admin on 25 Mar 2008
Swaziland
I began my work with Swaziland over a year ago. Conceptually, it started as a thesis project in which I would research the social implications of AIDS on the country’s burgeoning orphan population. Although the research project never gained the momentum to fully materialize, it evolved into a much deeper involvement, including the design and management of a number of internships in conjunction with a grassroots team in Manzini, Swaziland. The internship projects will primarily relate to working with AIDS victims and orphaned children. Swaziland is a small mountain Kingdom in Southern Africa with a population of about one million people. Of this population, 65% are below the age of 21, and within this age group the number of abandoned and orphaned children is increasing due to social and economic pressures exaggerated by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Medical professionals report that four in every 10 individuals (40%) in the nation are infected with the virus—the highest known rate of HIV/AIDS infection in the world. Presently, 10% of the entire population is orphaned, and approximately an additional 8,000 children are orphaned per month. The number of orphaned children recorded in 2003 was 140,000 and the Government has yet to devise a plan or strategy in order to care for these children. Every country in Africa has its own special appeal and Swaziland is no exception. The balance of traditional and modern social constructs makes Swaziland unique. Swaziland has maintained its ancient customs and culture and has weaved them into the fabric of every-day 20th century life. From the ritual smearing of the bride with red ochre in the traditional marriage ceremony to the mystical rite of kingship, each ritual is deeply significant and is performed only at the appropriate time and place. These centuries-old ceremonies are as valid today as they were in days of the first king of Swaziland and this balance of ancient and modern, traditional and western gives Swaziland and her people their distinctive character. Autonomy for Swaziland was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted in 1968. The British worked with the King of Swaziland to develop a constitution upon independence. However, the King later suspended the constitution claiming it did not represent the culture of the Swazi people. Later he redrafted a new constitution that gave full power to the King and created an absolute monarchy. In the late 1990s student and labor unrest pressured the monarchy to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy.THE FACTS
THE CULTURE
HISTORY
GENERAL STATISTICS