The Kingdom of Swaziland

The Kingdom of Swaziland
Dreams Fulfilled

Why am I in Swaziland?

HIV is a global pandemic and claimed the lives of millions of people all over the world. One of my hopes is that there will be a cure for HIV during or after my lifetime. Not only do I believe in physical healing of HIV, but I also believe in spiritual healing by faith in God. God has called me to act on this issue and my work here in Swaziland is being done to bring Him glory. By the grace of God, I was accepted into the Minority Health International Research Training (MHIRT) program offered by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health. Due to my passion for HIV research and prevention, I was selected to conduct research on the barriers to antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation among HIV-positive children 2 to 18 months of age in Swaziland. With the relatively high rate of HIV among pregnant women and the relatively low rate of children initiated on ART in comparison to adults in Swaziland, this a major public health concern within the country.

What am I doing?

Just to get an idea of what I will be blogging about, I will be implementing a research project on the barriers to antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation among HIV-positive children 2-18 months of age in Swaziland. I will be carrying out the study at several different health facilities in Swaziland with my research partner and fellow MHIRT trainee, Chantal Harris, who also attends the University of Florida. Our main job is to carry out the study by following the research protocol with the assistance of data clerks, the primary investigators, public health stakeholders, and doctors associated with the project and ART initiation among children. The research project is also funded by UNICEF, which allowed us to hire data clerks to assist with data extraction, survey administration, and the facilitation of focus groups for the study.

Who do I work with?

My fellow MHIRT trainee, Chantal Harris, will be working on the research project with me all summer. She also will be living with me in Dr. Peter Preko's guest house in Mbabane, Swaziland. Dr. Preko is our host and mentor as well as one of the primary investigators of the research study. Dr. Pauline Jolly is also a primary investigator for this research project and also the director of the MHIRT program at UAB. Mrs. Nobuhle Mthethwa is another one of the primary investigators and is the National Paediatric ART Officer of the Swaziland National AIDS Program (SNAP) of the Ministry Of Health (MoH). We have four data clerks helping us to carry out the study, which are two Swazi women, Nelisiwe (Neli for short) and Nozipho, and two Swazi men, Ndumiso and Sibusiso. Two other fellow MHIRT trainees, Jessica and ShaCoria, are also here in Swaziland for 12 weeks, but they are implementing a different project (association between HIV status and cervical cancer among women) and live with a host family in Manzini, Swaziland. The UNICEF budget for the research budget also rendered us the opportunity to hire two drivers from Affordable Car Hire (Smangaliso and Sipho) to take us from clinic to clinic.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Day 49: Blessings Abound


My custom-made African outfit is finished! It took about a month for the Ghanaian dressmaker to finish it. It costs 250 Rand for the blazer and 200 for the skirt, so 450 Rand or E450 (E stands for Emalangeni - Swazi currency), or nearly 45 US dollars
Took a picture of this so that I can get some other ideas of outfits to make
Highlight of my day

I checked my email today and discovered that I was awarded the highly competitive National Institutes of Health (NIH) Undergraduate Scholarship! This is truly a blessing and God deserves all the glory! As I mentioned in my Instagram post: "I'm humbled by this recent award because this is truly for God's glory and not my own. As I reflect on all the trials and havoc I went through last year, I realized just how far I've made it! Through faith, God turns every bad situation into good. This is His will for every believer. God truly works together for the good of those who love Him and who have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). God revealed his grace and love for me in so many ways and not just through these academic accolades. God gifted me with resilience and a heart to serve the HIV community, which is reflected through this scholarship. I've grown into a stronger woman of God with a better sense of purpose, worth, and identity in Christ. Truly overwhelmed by this overflow of blessings. Excited to be working for the NIH next year to further pursue my passion in HIV research."
 Today, I also decided to do outreach with Lighthouse Chapel International Church. Francis picked me up and took me to the church where we met to evangelize. I haven't evangelized in about three years! It was a good experience evangelizing and sharing the gospel to Swazis. It encourages me to renew my faith and share my testimony and faith with others. I talked to Mama Teresa about my outreach experience the last week of July which helped me realize that I have been evangelizing and didn't even know it! The simple sharing of my faith on this blog is a form of evangelism. The many people I've shared my testimonies could lead others to Christ. I just have to remember that by sharing my faith, I act as a vessel to lead people to Christ, although it is ultimately God who saves them and the personal relationship that every individual decided to have with God. God's gift is for everyone who chooses to receive it! It's not by any works that saves us, but by the grave of God, we have salvation (Ephesians 2:9). Although I didn't do any soul winning, I'm glad I had at least was able to share God's goodness to the few people I did reach out to. Exercising my faith is an important part of my faith and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to do that while in Swaziland and live out God's plan for my life. Francis has been really encouraging in my spiritual walk and I'm glad I met him! He's a great young man who loves the Lord and uplifts me whenever he can.

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