Member Bio
Independent missionary with Kudvumisa Foundation (a not for profit registered both in Swaziland and in the US). Our work here covers two main areas:
First, focused in Vuvulane/Maphiveni in the Lubombo Region, the Foundation’s outreach provides access to health care to an impoverished and marginalized population where HIV prevalence is much higher than the official country statistics. The program called CHIPS for Children’s HIV Intervention Programme in Swaziland provides HIV testing and counseling services for children and their caregivers but fills the huge gap between testing and access to care. The country wide mantra for decades now has been test test test and test. But without providing actual access or the means to access health care, testing for the most part is meaningless and has done nothing except to promote stigmatization in the impoverished and remote rural areas. I realize that is a harsh assessment contrary to traditional or vested interests but is based on our years working in this area.
Second, with projects in Vuvulane and also here in Mbabane, we are trying to combat poverty by promoting job skills training that actually provides meaningful employment. Skills training programs by themselves do very little in combating poverty unless the markets those skills are meaningful to are also opened. So we teach sewing in Vuvulane and also provide access to real markets where products from the participants can be sold. Here in Mbabane, we teach computer, graphics, and the mechanical skills used in a real end market of glass or granite etching.
History
BS in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech, 1982.
MS in Electrical Engineering from Louisiana State University, 1990.
MA in International Development from Eastern University, to be completed 2016.
In 1988 I made a conscious commitment to follow Jesus and accept what he did for me at the cross. That was the major turning point in my life as far as vision and focus.