Beginnings in Swaziland
It is now approximately three months since I have been attempting to write this letter.
It is good to be home. I find it a very enjoyable experience to be close to my family and close to the people I love. Swaziland is still just as beautiful. Some of my favorite moments are taking walks early in the mornings or after dark when the moon and the stars grace the sky. It can be so peaceful; the crickets and the insects provide all the necessary music and are a constant reminder that there are life forms out there. This of course I can only do out in the country where there is not much evidence of colonialism. There is no electricity, and the cars are far and few in between. There are advantages and disadvantages as I am sure you will appreciate.
All is okay on this front. I am alive and well. RC is coming along. There are possibilities. Perhaps I should tell you about my job since it makes my schedule a bit difficult to manage.
I got this job with the local railway company. They plan to train me so that I would assume a management position with the firm. Over half the employees are directly under the engineering department, which presumably at some future date will be under my leadership. The company employs roughly 750 people.
This training is a thing that is not really determined yet, so it is hard to say how much time I will be spending in Swaziland over the next two and half years. And that will affect my community building somewhat. I will be in and out on a regular basis I think. I was supposed to leave for India next week (November 24); that trip doesn't look like it will happen.
There are several great developments worth noting. It is looking more and more like I will be here for Christmas. The last Christmas I celebrated with my family was the Christmas of 1984. Another development is that my employer will be giving me a nice great house next month. It will be the first time I will actually be occupying a house on my own and making all the rules. I look forward to it. It has more than enough space for all my RC activities.
The other development some of you have been dying to hear about is of course the success of the RC wave that just hit Swaziland. First things first, I received the library (three boxes), I'm not sure how many were sent, but it looks complete. I got my October Present Time; like always it was a thrill to read the articles, and I have since passed it to one of the RC hopefuls.
Charlotte Lowrey was here for the month of October, and the earth moved. Some of you will say the earth always moves, but I'd like to suggest to you that it's just not the same. I do wish to thank you, Charlotte, and the Foundation, on behalf of all of us here in Swaziland, especially those of us whose lives you touched and touched them like only a Charlotte would. We say in my language "Kwandza kwaliwa batsakatsi." Perhaps someday when the world is flat and the flowers are blooming and frogs are doing a power dance I will tell you what a wonderful phrase that is.
During the month of October, Charlotte did an introductory lecture from which a series of five classes developed. They were Monday through Thursday (two on Thursdays). They met once a week and a few people got together on Sundays to do counseling with Charlotte. The last weekend Charlotte was here we did a two-day workshop, which Melphy from Zimbabwe and two gentlemen from Durban attended. It was a wonderful workshop. I especially enjoyed meeting Melphy, I look forward to working with her as RC develops in Swaziland and also in the Southern African region.
Four of the classes that met while Charlotte was here are still getting together for counseling and sharing information at least once a week. The groups are led by the people that showed a lot of enthusiasm for RC and are actually quite good leaders and excellent counselors. Charlotte is arranging to see if we can get them more counseling or get them to a workshop, I think. It is worth the cost.
Continue writing. It helps me feel not so isolated or feel the world is more than I can handle.
Bafana Matsebula
Mankayane, Swaziland