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!!
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| Ntate Thabang, our Conservation Agriculture consultant with Mme Maletuka |
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| Mme Maletuak managing receipt of first sales |
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| 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.
