International

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Swaziland Homeopathy Project

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The first thing that really caught my eye in Swaziland was a box of condoms. I had flown into Johannesburg that morning, hopped on a minibus headed to the Swazi capital, Mbabane, a four hour drive eastward. As we approached the South African – Swazi border, the bus began climbing steadily and finally stopped at the crossing that was nestled in a low mountain pass.   We were instructed to disembark to present our documentation to the immigration officials.

The driver led us into a low-slung building where we queued up at a window, handing over our passports to be stamped one by one. It didn’t take long. I hardly had time to read the few posters on the wall reminding one and all of the deleterious effects of graft and corruption on the Kingdom.   When my turn came and I approached the window, there it was on the shelf in front of me – a big box of condoms free for the taking.

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The Discovery of the Therapeutic Uses of Gunpowder

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John  Clarke, the eminent British homeopath of the early 20th century championed Gunpowder as a powerful medicine for blood poisoning.   In a monograph on that topic, he wrote about how he learned of its curative properties from an article in a homeopathic journal:

"For the last forty years, " wrote Mr. Upcher, "I have known and observed from personal experiment the effects of Black Gunpowder as a remedy for various kinds of blood - poisoning. The symptoms of poisoning which call for Black Gunpowder are almost invariably abscesses or boils or carbuncles, and frequently, though not always, exaggerated swelling of the poisoned limb, accompanied with discoloration of the skin, so that the arm from the tips of the fingers to the axillary glands is almost of a purple or black tint. In such cases I have found Black Gunpowder, whether in large or small doses, acts like magic. "1

Snakebit

 One hot and slow afternoon at the clinic in Mafi Seva, a taxi drove up with an old woman accompanied by three of her adult children.   While she lay sprawled out in the back seat, the children got out and approached us to ask if it might be possible to treat their mother.

They explained that while walking in the fields about three years earlier, she had experienced a sharp pricking pain on the tip of the large toe of her left foot. It had immediately become quite inflamed, and she went to the hospital for treatment. The inflammation subsequently had subsided until about four months ago when with no apparent cause it re-emerged. This time though the inflammation spread and treatment at the hospital had proved ineffective.

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It All Depends On How You Look At It

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Before heading off to Ghana, I was given the impression from past volunteers with whom I spoke that most of the cases in the village clinic of Mafi Seva would be relatively simple ones of acute illness or injuries.   This turned out to be not entirely accurate.

The cases were simple in the sense that they were fairly straightforward. Unlike my own practice where many patients have chronic degenerative diseases, autoimmune illness or complex mental states often complicated by medical and dental interventions as well as multiple prescriptions, the people I saw in the village presented with conditions and histories that were less involved.  There were fewer strands and influences to untangle, and overall responses to the remedies seemed to be more immediate.

First Impressions

It didn’t take long for me to realize that I wasn’t in Kansas anymore.

As the plane was touching down at Accra airport the giant carcass of a jetliner was lying by the side of the runway. Helluva thing to see while landing, but maybe it was just being cannibalized for parts… Or, perhaps the remains of a misadventure not yet cleared away? Taxing to a stop, there weren’t any other commercial airplanes to be seen, just a fleet of various sized jets bearing the United Nations logo. We deboarded down a flight of stairs onto a steamy tarmac where castoff Korean buses were waiting to deliver us to the terminal and into the hands of immigration officers who either ill temperedly or lackadaisically processed our various documents. One young man waved me through with a shrug although I hadn’t been given and therefore hadn’t filled out and consequently didn’t submit the form that apparently it was his sole job to collect. Welcome to Ghana.

 

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