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A Technical Explanation of ICBC's Community Empowerment in Rural Eswatini

Working in rural Eswatini presents unique challenges and opportunities, particularly when the aim is to empower communities to lead their own transformation. The ICBC (In Community By Community) strategy is designed to address the multifaceted needs of these communities through a holistic approach that includes spiritual, educational, health, and economic interventions. By establishing a church, a preschool, a pastor’s home, and a solar-powered water source at each site, ICBC provides the infrastructure and support needed to empower communities while fostering sustainability and a sense of community ownership.

https://incbyc.github.io/ICBC_/#9/-26.4787/31.3240

1. Infrastructure and Community Support: Building Spiritual and Social Resilience

• Pastor's Home and Church Plant: Every ICBC site includes a church led by a local pastor who lives within the community. This setup ensures that spiritual support, moral guidance, and a sense of unity are consistently available. The pastor, who is deeply connected to the local context, plays a pivotal role in advocating for community needs and leading initiatives. This grassroots-level leadership fosters trust and engagement, making it more likely that community members will actively participate in and take ownership of transformational efforts.
• Preschool: Access to Christ-centered early childhood education is crucial in rural areas where educational resources are often scarce. By including a preschool at each site, ICBC provides children with the foundational skills they need for future success. Early education has a long-term impact on cognitive development, social skills, and academic achievement, setting the stage for a generation that is better equipped to break the cycle of poverty. Additionally, every pre-school child receives one meal per day, Monday through Friday, ensuring that they receive the nutrition they need for early childhood development. Each ICBC site is designed to facilitate 40 pre-school children. Eighty percent of the children are considered orphaned and vulnerable.
• Solar-Powered Water Source: In many rural areas of Eswatini, access to clean water is a significant barrier to health and economic stability. By implementing solar-powered water systems, ICBC ensures a sustainable and reliable source of clean water. This not only addresses immediate health and hygiene concerns but also creates agricultural opportunities, supporting subsistence farmers and promoting food security, as well as helping add hours of the day back to the lives of many ladies and children. In Eswatini, it would not be uncommon for ladies and children to be required to walk 3-5 miles to a river or spring to collect water for their family. Having clean water available centrally in the community helps add an easy access point for water collection, and saving many people from having to go to great lengths to source water.

2. Home-Based Compassionate Care Volunteers

The success of ICBC's model lies in its community-centric approach. Each ICBC site trains home-based compassionate care volunteers who serve as the eyes and ears within their communities. These volunteers are equipped with basic first aid skills and are provided with first aid kits to offer immediate assistance. They are trained to:

• Provide Basic Medical Assistance: By offering basic first aid and recognizing when to escalate medical situations to healthcare professionals, volunteers serve as a crucial link between remote communities and the healthcare system. This approach ensures timely interventions, reducing the risk of complications from otherwise manageable health issues.
• Identify Vulnerable Households: Volunteers are trained to identify child-led homes, families in extreme poverty, and potential threats such as sexual predators. Early identification enables targeted interventions, such as providing emergency food packs to prevent starvation and malnutrition, thereby keeping families intact and preventing further social breakdown.
• Support HIV Patients: Proper nutrition is essential for the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy in HIV patients. By ensuring these individuals have access to adequate food, ICBC's program helps them maintain their health and adhere to their medication regimens, reducing the impact of HIV/AIDS on the community.

3. Economic Empowerment and Food Security

Rural Eswatini is heavily reliant on subsistence farming, with many families facing food insecurity. ICBC's rural farming family plowing program is designed to elevate these communities by enabling farmers to cultivate more land and increase crop yields. This program operates on a tiered model:

• From Food Insecure to Food Secure: Initially, the program supports families in achieving food security by maximizing their land's productivity. By providing access to agricultural tools, training, and support, families can grow enough food to meet their nutritional needs.
• Towards Marketable Crops: As families transition to food security, they are supported in cultivating surplus crops that can be sold, generating income and promoting economic self-sufficiency. This model not only addresses immediate food needs but also creates a pathway to economic empowerment and community resilience.

4. Proximity and Accessibility

A core objective of ICBC is to place help within walking distance of every rural family and child in Eswatini. This strategic placement of ICBC sites ensures that vital services—spiritual support, early education, clean water, medical assistance, and economic opportunities—are readily accessible to even the most remote communities. By reducing barriers to access, ICBC facilitates consistent support, fostering a sustained impact on health, education, and economic well-being.