Treasured Memories

It is often said that history repeats itself, and that we can learn from our past. There are some things in history worth repeating while others are better left in the annals of time. Swaziland is rich in antiquity, both happy and sad. To teach future generations, we must step back in time to a place that once saw life and vitality before hope was lost and an inevitable death slammed the door to the future.

The future Bulembu museum.

When the Havelock Mine was fully operational, the old cableway building was the epicenter of transportation of its most precious product. After Bulembu was deserted, it sat empty, collecting dust as the wind swept through, carrying with it whispers from memories past before there was nothing left save for a few relics.

Old hospital equipment and signboard.

But the cableway is coming back to life and will soon be a living, breathing entity once again, and a focal point in Bulembu. The cableway building is being turned into the Bulembu Museum and is scheduled to open within the next couple of months.

An autoclave that was used in the mining days to sterilize hospital theater equipment.

Once the old relics of the mining town have found their final resting place in the now retired cableway, guests, volunteers, tour teams and residents can step in and experience a bit of the precious and valued history that became the framework that has helped shape the town of Bulembu into what it is today.

Maps of the mine tunnels.

Bob, a museum curator from Swaziland is feverishly putting the finishing touches on this project. He says he will be taking advantage of the two stories of the building. The ground level will be the general history of Swaziland with geology describing “bushmen in general” and then “bushmen in Swaziland” before going on to black people coming into Southern Africa around 400 AD, the Ingunia people coming to Swaziland, then the white people coming to Swaziland, before finishing up about Bulembu specifically. There will also be information about the Boer war, colonialism, and the missionaries who came to Swaziland, moving from the 1920’s up to current time.

Clocks that were used to indicate shift times.

“We’ll keep the industrial look and feel of the cableway,” he explained. “We’ll also have a lot of old artifacts and photos around.”

The second level will be devoted entirely to Bulembu. It will explore everything about Bulembu’s history.

A large map of the mine.

Bulembu is on a mission to achieve self-sustainability. Its narrative, whether seen or heard, translates into the gamut of emotions, and achieving that mission requires the remembrance of the past as well as the emotion so the same mistakes are never repeated. The museum is sure to bring about an array of wonder, disgust, joy, pride, sadness, love, empathy, and much more to the human heart. It will also ensure the story of Bulembu will be told for generations to come so the whispers of the past never fade.

Old film projectors used back in the day.

By: Theresia Whitfield

The Art of the Creativity Centre

One of the ladies who works at the Creativity Centre.

Every day they come to the Centre to stitch pieces of fabric together, weaving designs onto cloths that are transformed into canvas of art. But the 10 women, five whom only work part time and come from surrounding homesteads, are stitching together so much more at the Bulembu Creativity Centre. They thread together pieces of their past, weaving them into their present, sewing them to the foundation of God’s Word, finding the ultimate creative process in themselves: healing, forgiveness and hope.

One of the beautiful advent calendars that are made by the ladies.

Jeanne Badenhorst, the Creativity Centre’s Senior Manager, began putting the Centre together with Leigh Puttkammer in August 2008. Starting with just three women, the Centre has grown in size and scope where numerous products are made and are available for purchase. Beautiful pillow covers, handbags, decorative art, and more are crafted together by the women of Bulembu. Many of them didn’t even know how to thread a needle when they first arrived at the Centre. It was up to Jeanne to give them the basic instructions. Now she has nine “masters” who help with newcomers, reducing the amount of training time, ultimately increasing output.

Jeanne with one of her favorite products.

Jeanne enjoys watching the ladies learn how to make aprons, cushion covers and broaches. She’s particularly fond of the love tree, which has hearts growing on it, and she’s constantly thinking of new and innovative items for the women to make.

“One new product I was thinking about is shopping bags,” she said. “Nice shopping bags because they’re a usable item. Have one for your bread, vegetables and so on and have a design of the bread on the bag.”

Embroidery hearts

Jeanne hopes the products will become available online and will have a larger distribution in Swaziland and South Africa but because they don’t have the capacity to supply shops with large orders, their focus is on what they can make for the guests who visit Bulembu. Many people who have visited Bulembu are often so impressed with the products they will return home and place orders for products to be delivered to the US, Germany, UK and South Africa. (To place an order and see items that are available, send an email to Jeanne@bulembu.org)

Jeanne also hopes to expand the Centre by adding The Striped Giraffe Café, which would be a deli-type of café for people to come from surrounding towns and cities to enjoy while spending the day in Bulembu.

While the items being produced at the Creativity Centre are important, and Jeanne certainly does want their crafts to stand alone in their uniqueness and quality, what is more important to her is the women who are part of the Creativity Centre.

Cute embroidery crafts made by the local ladies.

“I don’t want people to buy anything from this place because they feel sorry for us,,” she explained. “People must want the products. But I feel God’s vision though is to grow and train up the ladies of the Centre and invest in their lives for the next generation of embroiderers.”

Teach your children the ABCs with this great calendar.

These women, like so many of the citizens of Bulembu, come from broken homes and harsh, abusive backgrounds. The women at the Centre enjoy daily Bible studies and devotionals each morning and will often read the Bible throughout the day when they have a moment to themselves. One who has a particularly troubling history even sings while she works now, knowing she is in a safe place and that there is no need to fear. The Centre gives these women stability and fellowship, work and a craft, a Biblical and personal foundation as well as the chance to excel in art. What they make stitching, sewing, embroidering is not just something someone can buy. They are creating a new life, thread by thread, covering the past with crafts made of their own hands.

The ladies get together before work for devotions and prayer.

Team Building in a New Building

It may have taken a bit longer than they would have liked but the residents in Bulembu are finally starting to see the results of the newly built Hospitality and Training Conference center. The building, a year-and-a-half in the making, has already hosted a group of hospitality and training students who are now serving their internships at restaurants and hotels throughout Swaziland. And it just served 80 guests during its first conference.

The Swaziland Revenue Authority, SRA, brought 80 people to the HTC in Bulembu for some team building exercises. The conference was operated by Swazi Trails, a destination management and multi-discipline adventure company that offers team building, corporate events, white water rafting, adventure caving, quad trails, canopy tours, mountain biking, safaris, adventures for families and for businesses and so much more.

The participants took part in various activities designed to help build trust and productivity among co-workers. One such activity had them blindfolding each other and then having to navigate obstacle courses only by using directions given to them from their teammate. Another activity, which had a similar concept – minus the blindfold – involved being placed on quad-bikes and being asked to drive around the basketball court at Chinda (where the HTC building is located). No injuries were reported and the quad-bikes were returned without damage!

The SRA members were treated to lunch and dinner on Friday and breakfast and lunch on Saturday by the crew at the Bulembu Country Lodge staff, who worked very hard to accommodate all the guests needs. This was the first time the HTC venue was used in its fullest capacity.

It is expected that many more groups will be using the venue as more and more people are learning of its existence throughout Swaziland. The old, run-down building, which was too dilapidated to renovate, was used to teach children ballet. The HTC venue as it stands now was well worth the wait and is being advertised in newspapers around Swaziland.

Into the Wild

By: Theresia Whitfield

Photography: Gary Todoroff

If you live in Paris, it makes sense that you’d see the Eiffel Tower at least once in your life. If you live in London, Kensington Palace might be a place you’d visit. In Washington, DC, it would be the White House. Why wouldn’t you see something that’s indigenous to your home country, something for which your nation is known? It’s like living in Africa and never going on safari.

Hlane Game Reserve here we come!

The truth is, most of the children in Bulembu have never seen a wild animal, the type normally seen on safari. Swaziland has a number of fantastic game reserves, including Hlane, which is about 200 km’s away from Bulembu. The reserves are designed to protect the animals and allow them to live without threats to their existence from poachers.

Ready for some game viewing.

There aren’t many opportunities for the children in Bulembu to travel much less take in the sights on safari. One woman aims to change that. In fact, if Gisela Miessner has her way, she’ll spoil the children in Bulembu thoroughly with food and chocolates and books. The native from southern Germany works hard to raise money and has visited Bulembu numerous times over the last five years. Tante Gisela, as she is affectionately known, takes various students on a day trip to a game reserve every time she visits.

Rhino were one of the big 5 that were spotted.

This very special adventure for the students allows them to experience the animals in their natural habitat and is an educational opportunity, learning the importance of caring for the animals and about nature. The latest trip into the wild included a number of prefects on a day trip to Hlane in April.

The game rangers was looking out for lion as Gary was taking this shot!

The prefects, Gary Todoroff and Gisela Miessner.

A Spirit from the West

By: Theresia Whitfield

Perhaps it is the beginning of something spectacular for a few of the children from the Bulembu Christian Academy Choir. Perhaps they’ll become as famous as the man who recorded their voices to join his in song. Whatever comes of it, there is little doubt that John Mann will continue to leave an indelible mark in the world, and that he made a tremendous contribution in the lives of some of Bulembu’s children.

John with friend Dan.

John recently returned to Bulembu, his second trip, with his teenage daughter, Hattie, and some close friends, Dan and Kirsten. Their nearly week-long visit had them staying in the Bulembu Country Lodge, enjoying the pristine and peaceful scenery of the Swazi mountains and engaging in the lives of the littlest citizens at Bulembu Babies. They also spent some time visiting with residents of one of the villages outside Milanda and took part in an overnight safari at Mkhaya Game Reserve where they slept under the stars, enjoyed a game drive and feasted on proper African cuisine.

John performing for the children.

But no matter where he went, John Mann filled Swaziland with music. John is a founding member of the postmodern folk-rock band, Spirit of the West, which was inducted into the Western Canadian Music Associations Hall of Fame in 2008, and enjoys an eclectic and successful solo career as a singer, songwriter, actor and storyteller. John is known for writing beautiful melodies with emotionally honest lyrics. His passion for capturing intimate moments in life carried him to Bulembu and to the song he wrote that is about Bulembu.

Some of the children in the school choir who sang with John for his new song.

But the song would be incomplete without a few of the voices for whom the song was written. The children’s choir, led by Job Madembo, practiced and recorded their part in the Bulembu Christian Academy school library with John leading the way. The song will be appearing on an upcoming John Mann solo album.

Children listening intently to John playing.

The children reported having a great time, knowing they were recording a song for all the world to hear and joining John by becoming part of the rich tradition of being another voice for Bulembu.

A Forest and a Future

Imagine growing up in a close-knit community only to watch your town virtually disappear. The few citizens that remain are suffering for lack of the basics but more than that; they turn to crime to compensate for the lack of jobs. Now imagine watching that same town completely revitalized with new opportunities for business, education, health and hope.

Skumbuzo at the sawmill

Skumbuzo Dlamini has seen both of these scenarios come to life. He was born and raised in Bulembu amid the hay-day of what was a bustling town with a vibrant and active mine company providing for 10,000 residents. When the mine shut its doors in 2001, Skumbuzo watched as practically everyone he knew left to try to find a new life. But Skumbuzo and his family had nowhere to go. They stayed, watching Bulembu fall into disarray and become a ghost town.

One of the ladies at the sawmill preparing logs to be sawed

Today Skumbuzo is able to smile about life in Bulembu because it is a happy place once again. When Bulembu Ministries Swaziland arrived in 2006, Skumbuzo says he felt that God had answered his prayers. He began working in security, following in the footsteps of his father. (His mother and grandfather both worked in the mine.) Eventually, he ended up at Bulembu Sawmill, which has been operational since 2004.

Sawmill during the night shift

Neal Rijkenberg, who once owned the sawmill, turned it over to BMS in 2006 so that the Swazi people could run it exclusively for the benefit of the town and country. The primary function of the sawmill is to maintain profitability in order to financially assist the Child Care Program.  According to Kurt Puttkammer, the Forestry Manager in Bulembu, duties range from manually loading the conveyors with round logs, operating basic machinery to packing the final product into bundles. Forklift drivers, a maintenance team and Bell loggers are also employed at the sawmill.

Workers at sawmill

“The sawmill offers timber for sale to the surrounding community at very cheap prices,” said Kurt.

Skumbuzo has also seen a lot of change at the sawmill since he began working there. What started as a small group of people, there are now more than 120 people who work at the sawmill, including 16 who are employed at the charcoal plant. The newest addition to the sawmill is a wood chipper that is used to chip waste coming from the mill and is then sold to the sugar mills in Swaziland. And Skumbuzo has also become the General Manager.

One of the Bell loaders loading a truck

Skumbuzo and Kurt said that the sawmill is always looking for new markets and ideas that will make Bulembu Sawmill a more efficient operation. All Bulembu forests are forestry stewardship council certified, which allows for some export to Holland and Belgium. Those items being exported include the harder Eucalyptus species such as Paniculata and Cloeziana, which are rot resistant and often used in wet areas for walkways and outdoor furniture.

Skumbuzo, who is married and has two children, beams with joy when talking about what he feels is a tremendous future for his own family and that of his employees.

“Each morning before we begin work, we pray,” he said. “I tell them we need to respect our jobs. I tell them to work hard and as one team so that their children won’t have to suffer.”

Skumbuzo