Category Archives: Lesotho 2015

Color Crayons and Paper

After our walk to town we returned to the center. All the children were back from school and for a short time we just checked each other out, not quite sure how to interact. Then I went to the car and brought out paper and crayons and a few markers for the older children. Suddenly, the energy shifted. Benches were moved to serve as tables, I gave out paper and crayons and every single child began to color. As they finished their masterpiece each child came to me and put it in my hands. I had not asked them to turn them into me, this is something they just did. As they handed me their pictures I oohed and awed and commented on the beauty of their artwork . At the end of our art time, every single crayon and marker was accounted for with very few broken pieced. I found that amazing: 20 children, 15 of whom are under age 6 and all the pieces were returned.

As I reviewed their drawings, I was moved by the messages I found written on their artwork. Slindle wrote: “Thank you for being part of my life.” I felt like these messages were their whisperings to us, the words they wanted to say but were too shy. These drawings became a bridge between us, allowing us to connect our hearts in a gentle way.

A Walk to Town

After the concert at the elementary school, we returned to the St. Camillus Center. The 4 older students took us on an excursion in to town. On our mile walk, we saw a funeral procession, and got a great sense of our surroundings. Kids in their school uniforms waved as we went by. Everyone we passed looked at us. It was obvious that we were a novelty. Very few white people live in or visit Lesotho. In fact, white people are not allowed to own any land in this country. So far the only other white person we have seen is Stephanie, the Peace Corp volunteer.

In town, we stopped at the grocery store. Will, in his generosity bought each of the children a soda. Then we went to the Viacom shop to try to get Niko and Sam set up with Sim Cards.

While we waited for them, I looked at Besotho blankets. This is the souvenir that we each want to purchase to take home as a reminder of our time in Lesotho. The blankets are THE traditional item of the Besotho People. They are made of wool and they have beautiful designs and colors that represent the various regions of Lesotho. It is very common to see the Besotho wearing their blankets, especially the shepherds.

After NIko and Sam were finished we went to a small restaurant for lunch. The building was made out of tin and had about 4 tables and a dirt floor. We had a delicious meal of papa, which is made of corn meal and is the staple food of Lesotho, chicken which was cooked outside on the barbecue and morejo , which are greens. The portions were so large. I could not finish mine. Sam seemed to inhale his and he cannot wait to go back to go back for more.

Concert at the Elementary School

Our first full day in Mohales Hoek started with Will and Sam giving a concert to over 450 elementary students. This was a huge act of courage for these two young men. Sam and Will have been in a rock band for the last 2 years and have performed quite a bit with the band. Before leaving for Lesotho, the 2 of them had only performed alone 2 times. Once before they were in the band, they performed 2 songs at an open mike at our local frozen yogurt shop to a handful of people. Two weeks before we left for Lesotho they performed at a fundraiser we organized to raise money for the St. Camillus Center. They learned from that performance that it is much more difficult and vulnerable to perform as a duo then it is to perform with the band. Now today they stood on a stage in front of all these beautiful Basotho children and performed without any back up or any kind of sound system.

Of course the children and faculty responded to them with kindness and jumped into the novelty of the moment. It isn’t often that they have 2 white boys from the United States show up to do a concert for them. Just the fact that together Sam and Will had access to and played not only a drum, but a guitar and a ukulele was a novelty in a culture where even the most basic school supplies are not accessible.

The St. Camillus Center

This afternoon we arrived at the St. Camillus Center. The center was just completed and the children moved in last December. The building and property are beautiful. There is much more land then I expected. Besides the building that is home to 20 children, there is also a structure that can hold 200 chickens and a large portion of land that is being prepared to grow vegetables that will not only feed the children, but also provide income for the center.

The building of the Center was funded by the Lesotho Connection (TLC). TLC was started in Tacoma, WA about 7 years ago when Theresa Power-Druitus was working on her doctorate in Lesotho, Theresa had heard about the work of Sister Julianna and she set out to meet her. As she shared her experiences with her husband, Joe, back in Tacoma and their dear friend Fr. Bill Bischel, SJ (better known as Bix), Joe and Bix set out to establish The Lesotho Connection to support the work of Sr. Julianna.

I was on the original board of TLC for 3 years. The building project seemed like such a huge undertaking. In those early years, the progress towards the building seemed so slow. Now I see that there was a foundation being built. As the board has changed and grown it has drawn to it many people who have a lived experience of Lesotho and their passion for this place has fueled its growth. I am moved to see this dream fulfilled and I feel a spark of passion for this place being fanned within me.

Gifts Multiplied

In the months leading up to our trip, I found myself purging our house of things we did not need. If it was in very good shape, and I believed it could be useful in Lesotho, it went into our Lesotho pile. If not, it was given to St. Vincent De Paul.

I spent one afternoon purging, pens, pencils and markers. How did we ever accumulate so many? I swear they must multiply like rabbits when we are not looking! I filled 2 – 1 gallon size zip lock bags with our excess, and put them in our Lesotho pile. I told my friend Eileen about this and her eyes lit up. She works in the school system and has a closet of school supplies she has accumulated from every good sale she has ever come across. She promised to go through her closet and bring me some things. She brought me over 4 grocery size bags filled to the top with school supplies.

When I wrote to Stephanie, the Peace Corp volunteer at the St. Camillus Center and told her we had school supplies to bring, she responded, “The children will be so excited. These items are not available in Lesotho, and if even if they were, most Besotho children would not be able to afford them.” Not even available? Pencils, pens, glue, lined paper are not even available?!!!

I separated the supplies into 2 piles, one for the St. Camillus Center and one for Mary’s school. When we arrived at Mary’s home and were preparing for our visit to her school, I took out the supplies we had to share. Mary quickly made 4 piles: a pile for her school, one for Sammy”s preschool, one for her Church and one for another school. She wanted to be sure that as many children and teachers benefited from this gift as possible. When I brought out our gifts for the St. Camillus Center, the same thing happened. Rathabile created 3 piles: one for the Center, one for the preschool and one for the elementary school.

I was amazed. Instead of hoarding these supplies that were so hard to come by in their country, they each wanted to share them so that many children would benefit. I stood in awe, humbled by their generosity.

Sr. Julianna

Sr. Julianna is the soul of the St. Camillus Center. For many years, she has been the person that the community turns to, to care for children who have nobody else. Regularly, the police show up at her doorstep with a child in their hands asking her to take them in. Before this new center opened, Sr. Julianna had a much smaller building where all 20 children slept on the floor of one small room. And still she said yes and welcomed each child.

Sister Julianna not only cares for these children, but many others in the community whose parent’s have died or whose parent’s are sick or do not have work and therefore they do not have money for their children’s school fees or food. Stephanie, the Peace Corp volunteer exclaimed, “Every time I think I have a handle on all the different things Sr. Julianna does, I learn of something else that I had no idea that she was doing.

Sr. Julianna lives by faith. She believes that God will provide and she is consistently proven right. When no one else has any idea where the money or resources will come from, Sr. Julianna is grounded in trust and somehow the all that they need arrives. As we work with her, I am moved by Sr. Julianna’s gentle way. I watch as she gets out of her truck at the center and see the children run to her, to be held, to be patted, to be loved. Niko, got it right when he said, “She is a saint. You know that feeling you get when you are in the presence of the Holy? That is the feeling I get around her.”

The Children of St. Camillus

The children are beautiful. There are 20 children who live at the St. Camillus Center. Almost all of them have been orphaned by the Aids pandemic. About a third of them are HIV positive. 15 of them are between 6 months and 6 years old.

The older children seem a bit unsure of us. The little ones just want to be snuggled. Sam and Will are reaching out so tenderly. They are both friendly and gentle. I was so proud of their kindness as I watched them find ways to interact with each child.

Niko is a toddler magnet. The kids just want to be near him. They can sense his loving spirit.

A precious little boy named Rathahile snuggled into my lap. He is about 2 years old, bare bottomed with green stuff flowing out of his nose. He clearly does not feel well and just wants to be held. So that was my job this afternoon, to hold him and rock him in my arms. A very blessed way to spend my time.

Sam and Will Teach at Mary’s School

As soon as we were settled in Mary’s home, the first thing she asked Sam and Will was “Are you ready to teach my class tomorrow?” She then gave them her teacher’s manual and told them to go and prepare their lesson plan.

Mary is a high school science teacher. The students in her classroom are between 13 and 18 years of age. Sam and Will took on her challenge with amazing grace and determination.

Niko and I stood in the back of the room as Sam and Will stood before 50 Besotho young people and taught them about heat conduction. As I watched them, I was full of awe and I wondered, how is this experience going to impact their life? How will standing before 5 different classrooms of students today and teaching, impact the way they see their own teachers, or the way they see themselves? Will this plant a seed for them to pursue teaching one day? How does it feel to them to be the minority? There was not another white face in the school, nor had we seen another white person since arriving in Lesotho. This was the first time in their life that they experienced being the minority. I tried to imagine what it would be like to be 16 or 17 and to have such an experience. I was filled with awe at how well they were prepared and at their incredible willingness and spirit of adventure in taking this on.

Mary’s Home

Mary and Paul live in amiddle class home in Maputsoe. It is made of cinder block and has 4 rooms: A living room, kitchen and 2 bedrooms. There is an outhouse outside and a covered bucket in each bedroom for toilet use. There is no running water. All the water is carried in from their well. They do have electricity and surprisingly to us, they even have a flat screen tv.

It is evident to us, that Paul and Mary have gone to great sacrifice to make our visit comfortable and to meet our every need. Niko and I have our own bedroom. Beautiful bedspreads are on our beds. A baby bathtub sits in the corner for our washing needs. Luxurious body wash, lotions and toothpaste have been set by our beds. Sam and Will will sleep on the couches in the living room that fold down. Food has been cooked, special foods purchased and Mary and Paul are eager to make us feel at home. We have been welcomed like royalty.

Challenges Continue: On the Road to Mary

We left Johannesburg almost 3 hours later than planned. Packing the van and getting cash had proved much more difficult and time consuming than we had imagined. Finally we were on the road. Our research informed us that the drive to Johannesburg would take about 4 hours. If there were no other hiccups, we would be able to get to Mary’s home before dark.

Mary is our daughter of the heart. We were her host family when she came to Tacoma in 2009 with the Mennonite Service Committee. She walked into our home and immediately took root in our hearts. We have not seen her since she left Tacoma in August of 2010, but we have talked with her every month on the phone. I cannot wait to see her and to meet her husband, Paul and our grandson Sammy. Mary has asked to be the first and last person in Lesotho to see us. So we will spend our first night in her country in her home, then we will go to Mohales Hoek to spend a week at the orphanage. We will then return to Mary’s to spend a long weekend with her and Paul and Sammy, then we will drive to South Africa to go on safari and then back to Mary’s for our last 2 days. It is a lot of driving back and forth, but because of the inflexibility of her work schedule, it is the best way to get time with her.

Our drive was slower than expected, but uneventful until we reached Ficksburg. Ficksburg is about 20 minutes from the border of Lesotho. The sun was starting to set but we still had time to get there before dark. We had been warned not to drive or be out after dark. Our agreement with Mary was that we would call her when we got to Ficksburg and then she would go to meet us at the border. Her home is only 10 minutes from the border crossing, so this plan allowed for plenty of time. As agreed, I called her as soon as we reached Ficksburg. She was already at the border and had been there for 3 hours! She had been too excited to wait at home, so she went there right from work. There she was 4 months pregnant, in the cold winter air, waiting out side for us.

While I was talking with Mary, Niko took a wrong turn. We turned around and thought we got ourselves back on track, but we had not. We found ourselves on a long dark stretch of road in the middle of nowhere. By the time we realized we were on the wrong road if was just as far to go forward as it would be to go back. To make matters worse, we were almost on empty. I could not contain my frustration. My fear bubbled up and over. Poor Niko. He is driving this van that is stuffed to the gills, on the wrong side of the road in an unknown country, he has been robbed and his pride is still stinging from allowing such a thing to happen, and now he has taken the wrong road and his wife has lost her last shred of positive attitude.

We finally made it to a gas station, just minutes from the border. With the car filled we made it to the border, through customs and into the arms of our beautiful Mary. Tears flowed, laughter rang out and we rejoiced in this moment that we had dreamed of for 5 years. We were together again.

Body Sacred

Celebrating the Sacred In Ourselves, In Our Relationships and In Our World.