by Peg Herbert | Mar 3, 2016 | Letters From Lesotho, Letters From Lesotho 2016 |
Ntate Shadrack and I recently spent a couple of days in Maseru for meetings, making various arrangements and sparing time to talk about our upcoming strategic plan. The founder of the Country Directors’ Leadership Forum of Lesotho since 2008, Shadrack chaired a meeting of its members.
World Vision Lesotho presented the latest stats about the drought, now called the “green drought” because although the recent rains sprouted the grass there will be no harvest to speak of. If the many people who are on antiretroviral drugs for HIV/AIDS do not have enough food to digest the drugs, the drugs will eat away their digestive system.
Corn stalks, normally shoulder length at this point, are barely a foot tall. Animals are emaciated. Food prices have risen 13%. 77% of people report they have had to borrow money to purchase food from loan sharks – predators on the poor. Watching the animals grazing on the quarter inch of grass that has grown in the past two weeks brings it all home, given that it is past mid-summer here.
If you are interested, you can read more about the green drought here.
From Maseru, I went to the small town of Roma to lecture at the National University of Lesotho to undergraduate students on Help Lesotho’s approach to delivering psychosocial support to vulnerable populations. It was special to meet the students and talk about our work. They were studying to be counselors and especially interested in our approach. Unfortunately, I cannot accept their invitation to return to speak to larger groups or to the faculty. There is never enough time!
Before I left Roma, I sat listening to the funeral music on the other side of a stand of trees from where I stayed in a little village. The music was transcendent. There are far too many funerals in Lesotho – this one for a young woman who had died of AIDS. She was a cook and supported 22 people with her meagre wage. She leaves behind a couple of tiny children. The place of music in this culture is impossible to overstate. Music permeates every aspect of life. Every meeting at our work starts with a song. Music is the living expression of grief, of joy, of hope and longing. The harmony is awesome and compelling.
This one little funeral, held in a tent by the side of the dusty road, was a testimony to the resilience of the Basotho people to keep going under the duress of more grief and loss that one can imagine. Where words are entirely inadequate, music takes over.
While I am in Lesotho, I often travel deep into the mountains by myself in a four-wheel drive truck. This is when I connect with the country the most. I had to laugh – leaving Roma, one sign says there is 60KM to your destination; 45 minutes later, another tells you it is only 50KM to go. Forty minutes passes and the sign says 30KM. Bear in mind this is on switchback turns.
This land belongs to the herd boys, their cattle, goats and sheep. While rare to pass another vehicle, it is the norm to share the road with donkeys bearing sacks of maize meal, women carrying huge weights on their heads up VERY steep paths in the hot sun for hours, tiny boys shepherding animals and horseback men shrouded in threadbare blankets and face covers against the dust in the 30 C degree heat.
Going through one tiny village, I was totally enamoured of four little boys – first bathing together in a small tub by their hut and then sunning stark naked in the warm sun on a nearby rock. They were beside themselves with delight – laughing and splashing. It was all I could do to restrain myself from stopping to play with them. One can’t though – when one has the white skin that glows in the dark. It is never possible to be subtle or inconspicuous. I often feel my presence disturbs the natural order of things and so feel reserved to intrude where I have not been invited. The Basotho are always welcoming but non-the-less, I am a disturbance.
We are excited to welcome four guests – women who have come to participate in our work on the “Mountain Kingdom Awaits” trip.
Judith Manley, a dear friend for 25 years and a huge encourager for me, is one many of you may know. Her husband, John, was the Master of Ceremonies for our first big fundraiser in 2006 with Stephen Lewis as our special guest. John was also the MC at our Tenth Anniversary in Ottawa last year. I value their friendship very much.
Patti Giffin, from Atlanta, is also one some of you will know. She too is a long-time friend. You may remember her from when her husband, Gordon, was the American Ambassador to Canada.
Gail Helmcken, from Vancouver, is a retired teacher who has been a hugely enthusiastic child sponsor since the beginning and is so excited to meet the children in our programs.
Jan Miller, from Kingston, is a member of the Kingston Grandmother Connection (KGC). This group have been the largest funder of our Grandmother Support Program for the past ten years and without them, we could not sustain that program. The KGC has raised over $250k since the beginning and is such a large group of wonderful women – I think about 225 in their membership. It is exciting to have one of them with us to actually meet the grannies.
It is a real honour for our staff and participants to host guests who care so much about our work that they are willing to leave their families and come to see it for themselves.
You see, although our work is fraught with challenges and heartache, we are surrounded by amazingly selfless, generous people. They, like you, walk this journey with us and we feel part of one family – donors, staff and beneficiaries. It is a real privilege.
Salang hantle (stay well)
Peg
PS thank you to all those who LIKE and SHARE our Facebook posts. This is a zero cost way to spread the work about the impact of our programs where they are needed most.
by Peg Herbert | Feb 24, 2016 | Letters From Lesotho, Letters From Lesotho 2016 |
It is early in the morning as I write and I hear a gentle rain falling on the tin roof – what a wonderful sound. There is so much going on here I am tripping over myself to describe the activities clearly.
Help Lesotho is stepping up its efforts to reach more people and provide more leadership opportunities for our beneficiaries to run public events and activities. One such initiative is the formation of a national Grandmother Network, with Help Lesotho as chair to guide the development of the network.
Another initiative is the GIRL4ce Movement, planned and run by girls and boys with older youth mentoring the younger ones in leadership. The focus of the movement is to educate and encourage thousands of youth in learning about and practicing human rights, gender equity, HIV prevention and ending unhealthy practices such as child early and forced marriage (CEFM) and gender-based violence (GBV). The girls and boys in the movement’s leadership have been meeting on weekends to plan and prepare various advocacy activities. The girls have even trained police officers!
The GIRL4ce Movement has conducted massive activities in three locations over the past two-week period, with the expectation of reaching 2,000 youth, teachers and community members to advocate against CEFM and GBV.
Many of our graduates who are members of Help Lesotho’s Alumni Association are committed to helping execute these activities, which include songs, poems, and speeches. At Hlotse High School, the target was 400 participants. Nearly 500 primary and secondary students came!
Last Sunday, a church service was planned by the GIRL4ce young leaders to talk about these issues, pray for victims of gender-based and sexual violence, and have a moment of silence with participants holding lit candles to remember and honour the victims.
The best laid plans – the school auditorium reserved for the service was double booked and the entire group had to walk 30-45 minutes (depending on your speed!) to our Centre. And they came – close to 300 participants!! The grandmothers were seated in the place of honour at the front. I was just thrilled to chat to the priest beforehand to know what he was going to say and I learned that he is a graduate of our Leaders-in-Training program last year! He loved it. The messages spreads!
After the three-hour service, the grannies went by themselves to form a circle on the property and sang and danced by themselves for 20 minutes. Gosh they are adorable! They encouraged the youth to care for one another and stop this violence against girls.
A similar event was held in the village of Pitseng, again using the school auditorium on Saturday for 500 youth. The next day there was a community walk from the village of Pontmain to our little Centre that attracted 400 community members. The activities were then repeated in Butha Buthe district reaching an additional 600-800 people. Youth were in charge of all these activities as they publicly stood up to protest against early and forced marriage and gender based violence.
It is wonderful see these young boys and girls talking to their peers and community members about such important issues that affect them all. These activities are not merely educational – they are therapeutic. Estimates vary but even among boys and grannies the level of abuse is staggering. At these events, the participants hear clearly that someone notices them, that what they are experiencing is wrong, that they do not deserve this and that it is not their fault. Somebody cares. Somebody expects this to stop. Young people are going to step up and speak out until it does. These events matter!
There is so much excitement in our office about upcoming projects. In the coming months, we will:
- Launch a new group of 150 young mothers;
- Start a new Computer and Life Skills program at the Pitseng Centre in our new container-computer classroom; and
- Hopefully distribute 2,000 solar lights to vulnerable students who need light in order to do their homework!
You have likely heard about this solar light campaign since Giving Tuesday in early December.
We are only $3,100 away from our target of $30,000 to make this project a reality!
I love to think of students turning on their solar-charged lights for the first time as they sit down to read, solve math equations, and practice their writing skills. I have been in so many huts that have little or no light. How can these kids pass when there is no option to read or study at home after chores? Such a simple thing but beyond the reach of our students.
Thank you for the encouraging notes and emails – they mean a lot and I love touching base with you – even in a few lines.
Salang hantle (stay well),
Peg
Read Peg’s other 2016 ‘Letters from Lesotho’.
by Peg Herbert | Feb 16, 2016 | Letters From Lesotho, Letters From Lesotho 2016 |
I hear regularly that central and eastern Canada has been in a deep freeze. While their nights are -35 to -40 Celsius, it is +33 to +35 during the day here. We are concerned that the heat will take away the benefits of the little rain we have had.
In my last letter, I mentioned the drought. An American doctor here told me that there were five weeks before Christmas when there was no water at all in the hospital down the road, water was brought in for surgeries only and there was no water for doctors to wash their hands otherwise. A startling image that brings the scale of the drought into perspective.
Just a sweet aside – as I am writing, three tiny, emaciated little deaf boys have threaded themselves through the slats in the gate to use the swings. We are closed on Sundays but they can’t stay away. This place has become their home.
Like a proud mother hen, I am bursting to tell you that Palesa Nkaile, who graduated from high school in December received the second highest results in the entire country!!!
Shas been part of our Help Lesotho girls’ leadership program and received school sponsorship for the last six years. While waiting to start university on full scholarship, Palesa is tutoring almost six days a week to help others do well. Palesa came to see me this week and was not only happy that her future education was ensured but truly appreciative of all the camps, conferences and leadership training she has received since she was twelve years old in our programs. Palesa wants to be a doctor. She left me a note:
“‘M’e Peg, I love Help Lesotho and the girls’ leadership program. You offered me free life-skills that give guidance to a healthy life with better choices and a clearer future. Those programs empower women and girls in Lesotho who are vulnerable and prone to all forms of abuse. They created a place for girls to build new friendships and learn. Help Lesotho has given me a reason to live and hope for a better future. Help Lesotho has taught me to give back whatever has been given to me to others.”
As I mentioned in my last letter, our centre is so busy that we are now using the garages for classrooms. This week was Grandmother Day at the Hlotse Centre and I wanted to show you what that looks like! You just gotta love the hats!
One reason we are bursting at the seams is the popularity of our computer classes. There is a huge waiting list. On a first-come, first-serve basis, participants come two hours a day for two months.
One hour is a lesson and practice at using Microsoft Office, building a CV and skills like formatting.
The second hour is a life skills class where they learn about
- AIDS and gender equity
- gender-based violence
- conflict resolution
- communication skills, etc.
Participants initially join the life skills classes reluctantly. By graduation, it has changed their life and their perspectives.
Two years ago, four male police officers came. They were shy and uncomfortable taking this free class. ‘Learning is for children’. Now every session includes more police officers, on company time. Before Christmas, one session was half priests and the other half police officers. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall for those conversations!
Senior police officers leaving computer training classes.
One of the current sessions now has 17 senior police officers – both male and female. They are asking for two hours of life skills training daily! While we have them on site, we are also taking them aside and giving them extra training on gender and domestic violence. Their more-than-enthusiastic participation in this type of new learning is a huge definition of success and community impact. It is impossible to separate HIV transmission from gender-based violence. Just think of how this can change society if we can reach more police and local leaders through the carrot of computer classes.
Lesotho, the Mountain Kingdom, is now ranked first in tuberculosis (TB) infections, with 852 people in every 100 000 now infected according to the World Health Organisation’s 2015 Global TB Report. Most people here have compromised immunity systems. Hundreds of thousands are on antiretroviral drugs (ARVs). A form of chemo therapy, they are hard on the body. When I first came here, there were no paediatric ARVs. Children were put on fractions of adult pills, imprecise and potentially too strong dosages. A few I know well are now 18-19.
I have seen the ravages on their development through childhood and adolescence. Their cognitive and physical development has been compromised. They are small of statue and have intermittent periods of illness and cognitive confusion. Many lack the food to digest the drugs and so they eat away at their mouths and digestive systems. So many are ripe for the other opportunistic diseases that lurk around to prey on the vulnerable. The WHO states that TB will eventually wreak greater damage than HIV/AIDS has.
People often ask me how I balance the sadness and relentless challenges here to avoid becoming discouraged. I never do get discouraged because our programs are so effective, so appreciated and so relevant to the local needs here. We cannot change everything, cannot cure diseases or generate rain. But, we can give people the hope, kindness, support and education they need to move forward in healthy, confident ways each and every day – gifts that will never be devalued. It is totally worth it.
I also never feel discouraged because of your faith in us. Our donors are wonderful – they are faithful year after year and truly believe in us. Not a day goes by here that I do not think of you – our donors – and how incredibly touched and rewarded you would feel if you could see how far we stretch your funds – in sustainable and innovative ways. It is this partnership with you that allows us to work.
Please know how much grateful we are. You are right here beside us all the way.
Rea leboha haholo (thank you sooo much)
Peg
by Peg Herbert | Feb 8, 2016 | Letters From Lesotho, Letters From Lesotho 2016 |
As I set foot on the soil of Lesotho last week, I started the twelfth year of my journey with the Basotho.
Before landing in Lesotho, there is a point when one can see the mountains from the small plane’s windows. Then I know I am home. This year, I was filled with trepidation about what that view might look like after months of drought. Thankfully, there have been short, gentle rains since Christmas. I felt enormous relief to see green on the mountains instead of the dull, hopeless beige I had feared.
Global partners, the World Food Program, and the Lesotho government are strategizing ways to help the more than 650,000 people who are at risk of starvation this year from the paralyzing heat and drought wreaked upon sub-Saharan Africa this year. Imagine the effect on our vulnerable populations – especially breastfeeding mothers, young children, HIV patients and the aged.
There were several months when our Centre had no water at all – even the town we live in had none. They had to import it from higher regions. It was incredibly challenging hosting hundreds of people for two five-day Leadership Camps, a three-day Alumni Conference and all our other regular activities.
The effects of the drought persist and are very real. The winter preserves are gone. Seeds shrivelled in the soil after the September planting. There is no time left for grain crops to mature before June’s freezing temperatures. There is hopefully time for one crop of vegetables, but nothing to eat before they mature and not enough to store for next winter.
As if to reinforce my relief, it rained on the drive to Hlotse from the airport! I arrived at home and the power went out. Welcome to Lesotho!
As I work, it is routine for me to hear the bells on sheep and cows. This morning I was treated to the grunts of a group of pigs as they foraged at our front gate! Life is never dull!
Our programs are in such demand that we have converted our two garages into classrooms. I walked into one garage yesterday during Saturday story time. It was packed. Half the children were from the nearby school for the deaf and the rest from surrounding villages. One young boy signed for the deaf children as ‘M’e Pontso read the story. Children clustered around our duplicate copies to follow along. One little munchkin was clearly thinking this was a bedtime story!
One of my joys in returning each time is the staff. Our staff are all Basotho, with the exception of our wonderful Country Director, Shadrack. This year, two staff you may know have changed portfolios.
- ‘M’e Mampaka who previously managed our Child Sponsorship Program all these years is now in charge of the Grandmother Support Program.
- Ntate Makoti, one of our Leaders-in-Training program graduates, is now the Child Sponsorship Officer after two successful years interning under ‘M’e Mampaka.
- ‘M’e Felleng, who managed the Grandmother Support Program, is now the Advocacy and Networks Officer – to address our ever expanding reach and scope.
Last year, we had almost 20,000 beneficiaries covering a massive geographical area. Last quarter alone, with no water, we reached over 4,600 beneficiaries with our programs!
Shadrack holds two-day quarterly staff meetings to build the team, share challenges and successes, review organizational information and plan ahead. There were 32 participants at the first meeting of 2016, including our grandmother leads from the villages. Staff came from all locations to participate.
We explored lots of issues and successes, but perhaps the most popular was the session on how our programs are designed and delivered to promote the cognitive development of our beneficiaries – and how it enhances our own. Great discussion and lots of interest. The staff were particularly touched as I told them of the sacrifices our donors make to fund these important programs.
I was delighted to present Five-Year Service plaques to ‘M’e Montja, our amazing cook and assistant house mother, and Ntate Motsamai, our wonderful driver.
There were tearful moments as they shared how much they value working at Help Lesotho and how they have grown as individuals. I look forward to my individual meetings with each staff to catch up. These are the people who make our work possible and such a huge success – they are an incredible group.
We have two new interns this year, funded by the Ministry of Global Affairs through our partnership with the Interagency Coalition on AIDS and Development (ICAD). Jo-Ann Osei-Twum (right) is from Brantford, ON and Sarah Otto (left) is from Ottawa, ON. They will be with us until August supporting programs and projects.
I was surprised to learn that I am not the only white woman in town these days. Risa Keene from New Hampshire is here with her husband, a physician, for two years. Risa, a speech therapist, will volunteer in our Centres for half of every week over the next year – working with the pre-school program, library and literacy work. The staff have embraced her with open arms.
Wishing each one the very best, sala hantle.
Peg
PS On a personal note, in church this morning, an absolutely adorable baby cooed throughout and I became happily distracted with my anticipation of my third grandchild arriving next July to my youngest son, Abe, and his lovely wife Jessica! I wish every Basotho child was so blessed as this new babe will be.
Read Peg’s second Letter from Lesotho of 2016.
by Peg Herbert | Apr 2, 2015 | Letters From Lesotho, Letters From Lesotho 2015 |
Lumelang,
This is my last letter home after two months in Lesotho. It has been an intense and extraordinary time.
The feedback from our first donor trip was more than enthusiastic. Their assurance that they would not change a thing has encouraged me to do this again. Without exception, they were thoughtful, culturally sensitive, interested and engaged. It was so much fun! We laughed a lot.
The depth to which they were moved by their time with our staff and beneficiaries was touching. It was very exciting for me to have this chance to show these committed donors my world in Lesotho, the people I love and the staff who work so hard to make this extraordinary impact possible.
Our Anniversary Celebrations were wonderful (see my last letter) and we got quite a bit of local press. The event was televised in full several times and also played on radio and we got three national newspaper articles:
http://sundayexpress.co.ls/king-letsie-lauds-help-lesotho/
As an aside, I had so hoped that the cosmos flowers would be out – they are fall wild flowers in Lesotho – bursting into pinks and purples all over the alpine fields. They were just coming into their own as I left.
I just missed the installation of the new playground equipment at the Pitseng Centre that Simon Melanson worked so hard to fundraise for.
Two swings and climbing ladders were installed last week and the remaining equipment will be fully in place next week. Other than our Hlotse Centre, I have never seen any playground equipment like it in northern or central Lesotho. I am imagining the little ones – and even the big kids – laughing with abandon and having so much fun at our playground. Those kids deserve some fun! Thank you to all who contributed. We will post photos on our Facebook page as soon as they are available.
As I leave Lesotho, I am so conscious that our programs are unique and incredibly valuable. My mind is preoccupied with ways to address the second part of our anniversary slogan – Ensure the Future.
This is my task over the next few years.
Help Lesotho has surprisingly few large donors. We need to increase the number of large donors, the length of time they commit and the number of people who will consider including Help Lesotho in their will. I know that people want to support organizations that are totally accountable and having a high impact locally. We just need to get the message out.
A few weeks ago a British gentleman came to see to me. He had been visiting a number of charities in both Lesotho and South Africa to understand their approaches to dealing with the high rates of HIV/AIDS. He was so interested in our reiterative, holistic, comprehensive approach and the fact that we keep the same beneficiaries for long times and across multiple programs rather than the usual one-off interventions. I was touched by his interest and his commitment to become involved in and support our work.
One of the last things he said to me was –
“Well, I am going to put Help Lesotho in my will!”
Now that is one step forward in ensuring our future!
I left Lesotho with a happy and proud heart. It was important to have these celebrations, to stop for a minute and reflect on all that has happened. I left moved to tears by the appreciation of our staff and beneficiaries. I left excited about the future – with so many ideas running through my mind.
We have a great story to tell – let’s do it!
Happy Easter to you all.
Peg
PS For those following the eye surgery project, we now have enough funds to ensure 50 surgeries!
PPS Also, the ophthalmologist tells us that sunglasses for the grannies would be a good idea so if you want to save your old ones and give them to us, we will get them to the grannies.
Read Peg’s other 2015 Letters from Lesotho
