Benjamin's Swazi Story

Hey there! I'm Gnina Freedom Msitsini, a 41-year-old dad of three from Phophonyane, Eswatini. I've had quite the journey! From growing up in a small town to finding my passion in carpentry, my life's been a rollercoaster of ups and downs. After leaving high school, I found myself at a crossroads, bouncing between odd jobs and feeling stuck. But fate had other plans. Inspired by my father's craftsmanship, I dove into carpentry, starting with the basics like sanding and painting. It wasn't glamorous, but it lit a fire in me. Fast forward to today, and I've carved out a niche for myself under the shade of a tree, crafting everything from TV stands to benches. It wasn't easy. I hustled hard, saved every penny, and even worked as a security guard to fund my dream of owning a workshop. Now, I'm living that dream, working alongside Mr. Ginindza, honing my craft every day. It's not just about the work; it's about providing for my family and giving my kids the education I never had. I'm proof that vocational skills can pave the way to success, with or without a formal education. So, to all the young dreamers out there, don't shy away from your passions. Embrace them, because you never know where they might lead. As for me, my next goal? To snag that license and open my very own carpentry workshop.

The Story of 2023

I am Palesa Dlamini, a calm person who enjoys connecting with others and strives to succeed in everything I do. Born in Monini, a town in the Manzini region, I find joy in reading books and singing. Despite facing hardships, including the loss of one of my daughters, I have four children. My education took place at Bulembu and Nyanyali in Nhlangano, with attendance fluctuating due to home circumstances. Born with eyesight issues, obtaining glasses improved my ability to see, enabling me to return to school. Unfortunately, I couldn’t complete high school, stopping at form 2 due to difficulties getting a new pair of glasses. After moving to Bulembu, I secured a job in forestry, improving our circumstances. My eldest daughter resumed schooling. I encountered Jabulani Manda, a lead builder at Abide Well. Accepting a job offer there brought happiness. Initially unfamiliar with house building, I now enjoy concrete flooring and painting. The lifestyle shift from piece jobs to working at Abide Well is significant. Previously earning E200 ($12) weekly from house cleaning, I now earn much more and can afford my daughter’s school fees. My prayer is for God’s continued blessings on my family, and my dream is for my children to complete their education. 

“My name is Phumaphi Ruth Ndlangamandla. I was born on the 30th of July 1978. I have two children and they are both done with school. I was raised by my father and my grandmother, my mother left me when I was 6 months old. Growing up without my mother was very painful because I never got to feel the love from having a mother. I stayed with my grandmother most of the time. I went to Matsebula Primary and High School. I stopped going to high school in Form 3 because there was no more money to pay the school fees. I had to look for a job in Matsapha (a town in the center of Eswatini). Even though I got a job, I was getting paid less because I didn’t get to finish my education. When I was working in Maphatsa, that’s when I when I met Charles Dlamini, he proposed to me and I said ‘YES’. We have been together for 8 years now and we stay in Malanda together. Life in general is difficult at the moment for me and my family, and we are in a community which is also struggling. On Sundays I go to church at Christian Life International Bible Church (CLIBC), the senior pastor there is Pastor Enoch. I enjoy singing at church a lot even though I am not the best when it comes to singing (she laughs). One of my children is sick and unable to do anything for herself so I am the one responsible for taking care of her. At home I am the only one who puts bread on the table for the family and that really pains me sometimes. My husband Charles is not working but sometimes he just comes to Volunteer here at Abide Well. I really enjoy working at Abide Well and I have learned a lot of things working there. l learned how to paint, to float concrete, brick laying and cement plastering. In my spare time I have even started digging a foundation because I want to build a chicken coop. My dream is to keep egg layers just to sell and make extra money for my family. ”

“My name is Charles Mehluko Dlamini, I am 62 years old. I was born and raised in a family of 10. I am married and I have 6 children. Life was very hard when growing up. My mother was not stable, she only had money to send my older sisters to school. So l sold vegetables to raise money to be able to go to school. I stopped schooling when I was in Form 3. Even after selling vegetables, there was not enough money. So all the money my mother and I were raising had to go to my sister's school fees. I then suggested that I try to go and look for a job at the local mining company, Havelock Mine. I was lucky that the supervisors at the mine knew me from selling vegetables to them at their houses. I got the job and l was working as a Store-man for the whole Mine. When I was working at the Mine I met a man named Mr Smith. He encouraged me to go do a course for store-keeping and store-control. He used to give me money during the weekends to go to Mbabane to attend classes for the course. Some of the things that they were teaching us at school, I was already doing at work, so it made it easier to learn. I finished the course the same year and I got my diploma. It was a little difficult returning to the Mine after getting the diploma. When you come to work with a certificate, expectations are different. Some of the workers were not happy with me returning because they knew I would get a better position than them. Although some of the workers were hating, I continued going about my work and I chose to focus on the job. Then one day the manager started increasing my tasks and my pay. I did not take that opportunity for granted, I worked very hard so that the managers were very pleased. I continued working at the Mine until it was shut down. I was jobless for 6 months after the Mine was shut down. Fortunately another man came and took me to work in Matsapha. Life there was very hard, so hard that I only worked there for one year and I decided it’s better to stop. My sister was working as a nurse, we came together and discussed what I could do next. She helped me to buy a van and used it as a for-hire van. I used to park next to the hardware shops so that people could hire me to transport their materials. I did that for about 10 years then I had to come back to Bulembu. When I returned I was elected to be the chairman of the chief's council. I accepted the position. My role in the community sometimes can be very challenging. It’s so painful to be a leader of people that are in need of many things. Most of them don’t have strong houses, some don’t have money to buy food and some are not even working. That makes my current role difficult at times. Now my family is attending church at the Christian Life International Bible Church (CLIBC) lead by Pastor Enock. Going to church helps a lot. It's life changing, you start to look at life in a different way. I started knowing about Abide Well when Nathan came here with Pastor Enock to tell us his dream and vision he has for our community. We took him to Emkhawulweni to introduce him to the chiefdom and they gave him a warm welcome. That’s when I started knowing of Abide Well and I liked the vision he had for this community. Although I have nothing to give to show my appreciation for what he is doing for us as a community. I decided to volunteer and join the Abide Well workers when they are building a house or any of the projects they do. We had a water problem in the community and since it was already Abide Well's vision to improve water systems, he offered help. Another time we were having problems finishing the community bathrooms. Abide Well helped to finish the project. Abide Well is also helping the Edudusi Primary School by providing food for the children. The school children are going to school happily because they know they will get food at school. At home they might not get food so attendance has improved. I would like to thank the supporters of Abide Well for everything they have done for the entire community of Malanda ”

I met my wife Tia in our first week of College. If that were the story you came here to read, I would no doubt succeed in convincing you that opposites do indeed attract . By the end of our University days we took our personality types as part of our marriage counseling. The test results say we are “double opposites, as it were—a people person versus a loner, a feeling type with a thinking type”. She expresses her “feels” and loves to love everyone she comes in contact with. I am perfectly content figuring out life independently, and if I absolutely have to “extrovert” with others at a party, I would prefer some time (a year) to recover. Beyond that we come from very different families of origin. But ultimately there was something about her nurse’s heart for hurting individuals and my discontent with unjust worldly systems that pulled us from our roots in the Pacific Northwest to the small nation of eSwatini in Southern Africa. Our love story isn’t the point here, but if you haven’t figured it out yet, we really like telling stories. Stories are what we use to communicate that Swazis are people, they aren’t HIV statistics. These are people to be partnered with, not beggars in need of saving. During our years in eSwa tini I can’t count how many times we were face-to-face with extreme need. My inclination was to solve the problem from a macro point of view, logically thinking through what kind of massive economic and political shifts would need to take place to bring an entire nation out of poverty. There was a passion in me that I had not known was there. So I did whatever I could do to “solve” this injustice. I read books. I spent sleepless nights thinking up development models. I eventually taught myself the language, a very difficult language to learn because it is so obscure that there are very few resources available to do so. There are consonant clicks, several noun classes, “K”s sound like “G”s when read out loud, and don’t even get me started on sentences that are in the past-tense. I did all this because I was desperate for change. I saw a nation that needed transformation. I knew facts, I knew statistics, and I knew the language better than Tia, but she was a natural listener. I would translate the words, but she could translate their hearts. “Sawubona” is a typical siSwati greeting, it is how you say “hello” in eSwatini. Translated literally it is an entire sentence meaning “I am seeing you”. Isn’t that a beautiful greeting? As a team Tia and I learned how to see together in those first three years living in eSwatini. Our home became a magnet for all kinds of people, but mostly for Swazi individuals coming from nearby rural communities. They would tell us about their lives and their families and their needs. We had great conversations, put on action movies for teens, and set up the small above ground pool for the kids. We would play with the babies and only give them back when we absolutely had to. By year two there was a knock at the door every single night. It became overwhelming at times. Tia was pregnant and gave birth to our first of three sons, Jack, in this season. She may have needed some more space. She was ready to kill me if I invited another person over, but she was the one who taught me how to do this extrovert thing, ya know? We came to understand what a gentle knock on our front door meant. With each knock came a story. With each story came a relationship. This was the seed God planted that would later turn into our ministry. It was a season I will forever look back on with admiration. James’ claim that pure and undefiled religion is to visit orphans and widows (James 1:27) came to life right in front of us, in our home. Eventually these relationships led me to knock on a few doors myself. I walked to the village of Malanda, eSwatini and knocked on the door of a church. Pastor Enock opened the door, I said “Sawubona”, and I meant “I am seeing you” and not “hello”. I introduced myself and he happened to be fundraising to build a home for an elderly widow who’s mud and stick home was rapidly declining in the seasonal monsoons. With help from family and friends we were able to put the funds together for Gogo Joyce’s home. Through this experience I was forever connected to this community. I was introduced to Jabulani Manda and Mandla Shongwe, our lead builders. I was introduced to the “inner council” of the village and to the chief of the area. I was given their blessing to continue working into the future. I didn’t know it at the time but this was the start of what is now “Abide Well”. That name, “Abide Well” also has roots in Swazi culture. The words we use in siSwati to say “goodbye” are literally translated as the command to “stay well” to the one remaining and “go well” to the person who is leaving. We see the command to abide over and over again in scripture. Jesus commanded us to Abide in Him. To “abide” well means many things. In our work of developing Swazi communities we seek to copy the blueprint laid out in Isaiah 32:18 “My people will abide in peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places”. For information about why we do what we do and our biblical convictions for this, you can read more about our vision below this article. Eventually our ministry evolved from building projects like the one we did for Gogo Joyce to other programs like school sponsorships and feeding programs. There is an African Proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” I found out there is great wisdom in doing this together. We want all Swazis to be seen and to be heard. You may be half-a-world away from Africa, you don’t know the language and you didn’t know you could do anything about this. Someone is knocking at the door, someone is ready for you to see them through a gentle yet convincing “Sawubona”. That someone may be living on less than $2/day, they may have lost their parents to HIV, or they may just need a meal. That isn’t the point, that isn’t their whole story, or at least it doesn’t have to be. We would like to invite you to say “Abide Well” and change their story forever. Give a recurring donation of $50/month by clicking here and receive monthly stories of individuals affected by your donation. For questions please reach out to us at Nathan@abidewell.org or (928) 308-7316 (also available for WhatsApp).

"I am 19 years old. I was born and raised in Malanda village, Eswatini. I stay in Malanda with my parents and my 5 siblings. I am the 5th born child. I went to Bulembu Christian Primary School. I usually played soccer at school although it was not my favorite sport. When it was time to train for soccer l used to run away and go play volleyball because I enjoyed playing it more than soccer. I did my grade 1 to grade 7 however I didn’t proceed to high school because my parents could not afford to pay the school fees. In 2021, l saw someone doing electrical house wiring and I was also interested in what he was doing. Lucky enough I then got an opportunity to go and learn electrical house wiring. I went to that school and now I got the certificate. I tried looking for a job but they said that I can’t get the job because I’m too young. I don’t think it’s all about the age to be able to work, but I think it’s all about your mind and the excitement to do it. When they turned me down I then come back to bulembu and went to work at the local Forestry company for 3 months. Then God finally answered my prayers of getting a better job. Now I am working for Abide Well, making blocks that will be used to build houses for those in need. I make the bricks with my older brother. Making these bricks is not easy work. What makes me to continue working is that l told myself that there is no easy work in life. Sometimes you can think that the job is easy from a distance but then when you do it that’s when you realize it’s actually hard. Thats why l push very hard here because there is no work that is so easy. I see myself owning my own welding workshop one day. My father bought me a welding machine and then I learned with my own machine. Now I can do some projects or anything that you want welded, I even welded some gates."

"My name is Mandla Shongwe. Mandla means 'Strength' in English. I usually say that my name is not for lazy people. I am 49 years old and I stay with my wife (39), my son Siyabonga (18), my daughter Hlengiwe(16) and son Mayibongwe(1). I like having a baby because I love kids. She is a lot of work because he is so active This is a God-fearing family and we do farming and building. And we like jokes. My favorite joke is when I am hungry I call lunch ‘happy hour’. I shout it to everyone, ‘HAPPY HOUR!’! I walk 2 hours from my homestead to work every morning, and 2 hours back every evening. Every morning when I go to work I feel excited because of the marvelous team I am working with. I don’t regret it at all. I motivate myself every morning telling myself I need to get to the jobsite - I need to get there because I want to see these needy people living in good houses. I find working for Abide Well to be a very good job. I like to give a hand to needy people. It is a great job. It is helping the needy people feel comfortable in their houses. When I am walking and see them in their house I am happy that I put a hand there. Some people - their houses are leaking and not good for staying in. But this job, it allows them to be at home. The houses we are building are very, very strong. And the blocks we are using are very strong. Strong like a stone. Even if you throw them down they won't break."

I went to Eduduzi Primary School. I stopped going to school in grade 7 because there was no money for School fees. I couldn’t go to school anymore so I looked for a job. I started working at Ngonini (A village in the Hhohho region) in 1994. I worked there for 4 years before coming back home to Bulembu. When I came back home, I started working at the Havelock asbestos mine until it closed in 1999. Life after the mine closed was very difficult for our community. Thats why there are a lot of stick and mud houses. No one would enjoy sleeping in a stick and mud house if they had money.  I sat at home without work for a long time. I then decided to start keeping bees and farming vegetables (spinach and lettuce). To make the bee hives, I went to ask for some wood planks from a local Sawmill company that was close by. I made 10 bee hive boxes. I was able to find a market to sell the honey in Manzini. Bee keeping and farming have helped me to be able to support my family. Although sometimes there are some challenges with my old car because of the bad road.

"My name is Mbongiseni Nxumalo. I’m from Bulandzeni area, northern Hhohho region. In general I am a hard worker, I like learning new things, I’m an interesting character who likes joking around. I am a child of God who likes worshiping, especially in church. I like singing gospel music. If there is one thing I’m not- I’m not a failure. I believe and trust in God. There’s a lot I’ve been through and by God’s grace he’s given me the strength to keep going. Sometimes I wonder where I’d be without that. We're 8 (siblings) from my mother. And I'm number 2. We lost our parents, I think I was around 15 years old, but I thank God that I managed to look after myself as well as assisting my brothers and sisters where needed. I came to Bulembu in 2015. I worked in different departments here in Bulembu. In 2020 I worked in Bulembu gardens. I was a leader where we farm using God's farming which is farming without the use of fertilizer. There's one thing I will never forget my Pastor say, ’All those who want jobs, they get them, and once you get it, let that job be a ladder to your success’. And even the word of God emphasizes ‘Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will succeed’. (Proverbs 16:3) In 2019 I got an opportunity to study teaching in an Eswatini college. I was studying part time as I was still working to support my college tuition. Around 2020, I met Nate and his family. We discussed about my studies, that was when he gave me an opportunity to use his Wi-Fi as it wasn't easy to deal with fees and data respectively. It's really made my studying a little bit easy. I completed at college in 2022. I graduated and received my primary teachers (elementary school) Diploma in the Math and Science department. I am looking forward to furthering my studies in education. I like the idea of upgrading myself such that I can qualify to be a teacher in high school. If that isn’t possible, I'll just go for a degree which comes with more opportunities. On the weekends and evenings I’m employed at Abide well, doing the job of collection of receipts, filling them and combining them - it is sort of record keeping. I’m still employed by Bulembu as an assistant teacher at primary school. The greatest part here is that there are things I was unable to do before but now with multiple jobs I make enough income to explore the opportunity of furthering my studies."

“Even though the road wasn’t easy, we kept on pushing.” “My name is Sibongile Mavimbela, l’m 35 years old. I have 4 kids, 2 boys and 2 girls. l used to see my mother working hard for us to make a living and also for us to be able to school. That made me to the strong woman that I am to today. My mother used to wake at 3:00 am in the morning to pack her vegetables and go to the market to sell them so that she can pay for our school fees. She did that because my father was not around. He had 5 wives and my mother was the last wife. So it was very hard to live, we had to eat beans and Okra every day.” “I was in grade 4 when money ran out for school. My mother told us that ‘We must pray, God will answer our prayers and we will go to school the following year.’ We were young but we prayed and I saw God answering our prayers. A person came to us and they said they will pay our school fees the following year. When we went back to school the Head Teacher (Principal) had a good heart, she told us that she will put us on a scholarship. My faith is strong today, because I have seen our prayers get answered. l finished school.“ “I opened my own daycare here at Bulembu village, so that I can take care of the kids while their parents are at work. I started with 5 kids but now I am looking after 12 kids. I enjoy playing, talking and hearing the kids stories that they tell me but in general l just like being around them. The daycare also motivates me to wake up every morning to put food on the table for my family. My husband is no longer working, he sometimes gets piece jobs, but sometimes those pieces are not there. I make up to 1500 emalangeni ($80) per month running the preschool. This doesn’t include the expenses though.”  “Someone approached Abide Well for me and asked their team to help us. We are very happy now, because Abide Well provides rice and chicken for the children. They bought a cooking pot for us and that makes life easier for us at the preschool. The parents are very happy and thankful for this help. The kids are so happy because even if they didn’t not get meat at home, they will get it here are school. We are praying so much that the Lord blesses Abide Well a lot.”