Skillshare connects Irish Community Groups with their counterparts in Swaziland

Issued : Friday 17 October, 2008

In October 2008, Skillshare International Ireland will bring members of eight Irish Non Government Organisations (NGO) and community-based organisations (CBO) to visit two of Skillshare's partner organisations and their projects in Swaziland. The kingdom of Swaziland is the smallest country in mainland Africa, bordering with South Africa and Mozambique and has a population of 1,100,000.

The purpose of the visit is to develop a dialogue between Irish and Swazi NGOs/CBOs; to build long-term development links; to share innovative practices and to raise funds to support survivors of gender-based violence and people living with HIV and AIDS. All too often the NGO relationship with Africa is considered to be one way i.e. North to South, whereas Skillshare is offering the opportunity for dialogue and for peers to share skills and to learn from others experiences. 12 people from Irish organisations working in areas of community development, intercultural action, rape crisis and domestic violence in Ireland are travelling to Swaziland for an experience of shared learning and best practice.

Fran Flood, the Skillshare International Ireland Director, says: We in Skillshare Ireland are very excited about the visit. "While it's an imaginative fundraising initiative, with the monies raised going to our partners in Swaziland, even more importantly, it is an exercise in North/South cooperation and learning in a profound way. The participants have been strategically recruited from organisations here that have much to share and learn from our partner organisations in Swaziland. It is truly a powerful link."

^{Fran Flood of Skillshare talking to Sarah Oates (Tuam CDP), Holy Ramanankasina (Dóchas), Kay Mulhall (Tallaght Intercultural Action) and Gary McGovern (MOVE) at the orientation day for the visit to Swaziland © Bruce Clark/Skillshare}

Swaziland has the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence in the world - nearly 40% - and severe levels of gender-based violence (GBV). HIV/AIDS and GBV have a reciprocal relationship - e.g. AIDS orphans are vulnerable to sexual abuse and, conversely, sexual abuse, because it is usually unprotected, spreads the virus.

Swaziland Network of People living with HIV & AIDS (PLWHA) enables greater involvement of people living with the condition, to encourage positive living, through strengthening their support groups and their capacity to advocate. It facilitates shared learning and experiences and developing psycho-socio and livelihood support, and a holistic approach to support for orphans and vulnerable groups.

Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) works with survivors of GBV to develop sustainable livelihoods and strengthen their voices in raising awareness of the problem. It empowers survivors to advocate for the development of relevant policies in the area of GBV and play active roles in implementing SWAGAA programs.

The field visit aims to develop a dialogue between Irish and Swazi NGOs, build long-term development links and raise funds to support PLWHAs and survivors of GBV. Through this week-long Skillshare visit, Irish NGOs will share experiences, learning and best practice with NGOs from Swaziland.

The Irish delegation is made up of staff from Access Ireland, Ballybane CDP, Dóchas, Mayo Rape Crisis Centre, Men Overcoming Violence, Tallaght Intercultural Action, Tuam CDP Resource Centre, Rape Crisis Network Ireland, Skillshare and journalist Stuart Clark.

Ann Moroney works with Access Ireland, a Dublin-based NGO which works in the area of promoting the integration of migrants and refugees into Irish society. "I was motivated to go on this field trip when I attended a presentation by Phesheya Vilakati of SWAAGA last June. Phesheya's description of the innovative and multi-facetted work of SWAAGA was inspirational and was probably best captured by one of the photos he showed (left) of a group of builders in hard hats and work gear participating in an awareness-raising workshop on their building site, on GBV. It struck me that any organisation that can organise a workshop on such a sensitive topic in such a context has a lot to teach and is worth finding out more about. A central tenet of our ethos is to configure integration as a two-way process. Too often integration is perceived particularly in the media more as a one-way street where privileged western countries are characterised as 'generously opening their doors' to needy migrants from poorer parts of the world. The opportunity presented to us by Skillshare's field visit to Swaziland is a marvellous chance to redress this imbalance by providing a forum for an exchange of ideas and hopefully learning some of the skills and strategies devised by community and health care workers in one of the materially-poorest parts of the world."

For further information, contact bruce.clark@skillshare.org Tel. (01) 874 8188.

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