Lesotho - Christmas

Summertime Christmas

I'm dreaming of a... green Christmas! 

The greening of Lesotho is now complete! The mountains, valleys, dongas (ravines), and  fields have soaked up the intermittent spring rains and are gorgeous and lush.  Sometimes those thick, dense, dark clouds just get blown over by a strong wind and no rain falls. But oh... when it rains it can be spectacular.  The lightening is especially impressive but can be deadly. I have seen lightening strike the ground with incredible power... living with the risk of a ground strike is something the Basotho herd boys must accept as their days are spent out in the open.

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St. Patrick's Church and my little house is just beneath that large butte. Those impressive clouds brought great bolts of lightening, earth-shaking thunder, and even some hail along with rain.  

Flowering aloe are everywhere - the stems stand towering over the landscape.

With the yellowing of the blossoms come the bees to soak up the rich pollen that just glows in the sunlight.

Most days are sunny and clear; the sky intensely blue.

A Mohale's Hoek Christmas

Just before Christmas families throughout Lesotho begin to gather for extended stays and lots of celebrations in hometown villages. No matter how big the family - a place is found for everyone to sleep and  the population of Mohale's Hoek soared the week before Christmas. 

Street vendors in Mohale's Hoek

The number of street vendors doubled or tripled in number since small villages typically don't have shops. Inexpensive, made-in-China items such as wind-up toys, hair ornaments, jewelry, and trinkets were treasures for shoppers with little Maloti to spend. It is customary to give a child one or more new items of clothing so Mohale's Hoek stores were crowed with shoppers. 

  

All the businesses in Mohale's Hoek benefit from the Christmas crowds.  Shoppers get hungry & thirsty.  New shack eateries serving papa, moroho, le namae koho (polenta, steamed chopped chard, & grilled chicken) pop up to take advantage of the season.  

The bottle shops - selling alcohol - are super busy especially before the weekends and the holidays. The parties start rocking early with super load music, dancing, & drinking  on Christmas Eve & New Year's eve and the last stragglers are making their way home the morning after. Heavy partying can mean some fights will break out but typically the only sign left of the partying are broken beer bottles in the streets. 

Christmas Prayers

But, after all the shopping, eating, visiting, partying... you'll find the many local churches filled for Christmas services.  

St. Patrick's Church

Bo Mme, Bo Ntate, & Bo Bana, (ladies, gentlemen, & children) all dressed in their finest come to sing & sway to soulful Basotho hymns.  

The Best Gift of All ... the New St. Camillus Children's Home

For Sister Juliana, and the children and the staff of St. Camillus the grandest celebration of all was moving into their new home!  

The new children's home, funded through the donors of US-based The Lesotho Connection, was finally complete and ready for the kids to move in on December 23. The bunk beds were made, kitchen supplies were stocked, the stove & gas tanks installed, & the solar heating provided hot water for new sinks & showers. Even the flower garden was shouting it's own welcome - blossoms were everywhere.

Thanks to the generous donation from the family and friends of Linda Henry in the United States - Sr. Juliana was able to purchase new outfits for all the children of St. Camillus. Rethabile, Nthaby, and I loaded up shopping baskets of clothes - a complete outfit (top, pants, or a dress, socks, shoes, & undies) for each child.

The days preceding the move had been challenging as so much final preparation needed to be completed: plastering & painting the indoor rock pillars, installing electric wiring & gas hoses for the stove, installing a washing machine in the store room nearby, moving clothes & supplies out of the old house & into the new one.  The matrons were challenged by learning how to adjust to new standards of housekeeping, the kids adjustment to new toileting & bathing routines and... that each one would now sleep in her/his own bed.

Moving Day!

Behind: Bakoena

Left to Right: Karabo hidden behind Mozwanlile, Kamahelo, Letlotlo 1, 

Lumelisi, Letlotlo 2, Maipato, Leseli, Reitumise (Tumi), Tlotliso

New Christmas Clothes!

Ikaneng

Kamohelo

Mozwanlile & Maipato

Tlotliso

Leseli

Maipato

Slindile, Mme Itumelang, Thuto, Ntaby, Maphoka

December means summer and the ripening of delicious Lesotho peaches. The kids gobble up loads of peaches - they never seem to tire of them.

Ikaneng & Letlotlo 1

Beautiful Rethabile!

Kids helping plant my first garden outside my home.

View of St. Patrick's Church Compound green grasses  from my home

Christmas Dinner with Eric's friend from USA, Mary, Federico, Eric, Stephanie, & host Taylor's home in Mohale's Hoek

Eric visiting the kids

Sister Juliana's idea of heaven:

A garden full of flowers & her lovely children

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

Lesotho - Settling into Mohale's Hoek

Nothing like a quiet Lesotho Independence Day to catch up...

Kingdom of Lesotho's Day of Independence
On October 4, 1996 the Kingdom of Lesotho was formerly granted independence from Great Britain. After losing much of the country's western lowlands to the Boers in the later 1850's, King Moshoeshoe achieved agreement with Queen Victoria for Basutoland to become a protectorate of Great Britain in 1868 thus ending the wars.  

Politics & Safety

Latest news is that the members of Lesotho's coalition government with assistance from the South African Development Community (SADC - a coalition of SA leaders) have signed a Maseru Facilitation Declaration.  They have agreed that Parliament will  reopen on Oct 17 so we'll see if there is much commotion after that. It is assumed that the Members of Parliament (MPs) will throw the Prime Minister (PM) out with a vote of no confidence.  The PM originally shut down Parliament back in June 2014 when he anticipated this action - that is what generally set the coup activities in motion.  Spirals and spirals of silly antics.  The current Parliament will be "dissolved" in December & a popular election will be held in early Feb 2015 to elect new MPs.  There has been limited violence & only in Maseru, the capital, and not involving private citizens.  The Basotho have been acting quite civilized and peaceful.  Things are very simple and quiet out here in the small camp town (district capital) of Mohale's Hoek.

We are still on a security alert that PC calls "steadfast" - this means that we can't travel anywhere outside our district or that would require an overnight stay without PC approval.  Those conditions were part of the agreement with the US Embassy & PC Washington for our return from evacuation.  Also - my cohort, the "Healthy Youth 2014", are restricted from travel anyway during our first 3 months since we are supposed to use that time to focus on integrating within our communities.  Our 3 months end just before Thanksgiving and the group will then travel back to our original host families for another week of training.   No doubt by then the "steadfast" will have been long lifted.

Life with the Kids at St. Camillus

For now - life at St. Camillus is becoming routine - even with all the little tiny tots running around.  We are down to 16 now.  One of the infants was successfully  returned to his mother (long story but all is well) by the Ministry of Social Development.  The remaining are: #1 17yrs,  #3 10-12yrs, #7 4-6yrs, #5 toddlers 1-3yrs.  The craziest times are morning when they all get up & get ready for breakfast & school (5:30am-7am) and then again after dinner & until bed time (6:30-8pm). The rest of the time the kids spend mostly outdoors laughing, playing, crying, laughing, playing.  Amazing to see all the little kids unsupervised outside but I have yet to see any accidents or injuries.  The "older" kids watch over the toddlers - at 5 yrs a kid qualifies to be "older".  I  saw one of the 5 year old girls wielding an ax & chopping wood for a fire they were all making!  I see the kids pounding on broken bottles to make small pieces of glass to play with.  Not too infrequently,  I'll take something like a size C battery out of a toddlers mouth & I have found an old razor blade among their outside toys (battery & razor blade confiscated!).  If they find something in the trash (all trash is just thrown outside) of interest it will become a toy - even if the caregivers scold them for playing with the "real" trash.  I guess the "real" trash is something icky nasty (razor blades?) and then there is everything else (cans, glass, bottle caps, batteries). Another challenge here - especially given the close quarters for sleeping (all the kids & caregivers sleep in 2 rooms) is the spread of infections - there is a constant exchange of the common cold & more serious coughs & chest congestion. Currently most of the kids show signs of healing blisters (sure looks like herpes/fever blisters) about the face.  One little girl was seen at the clinic for the worst case of oral & facial blisters & was given antiviral cream (Acyclovir).  The cream is white & thick so, once all the kids had the cream slathered all over, they looked like they were dressed up in white clown make-up!  Needless to say I do a lot of hand washing and don't touch the kids faces & hands much.  Oh - you might wonder where the caregivers are… today there was only one of four here for most of the day… usually they are hand washing mountains of clothes & cooking the meals. Today was a kids' chores day & I saw the older kids sweeping & hand waxing the kitchen floor, washing laundry at the river, hanging laundry, and helping with feeding the little ones.  Gee - guess none of them had time to play 8 hrs of video games on their computers!  And… it is so rare to hear or see the kids fighting - they are great at sharing & playing together.  Sr. Juliana & the caregivers have been successful in molding their characters; they are all extremely well-behaved,  always so sweet & respectful when around me & other adults, and they show amazing resiliency to the challenges they face.  The look so adorable saying their prayers before each meal & at bedtime.

Breakfast for the tiny tots

Sister Juliana & 'M'e Meleng with new residents

The youngest stayed home from school the day it snowed - warming up here in the kitchen

This past week all the kids had the chance to see their new home!  They were so excited to see the new bunks (their own beds!) and really enjoyed visiting the farm which is right next door.  The caregivers were thrilled to see their new bedrooms, the kitchen, & all the bathrooms!  Sr. Juliana had a smile on her face the whole time!

First climb up into the bunks

Kids are thrilled with their top bunks & new mattresses

Taking a tour of the Farm - less than 100 yards from their new home

Work

Weekdays:  The St. Camillus office is right in the house where I live but the house is separated into two units. I start my day around 8am when Rethabile & Sr. Juliana arrive and I all I have to do is just step outside and walk to the other end of the house.  A typical work  week is Monday-Friday 8am-5pm with an hour for lunch.  I work evenings & weekends as needed. Example - late one evening the Ministry of Social Development & Police delivered a new child for the Centre.  Sr. Juliana accepted the child from them in my bedroom.  They reviewed all the paperwork while I took photos of the intake.

The past 2 weeks at St. Camillus Centre since our return from evacuation in South Africa have been busy & productive!  Though my original assignment is to work with a young mothers (unwed) support group, that project is a bit on hold while we do so many other things needing more immediate attention.  We learn in PC that we facilitate the passion and drive that our community directs even if the directions change a bit.  I am really fortunate to live & work in such a great place.  My program "Healthy Youth 2014" is focused on youth and facilitating their adoption of healthy practices & mitigating risks related to HIV/ADIS but there are many paths to that end.  Right now the Centre's focus is on getting the kids moved to the new orphanage and boosting the Centre's ability to generate revenue (IGAs- income generating activities) to support the orphans while providing employment opportunities for PLWHA (People living with HIV/AIDS). 

Current "Old" Children's Home - entrance to kitchen & office (entrance to my side of the house is in background)

New Children's Home - before new sidewalks & landscaping

The Farm - chicken coop & piggery  in background, peach trees to left, lonely cow in field to right

Sister Juliana guiding the new Bishop, Ntate Joale Tlhomola, on his first tour of the Farm

The Farm staff is made up of community "people living with HIV/AIDs' (PLWHA).  Sr. Juliana has a long history of creating programs to enrich the lives of AIDS survivors.  One important aspect is to eliminate the stigma associated with the disease & to offer employment & a normal life to those affected.

Sr. Juliana giving Farm staff food to supplement their monthly wages

 Here is a summary of my projects:

1. OVCs - Orphans & Vulnerable Children:  First up I am trying to facilitate the move to the new Children's Home!!!  The orphanage is almost complete but I have been keeping track of some of the activities that seem to get bogged down & trying to give a little boost when appropriate: raising $$ to go towards the flooring, facilitating some of the communication among the leaders at the Lesotho Connection, the contractor, & Sr. Juliana to keep the momentum going for critical tasks (the flooring & getting the electricity hooked up to the main line are my 2 priorities).  I ask a lot of "what about this, what about that" questions when I find holes in the planning & scheduling.  Sr. Juliana says she has learned a lot about the American way of dealing with projects from Linda (TLC - who got the new orphanage off the ground back in January 2014) and from me;  in other words  - she has learned to be "pushy" by following-up until the thing gets done.  And, my moonlighting job, that I hope has now been completed, has been hemming all the curtains (total # plus re-work = 40 panels!! I have dreams about hemming curtains!).  Also under this umbrella is working with Sr. and Rethabile to develop cost management tools for the Farm & Children's Home.  We can build off current strengths (the farm staff do keep count of egg trays produced & veggies sold) but we will integrate all this data plus all the missing info (expenses!), plus the other businesses, into one broad perspective.  My goal is to help find a way for Sr. to save some Maluti (money!) to buy the things the Centre needs.  For example - she really wants to buy a washing machine!! Longer term my focus will shift to other priorities that come up but I imagine that the majority of what I do will be supporting Sr. Juliana in keeping the Centre running  & the kids thriving.
2. IGA - Income Generating Activities: Sr. Juliana is the queen of IGA's!  Over her years developing the Centre she has mastered the ability to raise funds for the OVC and "people living with HIV/AIDS" (PLWHA) through various small businesses.  Until The Lesotho Connection found Sr. Juliana & began offering her some assistance, the only funds that St. Camillus had were ones coming from Sr.'s own IGAs, including the Farm.  The Farm has a large set of raised bed gardens, peach trees, quite a few pigs, one cow (finally pregnant they think & that means milk sometime soon!), and about 250 laying chickens. Recently, Rethabile, the young office staff worker, and I have completed two proposals that have been submitted to the Ministry of Social Development.  One to create an Aloe Vaseline Jelly producing business and the other to fund full replacement of the egg laying chickens that have come to the end of their egg producing life cycle.  This has been a lot of fun and interesting since I have had the opportunity to think about how to create & manage small businesses.  So many expenses were not being accounted for or tracked.  We learned how to establish unit cost and project earnings (more like losses!) and once the $$ comes in we'll have the fun of starting up the Aloe business and trying to make the egg laying more profitable.  These are intended to be "sustainable" business ventures that won't rely on me but that hopefully I can help get off the ground.
3. Orphan Intake:  I have helped augment a process for documenting individual profiles for each child (biography & photos) to improve record-keeping & facilitate communication with Lesotho officials (ministry & police).  Our info should be helpful to officials when they are searching for relatives &  wayward parents.  Lesotho tries to get children into family homes and not orphanages but our kids are all here because appropriate homes have not yet been found.
4. Business skill mentoring:  I am also working with Rethabile on a daily basis and mentoring her business skills.  She is very bright and eager to learn Excel & MS Word!  She's learning (sometimes as I do) new formulas, ways to calculate unit price, and just generally how to move a business idea forward to something profitable (we hope!).  I think she'll have fun learning how we can turn our expenses/income data into graphic trends.  But - more importantly - we keep our focus on the well-being of the kids and promoting community good will toward buying the products the Centre sells. To this end we have a lot of reports & proposals to write.  A monthly status of the children is sent to the Ministry of Social Development (MOSD), a monthly finance report of the orphans expenses is sent to The Lesotho Connection, and a twice-yearly finance report of the Farm is sent to the Bishop.  So far we have written to proposals to the MOSD for new projects.
5. Young Unwed Mother Support Group:  This effort will start up once we get the time to plan the prelims.  The initial start up of the group began just before I arrived in mid-August and it was a little shaky.  We need more time to prepare prior to bring the young back together.  The young women want to start up a sewing business - starting with school uniforms,but I am thinking we should think of starting with something a little simpler to give them confidence.  They want to earn a living and take better care of their babies.  We have been discussing the prep work we need to do: complete a plan to see what we need to get the effort off the ground (are funds from the Ministry needed?), get the existing sewing machines in good working order, research & schedule sewing classes, buy supplies, re-establish the relationship with young women so the effort gets some momentum, etc etc etc.  Once the group is formed we will also incorporate healthy living lessons & discussions into our sessions.  Reinforcing healthy sexual practices to avoid HIV & adherence to HIV treatment are 2 very important themes that are a part of every youth group activity that Sr. Juliana sponsors & that the Peace Corps is involved in.

Home Life

It is traditional for a new resident to a village to receive a new name from the host family or chief. Each name has a meaning. In my training village of Ha Taaso, I was given the name of 'M'e Paballo ("caring"). When I moved to St. Camillus, Sr. Juliana gave me the name, 'M'e Mateboho Tlhomola.  Mateboho is one of many forms of "thankfulness. Given the "modern" environment of Mohale's Hoek & Sr. Juliana's more liberal nature - the kids know me as 'M'e Stephanie and so that is how I introduce myself.  Sr. had a lot of fun with my Basotho name because she gave me the same last name as the new Bishop!  So, every time I introduced myself as 'M'e Mateboho Tlhomola, there was lot's of laughter & teasing. 

It is traditional to greet each other using one's relationship status - that is why I am 'M'e Stephanie.
'M'e = mother
Ntate = father
Abuti = son or brother
Ausi = daughter or sister

Evenings: (when not sewing!) I read, study Sesotho (language of the Basotho in Lesotho), plan sewing projects (saving material from all the curtains for the Young Mother's group), knit (yarn & needles ready, just need to cast on to start on little caps for the kiddos), ukulele…just a little once the kids are sleeping.  Given my good fortune of living in a house with electricity & running water, I enjoy my nightly hot bucket bath. Since the hot water heater is broken, I heat up the water & use the old bucket bath routine but in the old metal bathtub.  Though my "kitchen" is actually in a hallway & I don't have a sink, but I do have the luxury of have a propane stove/oven & even a refrigerator! I use the bathtub faucet as my "tap" & keep a bucket full of water in the kitchen for cooking & washing dishes.  Per Peace Corps guidelines I boil (3minutes) & filter all the water I use for drinking & for quick items like making coffee & oatmeal.   I keep up with my laundry by washing out a few things each night so I don't have to spend weekends catching up with a load of laundry.

Here is the house I share.  On the right side of the house is the kids' kitchen, a meeting room, & the office. On the left side of the house are my rooms & the kids' two bedrooms.  The peach tree, just outside my bedroom, is wonderful too look at - it provides a great indicator of time and season & gives me hope that we will have peaches soon!

St. Camillus "Peace Corps House - My Home

Only 5 of 18 of my fellow PCVs in the Healthy Youth 2014 group have electricity, fewer still have more than one room to live in & running water.  I think only a couple have hot water.  The rest of the PCVs have the more typical living situation - a separate, one room cottage (could be cinder block or rondavel) with a 2-burner stove, gas lamps, and water pump or river somewhere relatively near by.  A few have to walk or even drive to the closest water source.  After living 10 weeks in a similar cottage situation in our training village of Ha Taaso, I feel I had ample opportunity to experience the traditional PCV living situation - and now can really appreciate the comforts that my new home has!

View of "hallway" kitchen & my bedroom

Below: From this perspective the proximity of the 3 bedrooms (mine, 1st door on left, plus the 2 for the kids) provides a better scale of our little house.  To exit the house I have to walk through one of the kids' bedrooms. And, the kids pass through the kitchen to get between their rooms.

View from the other end of kitchen of all 3 bedrooms

My bedroom - the windows are the best feature!!

View of garden & peach tree from bedroom window - Oct 4

Spring blossoms on peach tree - Aug 15

Spring blossoms & snow around peach tree - Aug 29

Weekends: So far weekends have been busy with sewing but my time is freeing up now! Once the rain starts I'll be able to start my vegetable garden and I plan to take care of the grounds once the kids have moved to their new home. I hope to organize/consolidate the trash piles outside, create a fire pit for torching the burnable trash &, if I can find wood, build a fire in the pit in the summer evenings to sit by. This weekend I'll take a taxi van to Mafeteng (30 min away) to visit Tracy, another PCV.  She has some good hikes to show me.  She loves to cook - especially sweets - so it is likely she'll have some little treat in her kitchen to share with me.  On occasion, other PCVs will spend the night as Mohale's Hoek is a mid-way point for those traveling between their remote site and the capital of Maseru.  Once the kids move, I also plan to clean up their vacated rooms & furnish one as a living/dining/guest room & turn the other into a place to store the Aloe Vaseline & other products made by the Centre.  Weekends are also a good time to wander around the neighborhood; the neighbors are friendly and the kids & youth are always curious & wanting to show off their English (usually pretty impressive!). It is a 2 mile walk to the new orphanage & a nice 2 mile walk to Mohale's Hoek where I shop for groceries & supplies.  And, there is always something interesting happening within the St. Patrick Cathedral compound where I live, especially hearing the choirs rehearse for Sunday service.

St. Patrick's Men's Choir rehearsing on a Saturday afternoon

Clear, bright, intensely blue skies most every day!

Typical landscape of the terrain & mountains of Mohale's Hoek

Mohale's Hoek is pretty much a one-street wonder

Road warriors with their homemade hotrods

I met these young folks while walking back home.  They wanted photos of me so they agreed to sing me a song.

Here is the river just below St. Patrick's compound. I cross this river on my walk into town. It is typical to see animals watering here while women do the laundry.  Some folks gather water here to take home - not sure if for drinking/cooking or washing.

Food

Shopping in Mohale's Hoek is pretty limited especially during the cold months.  I hear there will be more food options later in the summer once local crops have been harvested.  The winter months are pretty harsh up here over 4,000 ft.  Common vegetables: cabbage & various leafy greens sold on the street, butternut squash, tomatoes, potatoes, beets, carrots, onions, apples, apples, bananas. Rare appearances: broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, green beans.  With the exception of the leafy greens, I think most all the food is imported.  Eggs, frozen chicken, & some beef, pork, & lamb is available.  I don't cook any meat at the house because the kids only get chicken once a week. Common staples: maize meal (ground corn, a white "polenta"), rice, macaroni, beans, flour.  I have to go to other larger towns to find anything else (including wine, beer, spices).  The staple meal here is Papa le Moroho (maize meal - prepared very thick for eating with one's fingers, and finely chopped, steamed green leafy veggies such as cabbage, kale, rape, & chard).  Folks here eat this dish every day  (sometimes 2-3x a day) or alternate it with boiled beans on bread (usually home made).  Side dishes may include a very good beet salad, cole slaw (cabbage again!), shredded carrot & mayo salad, and sometimes a mixed veggie dish (frozen green bean, corn & carrot medley).  The cuisine does not seem to offer much variety and use of seasoning is limited.  I try to eat at a restaurant at least once week in Mohale's Hoek for some variety. A typical meal (basically, the only meal) is a chicken drumstick/thigh that has been deep fried or roasted or occasionally stewed that is with papa, rice, or "chips" (french fries) and a couple sides (beet salad & veggie medley).  Very little variation from that menu-usually costs about $2.85 USD.  The local "nice" hotel has a restaurant and that same meal may cost more like $7 or $8 but with extras like salad;  the restaurant has a few other options not found elsewhere like hamburgers & pasta.

Little shack restaurants in town

Basotho typically only serve the chicken drumstick & thigh in restaurants & to guests. The only time I find chicken breasts is packaged up along with "inferior" pieces.  I always wonder... where do all the chicken breasts go?

Typical "plate" - chicken & rice... only the drumstick & thigh are served!

Travel

I have not yet been too motivated to get out of town just yet.  I have been busy and happy enough working here at St. Camillus on the St. Patrick's compound but once things are more routine, no doubt I'll get restless.  There are some areas of Lesotho that I plan to see… but all in good time: Sani Pass 9436ft (highest bar in Africa! Not so high by our standards!!) near the Lesotho/SA border & a route to Durban South Africa, the Maletsunyane Water Falls (630ft drop) near Semonkong in central Lesotho.  Beyond that not sure if I will make it out to other countries in southern Africa during or after my 2 years of service … Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Madagascar… So much to do & see!

Internet Access - "How To"

Cell phone/internet fees are really expensive for folks like me who tend to use email & the internet a lot (including Skype, blogging, uploading & sharing photos, messaging, Facebook, googling, star gazing etc etc).  Unlike the US where one would typically pay a flat fee for monthly service, here in southern Africa one pays by the megabyte (MB)!!!  A typical photo of mine is 4-5 MB, a 60 min Skype can be between 100-200 MB. Here is what I have to do:  using a sim card for my smartphone (iPhone),  I buy what is called "air time"  (Lesotho translation is "wind").  Air time lets me make phone calls which can be very expensive. I don't have anyone to call, so I just use my phone for internet access.  I use my "air time" to buy MB to use the internet.  $15 USD pays for about 1,000 MB which can go surprisingly fast when your phone or computer needs to update its operating system, applications, and anti-virus software.  I have to keep calling my carrier to check my "air time" balance so that I don't use cellular time for internet time.  And then I have to keep converting "air time" to MB!!! Oh and… The internet MB that we buy expires the last day of the second month after you buy it so you want to buy what you can use before the expiration date.  To buy "air time" I have to walk 2 miles into town to go to the VodaPhone shop & pay cash for "air time".  And, don't forget, I have to keep any eye on the phone's charge in case the electricity goes out (which it did all day recently!).  And, to get the internet on my little computer/notebook I have to tether the computer to the phone so that the phone acts as WiFi "hot spot"!.  Amazing technology workarounds for a developing country.  And everyone just seems to get along just fine going through all these hoops!  But - thank goodness for my little iPhone - it keeps me connected to everyone and entertained with searches when things get too quiet around here!