Swazi Diaspora Lends a Helping Hand

One of the key pillars of the Swazi Diaspora is to take action or reach out to those in need and those with whom we can work with to build a better Swaziland.  Whilst charity is good, it is better to empower people so they can help themselves and others tomorrow; like the saying goes "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."  The Swazi Diaspora would like to be involved in projects that do just this.


On Saturday 19th November 2011, a crew from the SDP travelled to Swaziland to join the Swaziland Young Women's Network at an event in Manzini(SYWON).  This NGO established and headed by young women for young women has an incredible energy and commitment towards addressing social issues that young women have to deal with on a daily basis in Swaziland.  One such campaign by SYWON is the Sanitary Pads Campaign, which aims to raise funds to purchase pads for young women at schools.  With increased poverty and child-headed homes in Swaziland many young women can't afford basic necessities such as sanitary pads, and often miss days of school due to not affording pads.  This impacts negatively on their school performance and dignity in general, some miss over a month's worth of school in a year!


The Swazi Diaspora embarked on an awareness and fundraising campaign amongst Swazis and other interested individuals living in South Africa to raise funds.  A total of R5,000.00 was raised and used to purchase sanitary pads that were handed over to SYWON who will distribute to affected girls around Swaziland.  Contributions from as little as R20.00 were encouraged and it's indicative of how a little can add up for huge impact.  The SDP is hoping to partner in more sustainable projects and welcomes ideas on how to improve the lives of rural Swazis.