During a sabbatical last year, Michele was privileged to spend six months in southern Africa. Of this time, one month was spent touring South Africa, Swaziland, and Mozambique, but the five months spent volunteering and living with the Basotho in rural Lesotho has truly had an impact on her life. Michele plans to return to Lesotho in the near future to continue volunteering to assist the young people as they struggle to obtain an education.

We will be reprinting some of Michele’s emails home highlighting her time in Lesotho
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Leadership camp
January 12 Pitseng HS–HL Leadership Camp

.   This morning we left our house, where we will continue to stay even though the landlord wanted us to leave or pay more money since there were 9 people living in the house. But then he said we had to give 1 month’s notice if we left, so we kindly reduced our number to five. We took a four plus one (car taxi vs van taxi that scrunched in 15 people) up into the mountains of Pitseng.  We arrived in London and waited for Dean (another Canadian) to pick us up and take us to Pitseng High School for the leadership camp.  The drive up was beautiful as we passed fields of maize, small villages, shepherds moving their charges from field to field to graze.

Pitseng HS is beside the Sisters Of Charity Convent (where we are staying) and on the other side of the convent and Pitseng church are two other Help Lesotho schools: Pontmain Primary and Guardian Angels Primary. They are both feeder schools to Pitseng HS, which is run by the Sisters.  The Sisters also have developed a bakery to support local employment and the bakery is keeping us well carbed so far. It was beans and pap [a traditional porridge] for dinner so I was glad I had my three rolls late this afternoon!

When we arrived at 10:30 am, [we discovered that] students from the Thaba Tseka district had already
arrived last night! Students and teacher arrived all day long and even into [the] night from all over Lesotho. There are about 250 people in total, with approximately 200 students, 30 teachers, and 20 of us running the camp. The students and youth run from 10 to 25 in age and many arrived in their school uniforms. Many [of the uniforms] were tattered with holes.  The girls are staying in Pitseng’s dorm and the boys in the classrooms of Pontmain.  There is a central hall and the classroom [are] all open to the
outside in various buildings. The camp’s theme is “leaders don’t quit.” We have sessions in the morning on HIV/AIDS, gender equity, goal setting, leadership etc., and in the afternoon, there are many activities going on. At night there are circus shows (one of the activities) and [the] last day is a day of HIV testing. Students are encouraged to know their status and the week builds up to thisday.

Many of the students are part of the child sponsorship program and the others have been selected by their school or identified by HL for leadership potential.  One young girl, Lerato, is the only person left in her family. Her parents and siblings have all died. HL had her tested for HIV because she is so small. She is HIV negative, just malnourished.

About twenty students showed up at camp to try to get in or sneak in because they have heard about it or have been before, but were not selected this year.  Tomorrow many of the locals will try to join us
for the activities and the three meals plus snacks a day.  The poverty in rural areas is heightened if you don’t own a piece of land to farm or if you are too sick to do so. For many, their diet consists of pap
and moroho (vegetable that reminds me of spinach).  Many children are wearing tattered clothes with holes and go barefoot.  Yet the smiles and playing that occurs would never indicate that each day is a struggle to survive.

Tonight the Basotho sang their national anthem for us. It was amazing with their harmony and voices. Such a gift that brings goose bumps to my skin.
-Michele

January 13th Well we weren’t fully prepared for what to bring to camp as a few of us have no sheets—just old stained mattresses and pillows with a itchy wool sheet. I think someone forgot to tell us to bring a sheet off our beds at the house or something!  As long as there are no fleas, all should go well. Quarters are close. We have a sink but have had no water so some students brought us water to wash with. Now tonight the water appears to be working, but we are keeping our buckets just in case. Ten women and one toilet with no water has been a challenge. I have been finding the pit latrine to be easier. Scary I know. It does stink!

The real [first day] of camp! Food and the kitchen. You will not believe the conditions in which the whole food preparation, cleaning and eating takes place here. I’m proud to say that I am not sick yet. It will be a feat if I leave without some intestinal problems!

 The ceiling, kitchen walls, floor, and all other surfaces are black from smoke. On one wall there are three gigantic pots that have fires burning under them. One pot is for veggies, one for rice or papa, and, if they are really lucky, one for meat. The three women are responsible for finding the wood, maintaining the fires and the food preparation in this smoked filled work place. They have running water, but not hot and little soap is used. The cooking utensils are washed and dried with the same filthy cloth that has been used on everything else in the kitchen.  The cooks can prepare food for 500 people over these three fires and the assembly line to get the food distributed is amazing. Three large bowls, a scoop of each and up the steps and through the servery.  The students pick up their food and eat it with their hand. Then they go up to the outside water faucet and rinse off their bowls in cold, soap-free water, and put them back in the bin to use for next time. On the way back to the bin, they fill the bowl with water and drink from it.  I haven’t seen any soap, no sterilization,  nada. And you start again at the next meal.

This morning, I had two sessions on goal planning—one with the 10-13 year old children that are child sponsored and the second group was the primary teachers. Some teachers have 80 students in their classes. One principal has 800 students, 18 teachers, and a day and a night armed bodyguard. That is the [complete] staff. They [the students] have standardized testing at various intervals. These children have so much working against them and yet they “never give up.”  The teachers start teaching next week, but have really only had one or two weeks off for all the meetings and courses they are expected to take. I haven’t had the opportunity to inquire about income yet.

From the first day’s activities and our 6 am bread pick-up, today has been a success from the students’ perspective. And so it should. This is camp!

 It’s 9:15 and off to bed as the nuns are up at 4:55, then so are the girls as well. So are we. We go to the bakery to pick up bread at 6amand cut each loaf into 4 to go with 2 boiled eggs for breakfast. Welcome to carb city!

-Michele

Photos courtesy of Michele Pierce

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