announcement - Church of God of Prophecy

The population of Swaziland is
culturally homogenous—93 percent are
ethnic Swazi of Bantu origin. Swaziland
has a population of approximately 1.2
million people and a population density
of 53.5 per square kilometer. The vast
majorities of people (76 percent) live
in rural areas and depend on smallscale
agriculture for their economic
livelihood. The country exhibits
remarkable geographical diversity,
with four major ecological regions.
These regions divide the country into
longitudinal north-south strips that
descend in elevation from west to east
before again ascending sharply near the
boundary with Mozambique.
Socio-Economic Situation
Swaziland is currently facing a
socio-economic crisis, exacerbated by
increasing prevalence of HIV/AIDS.
The country has one of the highest
HIV/AIDS infection rates in the world,
at 26 percent of the population aged
15–49 years in 2008. The infection rate
among pregnant women increased
from 3.9 percent in 1992 to 42 percent
in 2004 before declining to 39.2 percent
in 2008.
The number of Orphan and Vulnerable
Children (OVC) has increased to at least
130,000, resulting in a high number of
children-headed households and high
rate of school dropouts. The education
and health systems have been greatly
compromised by the impact of HIV
and AIDS. In addition to the epidemic,
Swaziland is challenged with high
unemployment, economic and income
inequality, and poverty.
Swaziland has a growth rate of 3.7
percent. More than 40 percent of the
population is below 15 years of age.
The unemployment rate is estimated
at 22 percent, and approximately 69
percent of the population lives below
the poverty line.
HIV/AIDS Pandemic
In recent years, Swaziland has been
hit hard by an uncompromising drought
that has led to many Swazis failing to
feed themselves, especially in the Lowveld
region. This drought has led to more
people relying on food donations, usually
made by UN agencies in the country.
The Church is committed to
wholeheartedly addressing the HIV/
AIDS pandemic. We are currently
mobilizing resources and have begun
to implement small-scale projects such
as small orphanages and small gardens
being built on local ownership, using
locally available skills and resources
appropriate to the situation.
Some local churches like Piggs Peak
are paying school fees for some orphans.
One of the boys is doing his last class
this year. Other local churches like Musi
in Mankayane are running a small preschool
and a garden project to help
approximately 20 orphans and vulnerable
children. Also, there are district care
points where the local churches
contribute to assist the orphans and
vulnerable children. Presently, there are
six such points operating in the districts.
There is a much bigger project in
Johannesburg, South Africa, where a
centre to care for HIV/AIDS victims
has been acquired by the Church and
leased from the government for 99
years. We hope to make a measurable
contribution as funds and other resources
permit. We are grateful that agencies
such as the Renewal, Advancement,
Financial Freedom Autonomy International
Development Agency* (RAFFA) have
visited this centre and have promised to
assist where possible.
Growth of the Church
The Church of God of Prophecy in
Swaziland currently has a membership
of 5,553. This does not include membership
from Eastern Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal
(KZN) in South Africa. In Eastern Cape,
we have a membership of 1,043 while
in KZN, we have a total of 890 members.
Approximately two-thirds of our members
are youth. Women form a greater part
of the rest of the Church, and men are
the minority, with 460 to-date.
Last year, 304 new members were
added to the Church. Three hundred
thirty-two individuals were baptized
in water, and 1,998 were filled with
the Holy Spirit. From 5,095 sermons
preached by our ministers, 2,822 were
saved, and 4,432 were sanctified from
115 revivals. Most of our revivals are
conducted through tent ministry and
open-air services in the different districts.
To God be all the glory for blessing
and anointing the ministries of the
Church in this nation. Souls are
being won to the Kingdom of God,
and the Church has risen to take a
recognized position in our society. Our
national conventions continue to draw
thousands of people, even outside our
Church family. This has resulted in a
problem with our national headquarters
facilities, where we hold such meetings.
We had acquired two adjacent plots
next to our national building with plans
to extend the facilities. However, this
has proven to be a short-term solution
as more people are coming, and the
local municipality has complained that
their systems cannot cope with the
number of people that we are bringing
to the small town of Piggs Peak.
Therefore, we decided to search for
a larger piece of land. The Lord helped
us to find a farm along the road to the
capital city, which is approximately 12
hectares. The idea to buy the farm was
shared with the membership during
WWM S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9 7