In the right direction, just a little wobbly
Children's Home
We are getting in
the swing of capturing the kids weights each month & the matrons are
definitely making efforts to augment the meals with more protein. It has been a
struggle of frequent reminders for them to provide nutritious snacks & milk
3 times daily; these are just not common routines for the matrons nor for many
Basotho families. Living in poverty with little food to spare creates a set of
beliefs & behaviors around food that is not easily influenced or changed.
Too often an acceptable meal is simply papa (thick corn meal
"polenta") with a little milk. The major shift though has been
providing appropriate amounts of formula to the infants & notifying us if
the supply is low even if at the last minute. But the matrons see that we are
committed to making sure there is sufficient money for food & they are now
taking a more active & positive role in feeding the kids &
participating in the weighing sessions. We celebrate each month as one or
another of kids' weight increases & they creep slowly, slowly up the growth
chart toward the low normal range.
We finally finished
the menu plan & Rethabile & I collected the prices on all the food
items so that I could then determine the monthly food costs for our budget
& prepare a shopping list for Sr. Juliana.
The goal was to show Sr. Juliana that she could afford the food the
nutritionists recommended.
Conservation Agriculture Farm & the Peace
Corps Grant
During much of
August I worked with Peace Corps Lesotho on the review process for a $5,000 USD
grant started in July. Mme Ntsopa, the
grant coordinator helped to ensure that the application would be accepted by
Peace Corps National in Washington D.C.
The terms of the grant required that St. Camillus would be responsible
for 25% of the total amount ($1,250 USD) while Peace Corps/PEPFAR would
contribute 75% ($3,750 USD). After
several weeks, the grant was approved & local currency (equivalent to
$3,750 USD) was deposited into my Lesotho bank account from Peace Corps
Washington. Sr. Juliana was so appreciative that we would be able to purchase
the irrigation systems & the seedlings for the first crop.
We had plenty of
sunny days so Ntate Thabang began work on the irrigation system for the 3,300
square meter Field 1 after community laborers came in to clear and prepare
land. At the same time, Thabang had begun growing the 13,000 cabbage seedlings that we would purchase. He
would be our seedling supplier as he has a large commercial greenhouse in a
village nearby.
Friends of St. Camillus come with love &
generosity
A major but very
welcome diversion from the farm efforts was the arrival of the Colella Family
from Washington State. Kim, Niko, Sam , and best friend Will. They had been
planning the trip to Lesotho for a very long time & were going to spend one
week visiting St. Camillus and staying with me at the Peace Corps House. Prior
to coming they had led numerous fundraising efforts on behalf of St. Camillus,
proceeds of these efforts were to be applied to: restocking the chicken coop,
purchasing a road sign pointing to the farm, building a clothesline for the
matrons, & most importantly creating a playground for the children on the
Centre's grounds. In addition, they brought heaps & stacks of clothes,
toys, & essentials for the children as well as special treats for Sr.
Juliana, Rethabile, & me.
Because Sam &
Will (16 & 17 years old) were musicians & performed with their band in
Washington, we had arranged several concerts for them. Over the course of the
week they played for the students of St. Patrick's Primary School, the Sisters of
the Congregation of the Holy Cross, the Bishop, & of course the children of
St. Camillus. They had prepared numerous songs tailored to their varied
audiences & were incredibly well
received at all the venues. Sam even picked up my ukulele & incorporated it
into their songs.
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| Will Bentley & Sam, NIko, & Kim Colella |
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| Clothesline provided by Colella fundraising |
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| Clothesline provided by Colella fundraising |
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