Lesotho - Village Life

Village life in the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho...


My perspective so far is pretty much limited to my small community, the district capital of Mohale's Hoek & the many villages, like Thoteng where I live, surrounding it. I have not ventured out too far - just occasional PCV training events, or grocery shopping in the nearby district capital of Mafeteng (a 30 minute 30 Maluti / $3USD taxi van ride away).  I have been both content & busy here in my home town.  I'll describe a few of my observations & impressions.


Casual Observations - life with the Basotho is so interesting:
Here are a few "fun" observations - meant only to represent what I, as a foreigner have seen with only a casual understanding of the culture

The Basotho are or seem to be:	And yet:
Very religious/spiritual, 90% are Christian	Belief in witches & witchcraft is common.  Some will attribute bad luck to a spell that has been cast on them
Slow walkers - I call it the Basotho stroll… a "take all the time you need" to get from one place to another gait	Watch out for speeding drivers on the streets who challenge any pedestrian no matter where you are on the cross-walk or curb
Soft spoken - volume of speech is so low I have to lean in to listen.  They seem to be able to hear each other without any problem & hardly raise their voices to speak with someone even at moderate distances away	The music in taxis & playing on speakers outside stores is so loud it will knock your socks off - the volume is deafening & relentless
Crazy about chicken drumsticks; thighs are ok too but drumsticks are #1. Basotho love the chicken's dark meat exclusively & that is all that is served in restaurants & in homes!  While I was at my training host family's home the only chicken part every served me was the leg. I came to find out that was the "best" piece reserved for guests. Now I understand why the leg is all that is served VIPs at special gatherings	So just where do all the breasts go???  I never see the breast served at local restaurants & even grocery stores have very low supplies of packages labeled "other pieces" (sometime unrecognizable cuts of breast & wings).
Fanatics at keeping the cooking pots shiny & their homes clean.  The sign of a top notch Masotho woman is her sparkling pots which she cleans with abundant zeal & steel wool sold by street vendors. I have a PCV pal who has to hide her pots from her neighbors who will insist on cleaning them for her.	Outside the immediate perimeter of the home, burnable  trash is thrown into loosely organized fire pits & non-burnables seemed to be tossed at random.  Streams, gulleys, paths, & streets have trash scattered everywhere.  Like most developing countries there is limited to zero resources for trash management so it just becomes a cultural norm to toss the trash… anywhere
Intolerant of cold!  The Basotho wear beautiful, traditional, wool blankets to keep themselves warm . They are fastened with a jumbo sized safety pin; women's fastened in front & the men's on the side.  They'll wear their blanket or warmest coats even in warm restaurants & offices.	Come warm weather after winter passes, many Basotho still cling to their blankets & coats.  If the weather turns rainy & there is any hint of chill in the air - the propane heaters are lit & the blankets & coats are worn.  I have walked into businesses where the heater is blazing & folks have their blanket wraps on their laps & they are wearing coats - even with warm 70+ degree temps outside!
In love with their cell phones & pay just as much attention to the phone as any other culture.  They never seem to turn their phones off & will answer their phone even if they are in the middle of leading a meeting, training, or presentation.  Many folks have 2 phones with 2 separate numbers to manage sim cards from 2 different carriers whose signal strength can vary.	It seems folks are constantly running out of "air time" & but only buying it in the smallest amounts/quantities.  Since there are no monthly cell phone plans, folks have to buy "air time"  by the maluti  through vendors who sell it everywhere (streets, stores, home businesses).  One can buy as little as 5 Maluti ($.50 US) to restock a phone for a quick call
Experts at saying one thing & meaning another.  A common greeting when someone comes to your home for a visit is to say "I'm hungry.  What can you feed me?"  This is just a way to greet someone & get the conversation going - they don't really mean they expect you to feed them.	One may wonder why someone would ask for a meal when they know it will likely be papa le moroho "boiled stiff corn meal &  chopped steamed chard. This classic dish is served everyday - sometimes more than once - but the Basotho love it!
Charming when they call each other 'M'e "mother" or Ntate "father". A typical greeting directed to me is Lumela 'M'e, translation Hello Mother.  (Lumela is pronounced Dumela)	When a Masotho uses the English version - it just sounds funny!  "Hello Mommy!"



Getting Along
My Sesotho (language of Lesotho) is still limited but I can get by on the basics of greetings, shopping, finding my way, & traveling by taxi.  The Basotho (people of Lesotho) in my community are fairly tolerant of my lack of language proficiency & are still somewhat amused & pleased by my attempts to communicate.  There are quite a few who speak English - most just a little, yet many are quite proficient.  Almost all kids are eager to greet me with a basic "hello, how are you", while some are happy to begin a simple conversation.  Business owners & staff; police & government officials & staff; & taxi drivers are usually very comfortable with & proficient in English (see the section on Education & Literacy below).


Though greetings are very important  to the Basotho in the more rural villages, it shows respect & promotes sense of belonging to the community, they are less formalized & less frequent in the "urban, semi-urban" areas (Lesotho version of urban, semi-urban!).  During pre-service training we spent quite a lot of time learning & practicing formal & informal greetings with the residents of our training villages. My work site and home is in the village of Thoteng and it is one of a chain of small villages that encircle Mohale's Hoek. Residents in the semi-urban areas are not very formal & traditional greetings are not typically exchanged with each person one passes though I tend to greet most everyone I pass in the village with a simple Lumela 'M'e or Lumela Ntate "hello mother/father". The typical response is ee a 'm'e (guess that informally translates late to "same to you").  With the more senior residents, the formal greeting also includes a back & forth of "how are you & I am fine".  Common informal greetings also include U ea kae? "where are you going" or U tsao kae? "where are you coming from". If a neighbor knocks at my door I'll often get the greeting "I'm hungry, what do you have to eat?"  Fortunately it is not necessary to provide a meal as this is just meant as a way to get a conversation going so I can reply with "I'm so sorry I just finished eating… then on to another subject".  Basotho sometimes call out Lekhooa  "white person" to get my attention - mostly this comes from children but sometimes I hear it from adults.  Though if said with an attitude it may be meant as an insult, but most often it is just a way to get my attention & I don't take any offense to it at all - I'll just respond with Dumela & keep on walking.  Some of the younger PCVs find this term very offensive but I just take it in stride. What would people say without using Lekhooa anyway?  "Hey you different looking foreign person, I want to get your attention to say hello?"




Getting Around
I feel comfortable & safe walking the 4 mile round-trip from my house to Mohale's Hoek for shopping or the 4 mile round-trip to the new children's home (the new St. Camillus orphanage).  There are a couple routes I can take for variety and folks get to see a lot of me each week as there is often some reason to head out from home. There is always something interesting to see or someone new to meet. I pass by village schools, homes,  a few shops, & a small river where folks wash clothes & kids bathe. I see folks tending their gardens & fruit trees on their property,  I say hello to the herd boys tending their cattle as they move them about to graze.  I visit with the kids playing with their homemade toys like soccer balls made from plastic bags or toy automobiles made from wire. I visit with folks who want to stop & chat for a bit.



Spring rain is bringing in the wildflowers






Giant, fragrant blossoms on cactus






Proud kiddo showing off his wheely car!

There are many times that I'll walk with Rethabile, the 23 year old office administrator at St. Camillus.  I'll ask her to translate some of the comments & questions she gets a long the way about us: "Is that your mother (uhhh can't figure that one out!)", "Is that your foreign sponsor (as if she is an orphan)", "Why is that Lekhooa walking, it is taboo for them to walk (from an elderly woman)".  Though my community has had PCVs over the years there is still a lot of curiosity & misconceptions, especially in the villages.


Walking, even if several miles, is the most common way to get around, though there are plenty of car taxis (called 4+1 since they seat 4 passengers plus the driver) that cruise the streets.  The taxis honk at folks & street corners along the way - just their way of asking if you need a ride.  Just ignoring the honking will send the taxi on its way (best advice is just to get used to the honking!).  Taxis are shared & folks are driven only to the closest street location near their destination (so I have to walk from the street to my house inside the church compound).  It costs 6.50 Maluti ($.65 USD rounded up) for a ride around the Mohale's Hoek area, & though I usually walk I don't hesitate taking a taxi when it is raining or if I have a heavy load & multiple bags to carry. I am always glad to hear the taxi honking at those times





Taxi rank, Mohale's Hoek - always bustling

When I need to travel outside of Mohale's Hoek I walk the 2 miles to the "taxi rank" where 4+1, kombi / kolois "taxi vans" & buses line up & wait their turn to fill up.  Taxi & bus drivers  typically wait until their vehicles are full before departing - so its important to allow plenty of time to travel in Lesotho.  When  lucky I have hopped on to a nearly full vehicle & been on the road in 10-15 minutes.  Otherwise - filling the taxi can take a lot of time.  Fortunately, being in the district capital means there are plenty of folks moving about but my longest wait for a taxi van to fill up has been 90 minutes (wait times can be even longer in smaller villages)! Travel time is difficult to predict as the taxis will stop to drop folks off & pick others up along the way.  The shortest time to get from Mohale's Hoek to the capital of Maseru is just under 2 hours in a private vehicle but I have to allow about 3 hours for a public taxi or bus.  Riding in a taxi van is always an experience!  Here's why:
1-No place for luggage except for your lap & under your feet
2-No place to stretch your legs - everyone is packed in like sardines as the seats are placed super close to each other to pack more people in.  Pity tall folks whose knees are bumped up against the seat in front!
3-Stopping to drop off passengers often means unloading half the passengers & bags to get the person in the back out of the vehicle (I have not lost a bag yet!)
4-Raging Lesotho accordion/rap music is blaring at maximum volume from up to 10-12 speakers placed around the van - no escaping!
5-Windows are most often shut tight as the Basotho are both cold & wind "sensitive"; I think they fear catching colds
6-Fares are reasonable but not dirt cheap as in Asia, somehow the conductor (who rides most often standing & leaning over a shoulder as all the seats are taken) keeps track of what each passenger owes, how much change is due, & where all the bag(s) have been stuffed
7-Folks are usually friendly (even if they look at you like you are crazy if you ask to open a window!) & protective. I have found that if there is a drunk passenger (seldom happens) the driver and/or the other older women, Bo 'M'e, will do their best to distract the drunk & keep him/her from pestering.
8-Always limit fluid intake before a trip as who knows how long it will take or what facilities will be available on the way.  However, local street vendors are at each taxi rank are in abundance selling all sorts of fruit, bread, fried fish, & snacks so there is no worry about going hungry!


Shopping & Business
Family & friends have offered to send care packages (thanks so much!) but I have declined as I can find most everything I need here and the rest - well… I really don't need (besides, shipping is outrageously expensive!).  Some goods are quite expensive (gardening tools, glue, tape, quality household items) but most items sold here are inexpensive as they are made super cheaply (& are of very poor quality) in China to be affordable.  Mohale's Hoek is very small - one short main street.  The largest store is small version of a Home Depot but they have limited supply of items in small quantity for the home fixer-upper. We have one Basotho grocery store with sparse goods on the shelves but they will occasionally get veggies like broccoli (which few buy because most are not familiar with it).  Outside on the street are the veggie vendors selling moroho "green leafy vegetables" & fruits. There are quite a few MaChina shops (shops owned by Chinese) that sell dry goods & plastics - sometimes cheaper than the grocery store.  Chinese own most of the shops in town - but all the shops seem to sell the same basic supplies & goods (plastic tubs & bins, soap, cookies, general kitchen supplies).  There are also a few clothing stores - if I need a skirt or blouse I can probably find one!  Even though I have the luxury of having a refrigerator, it is quite small & I share it with the orphanage.  Since they keep the temp at freezing for the chicken (& chicken feet!) they store, I have to buy my veggies several times a week so I am in/out of town on a regular basis.  All that walking back & forth is great - gives me both plenty of exercise & opportunities to have more encounters with my charming community members.



Small shack shops off the main street in Mohale's Hoek



And a note about…. Education & Literacy
Free primary education for kids between 6 & 13 was instituted in 2000. Further changes were phased in so that by 2010 Lesotho made primary education compulsory; this helped address the fact that the majority of boys were not attending school as they were required to work at home, specifically as "herd boys" tending the family's cattle & maize fields (75% of the population are subsistence farmers & 57% are below the nation's poverty level*). Child labor laws have been implemented to ensure that the young are able to attend school.  Lesotho has the distinction of spending more on education than any other country, approximately 13%*.  However, it is not uncommon to see older kids - sometimes well over 13 attending primary as they attempt to catch up due to home/work needs and/or just lagging behind. 





Leseli's graduation from kindergarten, she'll start primary in January
Leseli is the pretty young girl on the far right; she lives at St. Camillus

Primary schools are scattered throughout the mountain villages but it is still common to see children walking an hour or more to get to school.  Some just come for the free lunches offered to all school children & for the poor this becomes a critical meal.


Secondary education is not free & so there has been increasing gender disparity of those attending.  Girls are more likely to complete some or all of their secondary education as boys are most likely to assume work responsibilities at home.  In spite of the hardships of getting to & staying in school, Basotho literacy rates have soared with females at 96% & males at 80%*.  However, recreational reading has not been a typical Basotho pastime though there has been a strong tradition of oral story-telling.  There is a wonderful Lesotho-based NGO,  started in 2011, that intends to bridge the gap; it hosts the Ba Re E Ne Re Literature Festival (see Facebook page) each year to promote reading & creative writing, thus continuing Basotho traditions.


College admittance is very competitive & though tuition is supported with government funding, attendance is limited.  New graduates from any of the school  primary, secondary, or collage programs face huge challenges finding work in this country with over 28% unemployment*.  There has been a long history of skilled & unskilled Basotho migrating to South Africa & other countries in search of work.  The downside is the decrease in the labor pool & disruption to family life in Lesotho but the upside has been an inflow of revenue from these external sources.  In recent years South Africa has implemented more restrictive labor laws that are intended to make more work available to their own citizens.  The impact has been a return home (called "retrenchment") of Basotho migrant worker thus perpetuating the unemployment & reducing revenue to families.


*Data from the Lesotho government 2013 - published by the Word Bank.  


Did you get to the end & wonder if I am still living with all the children at the orphanage?  Well... yes we are all still living together ... will post an update next month!



St. Camillus kids & matrons on a crisp, clear, spring day