Lesotho - Tragedy & Prosperity

Real Dangers of the Lesotho Road

As Peace Corps Volunteers we are limited to using public transportation in Lesotho. Peace Corps tells us that navigating the Lesotho roads is much too treacherous & dangerous for us; there are just too obstacles & uncertainties that put us at risk.  And so we travel in public taxi vans & cars, or some PCVs hitch in private vehicles.  The roads though are the same - whether we drive or not. Winding, 2-lane roads, speeding taxis & cars, poorly marked, herd boys & their sheep or cattle off the shoulder, kids walking to/from school, pot holes, unmarked speed bumps, rocks, donkeys carrying loads, bricks, dead animals; all everyday conditions we must ignore or else they will make  us crazed.

When Tragedy Strikes

Sr. Juliana & Ntate Mahase often make the trip to/from Mohale's Hoek to Mafetang or Maseru to bring home groceries, farm supplies, & animal feed. Sr. trusts Ntate; he is a slow, careful driver, confident yet respectful of the dangers of the road. They have travelled together for many such trips to meet the needs of Sr. Juliana & the Centre.

All can change in a moment

Towards the end of October….Totally without warning a young student, 17 years old, ran out from in front of the taxi van that has dropped him off on the highway in front of his village.  He does not look at the traffic, he does not suspect Ntate Mahase is just a second away. The poor young fellow was hit by the Toyota truck that Ntate was driving & in just a moment all lives are changed forever. The young man was mortally wounded.  Basotho stopped on the highway & the young man was whisked away to the hospital in Mafetang. He dies early the next morning. Sr. Juliana & Ntate Mahase are forever spiritually & emotionally wounded.

This tragedy sets off a long period of consoling the family, managing their own recovery, and facilitating the funeral efforts & legal proceedings that result. There was a rallying of support for both the boy's family  & for Sr. Juliana & Ntate Mahase. The Sisters of the Congregation of the Holy Cross & the Bishop stood by Sr. Juliana to buoy her. But Sr. Juliana had to take on the brunt of the interactions with the family & the legal system.  At the family's request she provided what the family requested for the burial service: all of costs for managing the boy's body & the funeral, the rental of the large public tent for the ceremony,  the purchase of all the food & supplies needed for the family to host the burial services (which typically includes providing food for the entire village & family who attend). She visited frequently over a number of weeks to console the family. She appeared numerous times in court for legal proceedings. From the moment the police arrived at the scene of the accident through all the legal meetings, the police ruled the boy's death an accident without culpability on the part of Sr. Juliana or Ntate Mahase.

Harvest Time… Cabbages for Sale

Juxtaposed to the tragedy was another unexpected event.  The hot weather at the start of the summer along with the abundant water from irrigation has caused the cabbages to grow so fast that now they are huge & ready for sale. We were not ready! Rethabile & I thought we had time to work with Sr. Juliana & Mme Maletuka to set prices, market the produce, & set up the tools we needed to manage the sales.  No matter, we had to just do it, Basotho style - as they just imagined it should be done, as it has always been done.

Ntate Thabang stepped up to help, he contacted a merchant in Maseru and the first sale of 180 huge luscious cabbage was made on a hot afternoon. Thabang, Maletuka, farm hands & the merchant all worked together to cut the cabbages & load up a small Toyota truck for the 2 hour drive back to Maseru.  The Centre's first sale has been made!!

Ntate Thabang, our Conservation Agriculture consultant with Mme Maletuka

Mme Maletuak managing receipt of first sales

Local indigent women earning a small salary & a lot dignity working on the farm

Linda Visits!

The beginning of the month started with the much anticipated arrival of Linda H from Ohio. Linda is the much loved friend of St. Camillus who helped Sr. Juliana through the design & building of the new children's home, who is frequent contact with Sr. to facilitate resolution of issues & to coordinate communications with The Lesotho Connection. Linda stayed for about 3 weeks - during which time Sr. Juliana left for her own retreat (vacation). Having Linda stay at the Peace Corps House was a treat. She is a great person, loving, friendly, devoted to the Sr. Juliana & the Centre. She is always a huge help to Sr. Julian - such that Sr. J can confidently leave for her retreat knowing that Linda can handle any issues at the Centre plus drive the truck wherever needed to transport the kids & shop. On her last day, she rented a jumping water playhouse that the kids were crazy for!! They exhausted themselves playing & then stuffed themselves on a wonderfully nutritious meal prepared by Sr. Juliana.  Linda said goodbye to the kids with promises to be back later in the year.