By PAMELA JOHNSON

For the Washington Daily News

On Sept. 27, more than 150 people gathered at First Baptist Church Family Life Center in Washington to celebrate a 25-year partnership between Baptist churches of the United States and in the Kingdom of Swaziland.

First Baptist hosted 12 Swazi Baptist church and national leaders, as well as representatives from Baptist churches from around the U.S., for a fundraiser featuring photos by former First Baptist pastor Jimmy Moore and authentic South African artwork. Moore founded the alliance between the United States and Swaziland Baptist churches almost 26 years ago.

Baptist churches in the U.S. are able to complete international missions with help of the International Missions Board, run by the Southern Baptist Commission. Greg Barmer, pastor of First Baptist of Washington, and a few member churches went to Eswatini in July. The trip was an opportunity to visit homesteaders in rural areas who were sick, elderly and in need of food.

Eswatini, formerly known as the Kingdom of Swaziland, is predominately Christian and has the highest per capita rate of HIV/AIDS in the world, with a comparable tuberculosis rate. The disease affects 28% of adults according to the Central Intelligence Agency World Fact Book. A recent decline in agricultural production has led the country into an economic downturn.

In 2018, about 55,000 of the 1 million people living in Eswatini lived in rural areas, limiting access to healthcare. The medical crisis leading the country into economic downturn is compounded by residents having little or no access to basic medical care. The crisis has religious leaders in the Swaziland partnership making medical care a church priority.

The Baptist Churches in the United States have come together with Eswatini Baptist churches in an effort to build medical structures that can withstand the elements. Their plan is to place them throughout the rural area within the 3-mile walking radius that Eswatini residents are known to travel.

The churches’ goal is to build a place where community can gather during the week, provide space for ground medical teams to deliver basic medication, treat disorders, wounds, poor vision, aches, infections and pain, and have teams deliver Baptist Global Relief buckets containing simple supplies to the sick and elderly.

Their goal is a holistic approach not just to provide funds to build a daily clinic but to build a permanent place of refuge to heal the entire person; physically and spiritually.

More than $4,000 was raised last week in Washington to benefit Eswatini.