Nsoko

Nsoko is a region of Swaziland located in the Southeastern portion of the country. There is a stark contrast between Nsoko and the other areas we visited. Simply put, Nsoko is more rugged, less developed, and even more impoverished.

I stumbled across this post from Scott Borg's blog the other day and immediately recognized the story, as Scott had shared it during our visit to the Mahangeni carepoint in Nsoko. Here is an excerpt from Scott's blog:

Last week we were leading a team of people at AIM's ministry center in Nsoko �" one of the most impoverished areas of Swaziland. One thing we did was begin building a small storage building at one of the care points called Mahangeni. They had only a stick building with no door which provided no security to store things like food, water, and firewood.

The morning we started building our little project there were two members of the community council who wanted to offer their thanks for our contribution to developing their community. Now this seemed a little over the top to me since what we were building was little more than a shed for your back yard. Hardly worth the attention of two community officials!

After beginning the building, one of the officials, a man named Sabelo, needed a ride with me back to the main ministry center. Sabelo is the development officer for the local chief in the area. As we pulled away from the care point he began telling me how much it meant to his community for someone to come and contribute. I was touched.

Then pretty soon he asked if our organization offered cash donations. I was kind of expecting some kind of ask, but he was so friendly and unassuming I took his request as an honest desire for support in his role as a community development officer. I explained we did not do cash donations but rather focused on providing food to needy children at the care points as well as building projects such as the one we began that morning.

He understood and we went on in silence for a while until I couldn't resist and asked what they needed cash donations for. Since the man asking was the community development officer, I thought it would be for some type of community development. His answer surprised me. He simply said, "We need coffins." I was taken back and humbled by his request. After a simple probing question he explained.

"Our people are dying and we have no money for coffins. Usually people are wrapped in a blanket and set into the ground. The families are able to pay for simple funeral catering (the funerals are at their homes and the dead are buried there as well) but coffins are expensive."

"How much is a coffin?"

"Usually around $150."

I was humbled by this conversation. I was broken talking to a man in charge of developing a community whose main challenge was burying the dead.

This carepoint is currently unsponsored, and as you've read is in an area of great need.

Check out the video below of a beautiful girl at the Nsoko Center.



Despite the difficulties of life in Nsoko, Pastor Gift and the revolving AIM mission groups at the Nsoko Center are a light in the dark to the region.