Missionary Trip to SWAZILAND—Reported by Emil Hagamu, September 2009

My visit to Swaziland in September 2009 was a follow-up of my first two visits to this small Kingdom.  My first visit was in February 2008, when I gave talks to various groups in Manzini and Mbabane. The aim at that time was to lay the foundation for a future pro-life movement. A pro-life presence is definitely needed in Swaziland because of the encroaching culture of death.  There are many population control groups working in the country, trying to convince the people that condoms are the answer.  This is why a new pro-life group is needed—to fight against the misinformation spread by anti-life organizations.

In my second visit, which took place in February 2009, Fr. Euteneuer and I gave additional talks and made plans for a future pro-life training course designed to start an effective pro-life organization—Pro-Life Swaziland. A draft constitution was presented and discussed with a group of six founding members.  The organization of the envisaged pro-life training rested in the hands of Mr. Velaphi Mamba, the Youth Programs Officer of the Council of Churches of Swaziland, and Fr. Larry McDonnell, a priest from the Salesian House in Manzini.

Preparing the Future of Pro-Life Swaziland

Mr. Velaphi Mamba and I managed to arrange the training, which finally took place with HLI sponsorship. As Fr. Euteneuer could not personally participate, he sent Dr. Brian Clowes, HLI’s research manager, to join me in the training that was conducted at a hotel overlooking Mbabane, the capital city of Swaziland. A total of 19, mostly young people, participated. These participants represented different churches in Swaziland, signifying an ecumenical dimension of the pro-life ministry. There were also three pastors, a Roman Catholic priest from the Mater Dolorosa Mission in Mbabane, an Anglican priest, and a pastor of an independent church.

During the training, each participant wrote out their action plan, outlining the major areas where they would work on advancing the culture of life. These plans encompass a year of work, and among the topics were:

ü Showing abortion videos to students in schools, colleges and universities

ü Educating on the problems and consequences to youth of using condoms and all other contraceptives

ü Explaining the Maputo Protocol and its implications to the people of Swaziland

ü Explaining the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Swaziland and the need for the Abstinence and Faithfulness (fidelity) approaches for its control, even in sero-discordant couples (when one person is HIV positive and the other is HIV negative)

ü Conducting workshop on legislative issues

They will run these programs by:

ü Taking advantage of social gatherings

ü Approaching church leaders and traditional elders in their societies

ü Reaching out to the youth in churches and neighborhoods

ü Using grassroots campaigning and education

ü Working with schools, colleges and universities

ü Conducting workshops for members of parliament

They will get funding for these programs by:

ü Asking church leaders for financial assistance

ü Approaching SWAGAA (Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse – a non-governmental organization) for financial assistance

ü Requesting office space in the Council of Churches building

ü Utilizing other fundraising approaches

Mary Da Silva, one the most active members, and possible leader, of the movement in Swaziland offered to integrate each individual action plan into one national program. This national action program will be coordinated from the Council of Churches under the direction of Mr. Velaphi Mamba. An office at the Council of Churches will be allocated to the Executive Director, who will be appointed at a future date, and all pro-life programs will operate from it.

At the end of the training program, participants were given copies of the proposed constitution and were asked to read it and give their input. Fortunately, they all accepted the proposed constitution and adopted it.

A Pro-Life Swaziland

The constitution for this new pro-life group in Swaziland stresses that “its sole purpose is the protection of human life, marriage and family.”  The group will focus on educating the youth, since that is where the future lies, and working within the already pro-life Swazi culture. It will aim to “defend and protect [the sanctity of] human life from the moment of conception or fertilization until natural death” and will also defend traditional marriage. It will teach alternatives to contraception—Natural Family Planning for the spacing of children and chastity and abstinence as the effective way to slow and stop the HIV/AIDS epidemic.  The group will work to provide counseling and material services to the elderly, the sick and orphans.  It will educate people on the dangers of abortion, fight attempts to legalize abortion in Swaziland and take legal action against those who perform abortions (since they will be breaking the law). 

In sum, Pro-Life Swaziland is an ecumenical group consisting of individuals who agree on traditional Christian morality.  It will go out into the country actively educating and demonstrating in order to fulfill its mission.

Immediate Impact

The training thus far has had a huge impact on the trainees. They were at first skeptical, entrenched in the anti-life mentality surrounding them through the many population control groups working in Swaziland.  All of these groups advocate the need to reduce Swaziland’s population through condoms, contraception and abortion.  (No wonder every time I visit Swaziland, I read a story about abortion in the newspapers!)  This training, though, has transformed the trainees into pro-life activists. At the end of the program, every participant appreciated it and admitted that the training changed them. To that effect, two of the participants, who are first year sociology students at the University of Swaziland, immediately took the knowledge gained during the training to their classroom and shared it with their professor and peers. The students reported that their professor and peers were surprised at the new information and are now waiting to receive a full package of pro-life material. They are looking forward to watching the videos on abortion.  One of the students expressed to me that it was a miracle: a new horizon for the pro-life movement has started to emerge at the university! Other participants I met in town in the two days I stayed after the training were jubilant at the training and reported that work has already started.

Thanks to Pro-Life Swaziland, there will be a new presence promoting the Gospel of Life in that country.  No longer will the people be left defenseless among the ravages of the encroaching culture of death.  With the grace of Almighty God, these brave pro-lifers will be strengthened in the knowledge that they are speaking Truth and spreading that Truth to the world

.I would like to convey my heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Velaphi Mamba for his tireless efforts in preparing the logistics of the training and to Madam Khangezile Dlamini, Secretary General of the Council of Churches, for the support she offered during the preparation period, as well as everyone else who participated in the planning and implementation of this training.  I thank HLI President, Fr. Euteneuer, for sending Dr. Brian Clowes for the training. He did his job with the intensity that was expected. Dr. Clowes and I provided the expertise that enabled participants to learn and grow, and, in the end, a pro-life minded group was formed and ready to permeate its society with new strength and knowledge. Finally, I extend my thanks to HLI for its financial support of this training, without which it would not have taken place.