Tinyanga to celebrate ‘Practice Freedom Day’
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MBABANE - In the past, before Eswatini attained independence, openly declaring to be a traditional ‘doctor’ could land you a prison term.
However, today, through organisations such as the Traditional Healers Organisations (THO), Eswatini now has over 4 800 traditional health practitioners.
These are scattered throughout the country’s four regions, providing traditional health care.
THO was founded by the late Nhlavana Maseko.
Speaking about the organisation through a statement, his son, Bongani Maseko, said THO was the largest organisation of traditional health practitioners in both Eswatini and the neighbouring South Africa (SA).
In a press statement Bongani released on May 3, the organisation, also sometimes referred to as belaphi bendzabuko, stated that it would celebrate the Tra- ditional Health Practitioners Practice Freedom Day on May 13, 2023.
It stated that normally, the day is commemorated on April 27 to coincide with South Africa Freedom Day.
He said that the organisation had about 4 800 members and that it also provided monthly three-day workshops and various events that happened throughout the year.
The three-day workshops focuses mainly on providing a platform for traditional health practitioners to get together,
share knowledge and skills, while also learning about the changes that are happening in the global health sector.
Through these workshops the organisation educated its members on approaches to traditional healing practices that keep them aligned with changes observed in the rest of the global community.
As early as the 1980s, the organisation was already running workshops fostering relationships throughout Southern Africa.
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In the press statement, the management stated that the training modules taught during these workshops had continued to be updated over the years in order to keep them adjustable to changes observed in the external environment
However, Bongani revealed that the organisation also had financial constraints and yet they needed to continue to operate it to benefit emaSwati.
The management stated that it was appealing to the members of the public to assist in the funding of the traditional health practitioners Practice Freedom Day. According to Bongani, while he was alive, Nhlavana is said to have used personal finances to run the organisation.
He stated that to prepare for