by Peg Herbert | Feb 20, 2018 | Letters From Lesotho, Letters From Lesotho-2018 |
Greetings from Lesotho,
Every day so much happens that I don’t know where to start. Almost every interaction I have is with someone who has a story of paralyzing concern and yet, so much hope has been restored. It is remarkable.
For example, a priest from one of the villages came to ask for our help with his church council. I offered our local staff to give his council training in leadership and conflict resolution. I was taken aback when he totally changed the subject and started to praise the young mother’s group in his village, and regal me with stories of how these pregnant young girls and young mothers’ lives had been fundamentally changed by our program. The girls who had graduated from the program no longer tried to be invisible. Now they had a support network and were generating a small income. He said that they now speak up and tell the community what they need. They no longer accept the abusive way men treat them and are working together to motivate the community to be respectful.
It was both touching and encouraging hearing this unsolicited feedback from a male religious leader in a village.
I called ‘M’e Shasha over to hear his comments – she leads that program and deserves this praise. “M’e told us about the recent graduates who were so proud to receive their baby boxes. They say that now they have real baby supplies like other mothers and a proper bag to carry them in instead of a ripped plastic grocery bag.
A couple of days later, I attended the Young Mother Day at the Pitseng Centre with our new group of young mothers. The girls are selected with help from the chiefs and local councillors and must be either pregnant or lactating, which maximizes the chance for pre and post-natal impact. It was such fun. Those babies are so adorable, but those girls are far too young to be mothers. It breaks my heart to know that their futures are drastically changed forever!
We held our quarterly staff meeting with our full-time staff, professional interns, part-time granny leads, cook, driver, and security guard. It was so evident that our country director, Shadrack, is a wonderful leader – passionate, dedicated and hard-working. Together, we review policy and procedural changes and share times of reflection – I give workshops for the staff at these times. Staff presented their program impact reports via delightful dramas and songs. Truly, their singing is ethereal. One would assume they were professionals! I never tire of it. I am deeply moved by the faith of our staff – it is an inspiration and increases our resilience in dealing with the endless challenges of our work. Lesotho is primarily a Christian country. Every meeting begins with prayer and a praise song. To share faith with these fine people is a blessing to me on many levels.
Shadrack and I went to Maseru to visit with the Country Director of UNICEF and then with Queen ‘Masenate. We will work together with the Ministry of Social Development to engage Princess Senate as the Champion for the Child Early and Forced Marriage Campaign. Many of you will remember the Princess from her visit to Canada. She is now a beautiful, poised, and confident young 16-year-old who wants to help her peers. It was lovely to visit with Her Majesty, as always.
Last week, we hosted Manuela Clement-Frencia from Montreal and Maria and Dominique Cabrelli from Paris who came to develop a photo and story exhibition of our work with girls’ education to be displayed at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Musee des Beaux-Arts). They were lovely guests, so interested in all that we are doing. They will provide us with all the photos and documents to use, which will be very helpful. I can’t wait to see the exhibition.
In mid-January, the new school year begins here. Lesotho instituted free primary education in 2000 but the steep fees for high school remain – they are absolutely prohibitive for so many. January is also when the standardized exam results come out for the previous year. In 2017, we had two of our sponsored students in the top ten high school graduates for the whole country and three in the top ten for grade ten, the two years they sit for standardized exams. Without sponsorship, these hard working students may not have had a chance to excel.
Almost every day a former sponsored child contacts me/finds me – Help Lesotho is home. They want to tell me how they are. They remember that we expect them to try their best, to take leadership among their peers and to create a better society. They are so grateful. It pours out of them without provocation. They need me to know that their lives could not have been improved without that sponsorship. This week I am meeting with the former sponsored children who were selected for our intensive Leadership in Training Program that runs daily for two months. In March, I will meet a larger group of them in Maseru.
It is hard for us to imagine what it would be like to be so young with more heartbreak than any human being should have to deal with. We are that life-line – from the minute they join us and every year thereafter. We are their family!
This year, we committed to sponsor 50 new students, chosen by their schools as those who are in dire need but have potential to succeed and make something new of their lives. Our thanks to each person who has stepped forward to sponsor this year but we urgently need 15 more sponsors for the girls and boys on our list who daily and anxiously await a sponsor. Please consider sponsoring one of these young ones. You can build a relationship with them or not – it is your choice.
And finally, this week, we received the long-awaited computer classroom container at our Hlotse Centre donated by the Bountiful Hope Foundation in Denver, Colorado. It came complete with 22 small desks and computers. This is such a blessing – the waiting list for our computer and life skills classes is over a year and we have had to stop applications. We shouted with happiness to see it finally arrive, it was so exciting! We know what this will mean to the hundreds of people who will learn there – who will become part of our ever expanding family. We deeply appreciate this gift! Thank you to our friends in Denver.
Thank you for walking this journey with us – your support keeps us going in so many ways.
Stay warm – spring will indeed come at some point!
Peg
PS – let us know if you prefer a boy or a girl to sponsor.
As Help Lesotho’s Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Peg Herbert spends at least two months a year living and working in Lesotho. As a Canadian exemplifying what good international development looks like, Peg shares her experiences through ‘Letters from Lesotho’ so we can all get a glimpse of what makes Lesotho such a special place.
If you would like to connect with Peg about her letters:
by Peg Herbert | Feb 6, 2018 | Letters From Lesotho, Letters From Lesotho-2018 |
Lumelang,
I have been in Lesotho almost two weeks now, arriving just 30 hours before our first guest! Ken Rutherford, a retired businessman from Toronto, came for a week to explore our approach and learn from our staff and beneficiaries. He was a great guest and is looking forward to returning.
It is lovely to be back – to see staff and once again realize how many people are part of the Help Lesotho family. I am deeply touched by their welcome – signs everywhere and happy wishes.
The past months have been unusually hot and no rain has fallen. This is the cycle of climate change. Even the Cape Town reservoirs are close to empty causing stringent water rationing. Just as I arrived, it started raining. My third night here, we had one of those horrific thunderstorm Lesotho is so famous for. It brought such heavy, impenetrable sheets of water that not even the persistent bolts of lightning could illuminate the air.
As I lay in bed listening to the deafening torrents of rain hit the tin roof immediately above me, I thought of the herd boys marooned out in the mountains, frantically trying to shelter their animals. I had images of isolated grannies with holes in their thatch roofs. I recalled the makeshift one-room concrete block homes of many of our beneficiaries – the ones roofed by scrap pieces of tin held down strategically by large rocks.
How did they get through the night? Were the children wet and cold? Had there been enough rain to soak through the ground and saturate the tragically thin mats so many sleep on?
I will never know, but it breaks my heart knowing they are out there in the blackness, having to bear the powerful winds and the rain of these intense storms.
I also thought of Ken, our visitor, sleeping (for his first of two nights) at the Pitseng Centre. The thunder would be louder, the storm more intimate, the solitude more profound. He was a trouper, as I knew he would be. The days have been lovely and warm but these storms have become nightly events, pounding the rigid soil, creating ruts and fissures. I do think the water is gradually seeping in and hope it continues to rain, but more gently. Municipal water is infrequent and we are often forced to rely on our well, which is difficult with so many people here every day. On wakening, one always wonders – will there be internet, water, and electricity for the day?
In my feeble attempt to get some exercise, I was out this morning for a jog – after the storm last night. It must have looked hilarious – a comedy of obstacles. The only white woman within miles, dodging cow poop, puddles of water of indeterminate depth, rocks, and huge ruts. Along my route I was met by cows, sheep, herd boys/men, groups of grannies, gaggles of little ones, deaf kids waving, and the occasional vehicle. I greeted each person I passed, as is the lovely custom here! A beautiful former sponsored young woman stopped me for a hug. She has graduated from high school and the university nursing program. There are no jobs so she is working at the pharmacy in town. I love reconnecting with our alumni, and we planned to meet again before I return to Canada.
Now, as I write, the cow bells from the field in front of our Centre are so loud it seems as if these bovines will come directly in the door any minute!
Our 2018 programs have started, some in our two Centres, others in the villages. Every day there are multiple programs going on simultaneously.
Last weekend was a two-day training for the Pearl Program. Although there is a new group of grade seven girls starting this month with the beginning of the new school year, this training was for last year’s group for a refresher as they start high school. It was lovely to see them. Children come to the Centre for games and students to use the library. The GIRL4ce troupe was performing out in a village to inspire people to fight gender-based violence and child early and forced marriage. Busy weekend!
A new young mother program group has been recruited and the Grandmother Support Program reconvened for their second and final year with us.
There are computer classes and life skills class running in both centres. One is for new graduates from high school to prepare them for university which starts in August – a heads up chance to succeed. Another class is for youth who dropped out of school, and the last is for community leaders, including police, local counsellors, and government officials.
Our annual intensive leadership training program began with 65 carefully selected young, talented youth. We had the most applicants ever this year and many from great distances. I hear them laughing as they wait for the afternoon class to start, filled with pride to be chosen, making new friends. Their hearts are so heavy with worries about their futures and to laugh with abandon is such therapy.
This is truly a happy place.
I had the opportunity to chat with these youth. Predictably, several asked what made me choose the Basotho, which of course led to the founding story. As I was in the telling, I had an epiphany. The children who had touched me so deeply in 2004 when I first visited Lesotho – tiny, beautiful children who had been brutally orphaned by AIDS – were these kids in front of me. They may not have been the exact children but they would have been about the same age. They were those children who were trying to survive when HIV/AIDS had no treatment or testing, when death permeated each village, family and heart.
Knowing that we had accompanied them in this journey, into their young adulthood, seeing them looking so mature and grown up was a visual representation of how much time had passed, how long I have been in Lesotho and how many tens of thousands of people have been helped.
It is good to just stop once in a while and review the big picture. It will be a joy to watch these youth continue to grow over the next couple of months through our program.
Speaking of the founding story, my dear friend Sister Alice came for a long, quiet visit this week. It was wonderful to reminisce and catch up. She looks terrific and I assured her so many continue to ask for her. She is on a two year secondment from her school to work on convent matters. It was a wonderful visit. As a total aside, she informed me that there is only one dialysis machine in the whole country and it is in our town hospital just down the road. Every once in a while, one example explains it all – how hard life is here and how much work is yet to be done!
Stay warm.
Best wishes,
Peg
As Help Lesotho’s Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Peg Herbert spends at least two months a year living and working in Lesotho. As a Canadian exemplifying what good international development looks like, Peg shares her experiences through ‘Letters from Lesotho’ so we can all get a glimpse of what makes Lesotho such a special place.
by Peg Herbert | Apr 4, 2017 | Letters From Lesotho, Letters From Lesotho 2017 |
Greetings,
As I take the long, long journey home again, I am reflecting on what has been the most memorable during this trip. I have to say, other than the remarkable lovely people on the donor trip, the part that impacted me most this time was the depth of love our beneficiaries express for Help Lesotho. I know that sounds corny but it is truly tangible, reiterated often and in such touching ways.
One tiny example is the response of a little girl at the Centre. She was asked to draw a smiley face on one side of a paper plate and what makes her happy on the other. What makes her happy is Help Lesotho!
Shadrack, the entire staff and I are determined that our programs always be delivered with respect and love – despite their serious, often very emotional content – and what I/we experience is that love pouring back to us. It has overwhelmed me many times and I have to fight back tears. When given the chance, our beneficiaries do not ask for anything for themselves, they only want to thank us – it is extraordinary and consistent in every village, school, session and graduate.
The other side of this deeply moving appreciation is the children and adults who go to such lengths to raise the funds for the programs.One little school district in New Brunswick, Anglophone North, under the leadership of Gary Branch, has raised over $100,000 for Help Lesotho since 2006!! Imagine!
Don’t listen to the awful messages on the news – the world is filled with generous, caring people who are stepping up to do what they can for others.
We are here not only to change people’s lives but to save people’s lives. Lesotho continues to have the 2nd highest rate of HIV/AIDS (25% of people are HIV-positive) and the 1st highest rate of TB in the world. Our work is needed more than ever: Help Lesotho remains as one of the few sources of hope the Basotho can turn to.
Just before I left, our staff were preparing for a new program called the ‘Pearl Program’ which is funded by our Pearls4Girls social enterprise. The Pearl Program will work with 50+ grade seven girls to build their self-esteem and prepare them for making healthy decisions amidst the peer pressure they will inevitably face at high school next year. High school starts at grade eight here so they are still so little. I noticed a tiny little girl watching the preparations. She kept staring at the t-shirts with pink writing that said “I am a Pearl Girl”! One of our staff told her what was happening and she replied (in Sesotho),
“I want to be a Pearl Girl when I grow up”!
I took her for a little walk in the field for a visit. I will remember her and hope to see her in the Pearl Program in a few years!
Before I left, the cosmos flowers were in full bloom – my favourite.
In my last letter, I wrote of us receiving permission for a huge parcel of land adjacent to our Hlotse Centre and that we needed to fence it properly. This week, one of the guests on our donor trip offered $5,000 toward its construction and will match the funds we raise up until the $25,000 we need! Yet another miracle! Another guest came home and doubled their monthly donation amount. As I said – they are amazing!
I hear from so many people who are awed by the work being done in Lesotho. I send this praise right back to each of you. YOU are the reason we are able to accomplish so much. Please keep telling your friends and family about the ways they too can help change the lives of people in Lesotho. Our work grows because our donors are respected for their judgement – and they tell their friends. It is as simple as that. Here are a few concrete ways you can really help us:
- Please ‘Like’ or ‘Share’ at least one post on our Facebook page every week. The posts are real-time sharing of what is happening with programs and beneficiaries on a near daily basis. Your network will be able to see what all the excitement at Help Lesotho is about!
- Host or co-host a home or business party for our Pearls4Girls program if you are within a days’ driving distance of Ottawa. Before Mother’s Day would be a great time for a sale to raise funds for Help Lesotho’s girls’ leadership programs!
- Now that I am back, I am keen to book new speaking engagements. If your church, community group, or school would be interested in hearing about development work in Lesotho, please let me know. I love the chance to connect with new people, but I need your help to make these opportunities available.
- Lastly, please share my ‘Letters from Lesotho’ with your network! This link has all six letters from my 2017 trip.
It has been a wonderful trip but I am looking forward to going home and to seeing my sons and their families, not to mention having consistent high-speed internet, unlimited water and electricity! So much has happened. It seems a long time.
Over the next months, please reach out and let me know how you are. You are an important member of our Help Lesotho family.
Best wishes – and thank you for walking this journey with me.
Salang hantle (stay well)
Love,
P.S. Our Annual Report 2015-2016 is now published and available here. You will be happy to know that 90% of our revenue went to programs! Thank you RE/MAX Hallmark Realty for our donated office space in Ottawa – it allows us to send more funds to Lesotho!
PPS We are hosting a ‘Brunch with Peg’ on April 22 in Ottawa. There are eight tickets left. If you live nearby and can join us to see some photos and hear the stories of my trip – please reserve your ticket soon! See my personal invitation to you here.
As Help Lesotho’s Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Peg Herbert spends at least two months a year living and working in Lesotho. As a Canadian exemplifying what good international development looks like, Peg shares her experiences through ‘Letters from Lesotho’ so we can all get a glimpse of what makes Lesotho such a special place.
If you would like to connect with Peg about her letters:
by Peg Herbert | Mar 27, 2017 | Letters From Lesotho, Letters From Lesotho 2017 |
Dear Friends,
As I write, I can hear the children playing at the centre. Some of them are deaf but still make noises of happiness. There are students in the library poised with concentration and students in the computer lab trying so hard to learn this electronic world as fast as they can.
I think I left off as we were going to the graduation ceremony of the young mothers. As a mother myself, I still cannot imagine how difficult their lives are trying to bring these gorgeous babies up without support or resources.
It is deeply touching to hear the male village chiefs and councillors acknowledge and honour them and the importance of the program.
Two Canadian families are funding this program and they would be overwhelmed by the appreciation of these young girls. One young mother told us she was so bitter that she was forced into sex and now had to pay for the rest of her life by forfeiting her education, looking after a sick baby and going from house to house with a small bowl to ask for enough mealie meal to feed her child. She bravely told the group that this program had changed her – she now knew how to look after her baby and no longer had to beg for food. She had a garden and seeds for vegetables and the Starter Pack project had allowed her to generate enough income to feed them. That we should all feel such gratitude in having the most basic things of life – hope and sustenance.
We returned to the final days of the grandmother conference – a sight to behold. We had no water for the final three days of the conference. Feeding 140-150 people on site with no water is no mean feat! These grannies are wonderful! After two years in the program, it is still something to hear them discuss about the challenges of raising orphaned children in a new world where children have rights and choices but no opportunities.
During the GIRL4ce presentation on early and forced marriage – they called out repeatedly: “That is just the way it is in my village”, “This is too common”.
As we talked, they shared how they must take the lead in stopping this harmful practice. They are such good souls – doing their best. When I asked how many were brides in an early or forced marriage themselves, over 30% put up their hands.
Another of their serious challenges is obtaining their identity documents, albeit birth certificates, death certificates of their spouse, making application for their senior’s pension (about CAD $50 per month). They spend lost days struggling to get to the government offices and queue all day in the burning sun – just to be ignored.
So, for this conference, we brought the government officials to them – nurses to take blood pressure and test for HIV/AIDS and blood sugar levels; government officials to register them for their pensions and other essential documents in this modern world.
They were delighted and so appreciative.
The grannies gave our Canadian guests the most delightful send off – with handmade flags, singing and dancing. They were so happy to have these Help Lesotho supporters join them. Everywhere the guests went in the areas where we work, they were greeted with such honour and welcome. It really is overwhelming – from people who have so little. The trip group was wonderful – so easy to have and so interested in our work.
In person, they could see how far we stretch our funds and how enormous is the impact.
Since they left, we have had fun emailing about our poor sheep that was gifted to us from Sefapanong – the group named her “BaBa”. She stayed tied up in our yard for several days and then was respectfully prepared for a feast for the staff yesterday afternoon. I confess, my conscience was relieved to no longer hear her bleating day and night!
One of our guests seemed haunted to realize we did not have enough funds to buy all the boys from the 2015 Herd Boy Program blankets and gum boots (rain boots). When you actually talk to these boys and see how threadbare they are and how important those boots are to prevent snake bites and other unmentionables, one gains a new appreciation for the impending cold and bitter winter. The herd boys from the 2016 program were so proud to show us their new blankets and boots, which solidified these simple items as essential components of the program.
As soon as this guest arrived home, I received an email offering to buy the remaining 121 boys each a new blanket and pair of boots. The boys will be delighted. Here we are deeply touched by the generosity of Canadians.
After the grannies left, we had the job of clean up!! Imagine how long it will take to wash 246 sheets and 123 pillow cases by hand, hang them to dry in the sun, fold and put away. Each of the mattresses will be aired and washed down with vinegar. This is the routine after all our camps and conferences, of which there are roughly 10-12 a year. Our staff are amazing.
The next day, I went to Maseru to spend a full hour in conversation with King Letsie III and Queen Masenate. Being just the three of us, we were able to have a fulsome chat about two of our initiatives. The first one is the Sanitary Kits that are made in Lesotho by girls here for girls. The kits last for three years and are environmentally and educationally significant in a land where HIV/AIDS is spread so often through contact with blood. This dovetails well with one of the Queen’s own initiatives to give every girl in Lesotho sanitary security. I am hoping we can partner.
The second was our new GIRL4ce Movement – a youth-led initiative of Help Lesotho – of boys and girls who advocate to end early and forced child marriage (an increasingly common practice here) and gender-based violence. They are an education-entertainment group with great branding, catchy songs, dramas, dances and poems to motivate communities to step up and stop these damaging practices. We will have the launch in a month or so and are working with their Majesties to find a date that would enable them to come. We hope GIRL4ce will become so cool that they will be invited to perform all over the country and be able to reach others through various media.
Unless girls are allowed to enter adulthood in safety and before having babies, so many other issues will not be solved.
My final piece of news is about our growth. At our Hlotse Centre headquarters, we are maxed out for space. Although it is large, we use every inch. We have converted our two double car garages into classrooms, put windows and doors on our lappas for more year-round space, reconfigured our offices and other spaces for multiple uses, it is still not enough. The demand for our programs increases monthly.
We have been generosity offered another computer lab by a group in Denver.
The need for it is enormous but we have no where to put it and, given the year-long waiting list for this program, we were desperate to find a spot. Ntate Shadrack, our Country Director, and I made a presentation to the local council several weeks ago to ask for more land. These councillors know how valuable we are to their constituents and that we have never asked anything in return. Now we are.
After a long meeting, they unanimously voted to provide the new land we requested on either side of our existing property and to fix the horrible road to our Centre.
Step 1 complete.
Step 2 is to raise the $25,000 it will cost to put secure fencing up around this huge parcel of land.
Step 3 is to get the survey from the council and start the fence.
Then, we will pour the pad for the container and get it delivered. Another project that will educate thousands more! The new land will allow us to build new pit latrines – ours are full and after seven years of use by tens of thousands of people, this is not surprising.
We will need help with this new project so if you know any group or individual who would be willing to fund these improvements, please let me know. I know fencing is not a ‘warm and fuzzy’ impact but these are the nuts and bolts issues that allow us to reach those who need us every year.
Never a dull moment!
Love to you all,
As Help Lesotho’s Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Peg Herbert spends at least two months a year living and working in Lesotho. As a Canadian exemplifying what good international development looks like, Peg shares her experiences through ‘Letters from Lesotho’ so we can all get a glimpse of what makes Lesotho such a special place.
If you would like to connect with Peg about her letters:
by Peg Herbert | Mar 14, 2017 | Letters From Lesotho, Letters From Lesotho 2017 |
Lumelang,
There is so much going on here that I hardly know where to start.
Our Canadian trip guests and I have been up in the mountains of Thaba Tseka since Thursday and came down on Sunday afternoon. It was a spectacular trip – the scenery is breathtaking and the welcome extraordinary.
On Friday, we rode horses straight up a mountain path for 50 minutes to one of our remote schools.
Our guests read to the children and then traced their little feet on a piece of paper so we would know what sizes were needed to provide a new pair of shoes for each of the 132 children.
It was a lovely visit – the children sang and danced for us and the community came out to welcome and participate. They are so grateful to be part of Help Lesotho’s family. When we partner with a school, its status skyrockets!
The road to the school and neighbouring communities was completely impassible for vehicles – creviced by rain and erosion. I told the local counsellor and the herd men who accompanied us that I would write a letter to the clerk of the council petitioning for a new road to use whatever influence I might have. A couple of people have died coming down to the hospital. One young mother ended up having her baby between the rocks half way down because she just could not make it to the clinic.
When we came down from the school, we went directly to the little store in town called ‘Pep’ – like a very small Zellers – to order the shoes and a pair of socks for each child. Now that is direct impact!
Saturday, we went to Sefapanong Primary School, twinned with Turnbull School in Ottawa, for a morning with the children. It was such fun. The children ran down the side of one mountain and up the other to welcome us with signs they had made. Our guests tutored the children in math, English and science. As I chatted with the principal, Ntate Lebina, the chief and numerous community representatives came over the mountains with a herd man and a sheep in tow.
The chief presented me with the sheep as a token of their profound appreciation to Help Lesotho and Turnbull School for changing the lives of so many in the area.
W
e have programs for herd boys, young mothers, grandmothers, teachers and the school partnership in that area. This year alone, Turnbull School raised enough to purchase math supplies for each student and classroom, in addition to uniforms for many of the 532 students at this remote school. We were very touched by the generous gift of the sheep but less enthusiastic about taking the poor thing home tied up in the back of the truck on the 5-hour drive. Now it is here at our Centre, waiting its destiny!
We had a chance to visit with one of the herd boy program graduates – he is a 22 year old handsome young man – in tattered blankets and frayed pants. He was articulate about how much the program had meant to him – that he got information about how to look after himself, how to treat women, how to be respected by others and the importance of herd boys valuing themselves. It was such a pleasure to speak to him. Frankly, it was the longest conversation I have ever had with a herd boy because they are so shy.
The program officer, Sello, who runs that program was once a herd boy himself and the impact of his leadership was evident. I so wished the Canadian family who had sponsored that program could be with us to see the results of their generosity.
Our entire staff has been preparing for the Grandmother Conference which started yesterday afternoon.
While we wish all 200 grandmothers from the two-year Grandmother Support Program could come to the conference, some grannies are not able to make arrangements for their orphaned grandchildren to be looked after by someone else for these few days.
Seeing 125 grannies arrive in their colourful blankets and Seshoeshoe dresses– singing, ululating and dancing all the way up the walkway into the Centre was extraordinary.
Some of these dear souls have never been out of their villages. Others had never been on stairs. Some are too old to climb the stairs; some are too frightened.
‘M’e Mampaka, our Grandmother Support Officer who is in charge of the conference, wore her Kingston Grandmother Connection t-shirt in honour of some of the Canadians who give so generously to the program. Our trip guests made beds on the floors for the grannies – 16 to a room – and served them dinner. What a happy crowd!
I was almost in tears to see them all together like that.
As much as our staff are totally prepared to run conferences such as this, there are always challenges. The cook told me there was sadly no meat available in town to serve the grannies. The water is off and on – I got up at 5:30am to quickly wash my hair before the grannies started their bucket baths. The lack of water may even further complicate the task of feeding these grannies three meals a day.
You have a very special opportunity to see a live broadcast from the grandmother conference later this week. On Thursday, March 16, I will be live with the grannies on Help Lesotho’s Facebook page at 12:00pmEST (6:00pm in Lesotho)! This is our first attempt to deliver live coverage of one of our programs – now we need to hope it does not rain so our internet connection cooperates! Details about how to view the live broadcast are below.
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We are leaving right now to go to the Young Mother Graduation for 150 pregnant girls and young mothers about a 30 minute drive away. It will be wonderful to celebrate all that these young mothers have accomplished over the last year – more on that later! This evening we will re-join the grannies.
Another good day!
Thank you all for caring so much about the Basotho – you would be so proud to see where your funds are going and how deeply appreciative the beneficiaries are.
My very best wishes,
Facebook LIVE from the Help Lesotho Granny Conference on March 16!
Tuning in for the live broadcast is easy:
- At 11:55pm EST on March 16, login to your Facebook account on whichever device you want to use. If you do not use Facebook, you can either create an account (it’s free!) just for this purpose, or ask someone you know if you can watch via their account.
- Go to the Help Lesotho Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HelpLesothoPage/
- If you have not done so already, click the buttons to ‘Like’ and ‘Follow’ our page!
- At 12:00pm EST, a live video will start. If you do not see it, try scrolling down the page a little bit.
Note – You will not be on video! The grannies in Lesotho will not be able to hear or see you!
The broadcast will last approximately 30 minutes. During that time, the grannies will sing, talk with Peg Herbert, and answer questions (translated between English and Sesotho). You are encouraged to write questions and/or comments in the Comment box below the video. We will ask the grannies as many questions as time allows for!
If you are not able to watch the live broadcast at noon on March 16, you will be able to watch the recorded video of the broadcast anytime afterwards by visiting the Help Lesotho Facebook page.
As Help Lesotho’s Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Peg Herbert spends at least two months a year living and working in Lesotho. As a Canadian exemplifying what good international development looks like, Peg shares her experiences through ‘Letters from Lesotho’ so we can all get a glimpse of what makes Lesotho such a special place.
If you would like to connect with Peg about her letters:
