March Madness

3-18-09
I apologize for my recent lack of correspondence. As I mentioned in my previous post, part of the problem has been a lack of activity. The bigger problem, though, has been a lack of internet service. My modem has been down for almost two weeks now. Each day I am promised it will be fixed in a few hours, but predictably, it still isn't done. Additionally, PSI's internet service has also been down (an unrelated issue). I try to remind myself that it is a blessing that I have internet access at all. Patience, patience, patience.

So, what exactly have I been up to the past few weeks? You mean besides watching entire seasons of Grey's Anatomy, Flight of the Concords and Star Trek, several movies, reading and cooking (and, the bigger problem, eating all that stuff I cook)? Well...

Two weeks ago my PSI/New Start counterpart, Keletso, and I held our first meeting with our HIV/AIDS support group. As you may remember from previous posts, PSI has funded a project for each New Start site to select two active, already-existing groups to work with on developing psycho-social support skills (emotional and psychological support; most support groups here focus solely on income generation). Keletso did a wonderful job of leading the session and, though it was in Sesotho so I couldn't understand exactly what everyone was saying, the members were actively participating and contributing. That's a big victory. We will be meeting with the group each Wednesday for the next six months, with the exception of the past two weeks as a national holiday fell on Wednesday last week and Keletso is gone at a workshop this week. When she returns on Monday I'm going to work with her to bring our three Educators (New Start employees who do HIV/AIDS education, Q&A sessions and condom demos at outreaches) up to speed so that when she is gone in the future, they can take over and we don't have to cancel the meetings. Keletso and I are also continuing the search for another active group in Mafeteng that would be interested in participating in this project with us.

Almost every day for the last few weeks, I've stopped by Kingsgate High School to talk to the principal about teaching Life Skills classes (a subject “required” by the Ministry of Education that isn't being taught in most schools in Lesotho because of a lack of staff and enforcement). I've been talking to her about this since November. Each time I stopped by she would promise that she'd call me later that afternoon or the next morning, once she had a chance to talk to the students, to let me know what day I could start. She even gave me class lists. But, no call, just excuses. At this point I've given up. In Basotho culture it is considered rude to outright refuse something or to tell someone no. To get around that, the tendency here is to accept project ideas, tell you they want to work on them, but just never do it and/or avoid you. I've done everything I can and, if the principal isn't interested, I can't force it. It's very frustrating to waste time and effort planning something that, if you'd just known from the beginning wasn't wanted, you would've avoided.

Some of my time has been occupied trying to wrap-up the playground project that I took over for Nichol, a fellow PCV who finished her service in Mafeteng in November. The playground equipment arrived at the end of January, but the four ECCD schools (comparable to pre-schools in the States) that received it weren't prepared to install it. Everything came pre-assembled, but the schools needed to stake or cement everything into the ground to make sure it doesn't tip when the children play on on it. When I delivered everything, some of the teachers were asking me for funds to pay for the cement. Since I didn't write the grant and there was no money left to give (I wasn't supposed to handle the money, just ensure everything got delivered and installed), I was left in a precarious position. Just before leaving on vacation with Jenny I met with Clement, the Associate Peace Corps Director for Education Volunteers, to let him know the situation. While I was gone he contacted Nichol's former counterpart, Blossom, and she remedied the situation. I suspect she had the schools come up with the materials on their own, but whatever the case, three of the four playgrounds are now finished. However, getting photographs of the finished project has been predictably difficult.

Blossom and I have had a hard time connecting, setting dates and times to meet and go to the schools that she then cancels or doesn't show up for. Last Friday morning we did go to the school in Thabana Morena, the farthest one from town, and were able to take a few pictures. On Monday we were to visit the other two playgrounds, but when I arrived at her office at the appointed time, Blossom wasn't there. I texted her to find out where she was, and after asking me to call her (people here never seem to have airtime and always ask me to call them, the assumption being that I have more money, and therefore airtime, than them), she said I should go to one on my own and she'd contact me about when we could visit the other. I went to Ha Ramohape, the village where Nichol lived, and got some good pictures of the children there enjoying the equipment. I have yet to hear back about visiting the third school or get an update about when the fourth and final playground will be finished.

Mafeteng district will host Speak Aloud, a day-long workshop for high school students focusing on gender and development, on April 18. Since I have plenty of free time and am interested in the topic, I volunteered to organize the event. It has been pretty painless. Masoabi, an incredibly dedicated and impressive person, co-facilitated the workshop last year and has agreed to do so again. Last week I met with Mary, a counseling intern at New Start in Mafeteng who also agreed to facilitate this year, and him. We discussed some broad topics to be addressed (our main focus will be gender roles in relationships), and I've asked them to develop the outline for the workshop their own as they know much more about the challenges and issues facing Basotho youth than I do. We will be meeting again at the beginning of April to go over the final curriculum for the day and draft a pre- and post-test for participants. I've asked each of Mafeteng's PCVs to select one male and one female high schooler from their area to bring to the workshop and have secured a location and catering for the day. For once, something seems to be going smoothly.

Yesterday, finally, I was able to collect the Sesotho-language books for the hospital library! Biblionef, an NGO located in South Africa, donated the books which arrived at the Mafeteng Post Office at the end of December. In order to collect them, the hospital had to pay R57 in postage fees. A new hospital administrator started work in January and though the old administrator briefed her about the project and let her know she needed to give us the money to get the books from the post office, it proved to be an incredible undertaking. Several times a week I'd meet with my library counterpart, Vikile, and ask her if she'd received the funds so we could collect the books. Each time she'd say no. We'd find the administrator, ask her about it, and she'd tell us she'd get back to us, which she wouldn't. Repeat ad nausium. Late last week I finally figured out that either the administrator or the accounting department had lost the postage slip and that was why we weren't able to get the money. On Monday I went to the post office, obtained a copy of the slip and yesterday received the funds from the administrator. Since Vikile is on vacation until the end of the month, I collected the books myself and will be logging and sorting them today. When Vikile returns we will be setting up a meeting of the library committee (the hospital administrator, the district medical officer, 'M'e Mosele from PSI/New Start, Vikile and me) to go over the library action plan (discussing what each persons' on-going role in the library is) and issues of library placement, staffing and use. Hopefully this will get us prepared for the arrival of the books, donated by IKM-Manning School and my friends and family back home, in May.

Speaking of those donations, I want to send a HUGE thank you to everyone who donated books, money and/or time to the project. I am blown away. At final count, more than 1,000 books and close to $1,000 (which covered the cost of shipping books to Lesotho) were raised. I've tried to put my gratitude into words but am unable to do so. I just feel blessed and grateful. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I hope that someday I am able to pay back the generosity you all have shown. And to my mom, I can't thank you enough for all the time and effort you spent making the book drive such a success. I couldn't have done it or any of this – couldn't have found the strength to keep going on this journey – without your support.

Another project I've been working on is a joint-venture with Lena, a German student doing research in Mafeteng, and her co-workers at Mothers2Mothers, an organization that educates HIV-positive pregnant women on how to prevent transmission of the virus to their children. Lena had the idea to hold a handicraft fair in Mafeteng, giving HIV/AIDS support groups in the area a forum to meet, exchange ideas and sell the craft items they produce as a source of income generation. We're still trying to get the logistics set, but it looks like we'll be holding the fair the last Sunday in April. We anticipate great interest among support groups and will be inviting members of the Ministries, ex-pat community and tourism industry to attend.

That's about all for work. Wow, when I write it all out, it sounds like I'm actually doing a lot. :) But don't worry, I still am making time for fun.

On Saturday I went with Yan and Anita (a couple who work with the German volunteer organization DED and moved to Mafeteng at the beginning of March), Lena and Ariam (a German medical student who is interning at the Mafeteng Government Hospital for five weeks) to Clarens, South Africa. The original plan was to go to Rustlers Valley, a South African hippie haven, but when we arrived we found out that the backpackers (hostel) was closed and the only accommodation available was at a rather pricey lodge. We continued on to Clarens, a little town that is home to several art galleries and curio shops. It reminded me a great deal of ski towns in Colorado, just with much smaller mountains and, well, no skiing. Though a little yuppie, it was nice to have a good coffee, an Italian dinner and a fun evening relaxing with friends. Before heading back to Mafeteng on Sunday we stopped at a game reserve north of Ladybrand and took a walk around. We saw plenty of zebra but didn't spot any of the reserve's giraffe.

And now for a couple un-related news items. Fall has come to Mafeteng. For the first time since August, I woke up this morning and put on a sweatshirt. Just Monday I was wearing a tank top and shorts. I still haven't gotten used to the dramatic temperature and weather changes here. I guess soon I'll be breaking out my sleeping bag and thermals. All summer I was wishing the cooler weather would return, but now that I can feel it coming, I'm beginning to regret it!

Last, but certainly not least, I'm coming home! Not permanently, of course, but for a visit. And yes, I'm counting down the days. I'm flying from Jo'burg to Dallas via London, arriving June 18 (exactly three months from today. Told you I was counting!) and departing July 11. I'll be in Iowa for most of the trip but will spend a few days at the beginning and end in Texas. As the time gets closer I'll have more specifics, but if you will be around Dallas, Manning or Des Moines during any of that time and want to meet up, let me know. I will, of course, be at the Ferneding Family Reunion this year and know I will see many of you there.

That's it for now. Thank goodness because I'm sure many of you are tired of reading. Hopefully the internet situation will be fixed soon and I can return to more frequent, and less lengthy, posts. Until then, salang hantle!