ensures a safe future for girls. This commitment, the DPM said, calling for action rather than words, has been demonstrated by

the children’s Parliament portfolio committee, his office and advocacy by the gender consortium towards the passing of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence bill. Though it has stalled for about five years without being enacted into law, it has since been debated in the House of Assembly by mid-year. Dlamini said if support is shown for girls during their turbulent adolescent year (10 to 19 according to the UN) where they begin to experience and experiment in sex and sexuality, they could be won and empowered to be to people of change, assuming re-

sponsible roles such as tomorrow’s workers and mothers as have been the “golden girls”. The same sentiments were shared by the UNICEF country representative, Rachel Odede, who said the time was opportune for the country to elimi-

nate all forms of violence and cre-ate a safe haven for girls. The country, like all other UN members, has adopted the Sus-tainable Development Goals (SDGs). Extended in the light of the ended Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were adopted in the year 2000, SDGs have another 15 year span. They are to end in 2030. Between now and 2030, there are good prospects for the adolescent girl. The IDGC campaign which was run by Swaziland government, UNFPA, UNICEF, Gender consortium under CANGO, Matsapha Municipality, Peace Corps and the USA Embassy had such strong advocacy for the girl child. There have been events such as a radio and TV programmes with accompanying adverts; newspaper articles; a press conference to launch IDGC on October 11 and sessions with media personnel to drive the message home. The messages communicated

were loud and clear;

“Envision the adoles-cent girl she is now;”

“Think how best to support her reach her full potential”;

“Think how best to help her address the chal-lenges she faces; and “Think how best to ensure that she is part of the glob-al SDGs agenda.”

“If born this year she will be 15 in 2030;”

“If she is 10, she will be 25 in 2030;”

“If 15 today she will be 30 years old in 2030;”

“Picture her – do you like what you see?”

Change Growth Empowerment

7 ASICHUMANE

8

Change Growth Empowerment

8 ASICHUMANE Be healthy living and change life style

November is a Diabe-

tes month and is celebrated world-wide. World Dia-

betes Day is the primary global awareness campaign

of the diabetes mellitus world and is held in Novem-

ber of each year. It was introduced in 1991 by the

International Diabetes Federation and the World

Health Organization in response to the alarming rise

of diabetes around the world. World Diabetes Day is

a campaign that features a new theme chosen by the

International Diabetes Federation each year to ad-

dress issues facing the global diabetes community.

Each year, World Diabetes Day is centred on a theme

related to diabetes and this year theme is “Healthy

living and change Life style”. This means protecting

people’s lives through Diabetes Education in eating

healthy and exercising.

World Diabetes Day became an official United Na-

tions Day in 2007 with the passage of United Nation

Resolution 61/225. The Champaign draws attention

to issues of paramount importance to the diabetes

world and keeps diabetes firmly in the public spot-

light. The World Diabetes Day logo is the blue circle -

the global symbol for diabetes which was developed as

part of the Unite for Diabetes awareness campaign.

The logo was adopted in 2007 to mark the passage of

the United Nations World Diabetes Day Resolution. The

significance of the blue circle symbol is overwhelmingly

positive. Across cultures, the circle symbolizes life and

health, that’s why Diabetes Swaziland is encouraging

people to wear a blue ribbon, to support people affect-

ed by diabetes until the end of November.

World Diabetes Day, on the 14th November every

year, has grown from humble beginnings to become a

globally-celebrated event to increase awareness about

diabetes.

Comprising hundreds of campaigns, activities, screen-

ings, lecture, meetings and more, World Diabetes Day

is proving internationally effective in spreading the

message about diabetes and raising awareness for the

condition.

World Diabetes Day 2014-2016: Healthy living

starts at breakfast

A healthy breakfast should help blood sugar levels

from getting too high and should keep you full through

the morning. Whilst cereal and toast may be cheap,

these options typically raise blood sugar levels rapidly

and may leave you hungry again before lunch.

9

If you drink fruit juice for breakfast, consider cutting the

juice out or having a smaller glass of it. For reference, a

150ml glass of unsweetened orange juice contains

around 15g of carbohydrate and 13g of sugar.

This will include healthy diet and importance of exercis-

ing. What is a healthy diet?

A healthy diet is a way of eating that that reduces risk

for complications such as heart disease and stroke.

Healthy eating includes eating a wide variety of foods

including:

vegetables

whole grains

fruits

non-fat dairy products

beans

lean meats

Poultry

fish

A meal plan helps you decide on the kinds of food you

can choose to eat at meals and snack times.

Create Your Plate

An easy way to plan your meals and keep your carbohy-

drate intake about the same at every meal. An esti-

mated 10% of people with type 1 diabetes also have

celiac disease.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that

can occur in genetically predisposed people

where the ingestion of gluten leads to damage in

the small intestine.

When people with celiac disease eat gluten (a

protein found in wheat, rye and barley), their

body mounts an immune response that attacks

the small intestine.

These attacks lead to damage on the villi, small fin-

gerlike projections that line the small intestine, that

promote nutrient absorption. When the villi get dam-

aged, nutrients cannot be absorbed properly into the

body.

Celiac disease is hereditary, meaning that it runs in

families.

Change Growth Empowerment

10

People with a first-degree relative with celiac dis-

ease (parent, child, sibling) have a 1 in 10 risk of

developing celiac disease.

Be active.

Set a goal to be more active most days of the week.

Start slow by taking 10 minute walks, 3 times a day.

Twice a week, work to increase your muscle

strength. Use stretch bands, do yoga, heavy

gardening (digging and planting with tools), or

try push-ups.

Stay at or get to a healthy weight by using your

meal plan and moving more.

Article supplied by Diabetes Swaziland

Tel: +268 2505 3487

Mobile: +268 7605 7846

dumsile@diabetesswaziland.org

www.diabetesswaziland.org

Diabetes Swaziland

P. O. Box 6820, Manzini, M200

Office 12, 1st Floor, Enguleni House, Mahleka House

Manzini, Swaziland

"louder than the silent killer"

Change Growth Empowerment

11

CANGO TAKES PART IN BRAVE THE BREAST 2015 CHALLENGE

Change Growth Empowerment

9 ASICHUMANE

12

This publication has been produced with the assistance of the EU, PEPFAR and USAID. The contents of this

publication are the sole responsibility of CANGO and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the EU,

PEPFAR and USAID.

Change Growth Empowerment

Co - Funded by Supported by: