Eswatini is known for being a peaceful country. That is the image we have chosen to give to the world. The truth, though, might be different. People experience all sorts of violence: physical, emotional, psychological, political, religious...
We have learnt to hide our suffering. It is bottled up. No matter what we go through. We won’t talk about it. We will keep on smiling.
It has become so intense that a number of people have committed
suicide and others are considering it as an option.
This seems to be the feeling of those who attended the second workshop on "trauma and counseling" held in our diocese during the month of October.
Our experience at Florence during the night vigil seems to confirm that. We always
allocate time for the sacrament of reconciliation (confessions) before Mass. Lately, we have also asked some priests to be available "to listen" for those who need to share what they are going through. The
experience of this year was overwhelming. Priests listened until 4H00
AM! It means, all night!
Risen from the dead, Jesus gave us his Holy Spirit which never stops working. The Spirit opens our eyes to the needs of our people and helps us identify ways to address them.
Good Shepherd Hospital was born in 1949 to address
the health needs in the Lubombo region. It is doing a great service. In 2024 the hospital will be celebrating 75 years of service!
This time we won’t be building an institution. We want to make sure the church is able to give a hand to those being affected in every part of the country. That is why we regularly train a team of men and women coming from each one of our parishes.
If you think about it, we are not asking the people to come to us but
we want to go to them. We plant this small seed hoping it will bring
healing to many.
