Lesotho and beyond.

I have arrived in London, my other home away from home. It is summer here and its wonderful just to smell the smells of summer; not mention the opportunity to wear pretty little dresses put my Pedro Garcia shoes to use!

Its strange to be back in the real world.  I feel as though I have been in a dream world for the past three months and now am just emerging. 

The day I left Lesotho it rained. The mountains were frosted with sugary layer of snow that reminded me of poorly advised jewelry that an old lady might wear.  Saying good bye to the children was sad but not too sad because I will be seeing them in the fall when I return. I have committed to do another year at Mantsase. I will be able to integrate my university studies and I feel like I will be able to have a real role in the development in the home as well as other projects that are happening in the country. 

Lesotho is in the midst of a crisis. In a country of under two million people there are 400,000 orphans.  With the life expectancy of only 34 ,HIV/AIDS is killing off the middle generation leaving the younger generation not only without discipline and guidance but with the tremendous responsibility of looking after their younger siblings and heading a house hold. We have hundreds of thousands of children raising children. In other instances, it is not uncommon to find Grannies with 10-12 children in their home after the parents of died. Basically it is the sexually active generation that is dieing, it is the people in the prime of their lives who are so ill. Just think about what that does to a society.  Who is in the work force? Who is teaching? Who is building for the future? Normally, it is the middle generation that hold a society together because they represent the time at present. The children represent the future and the grand parents represent the past.  At the moment Lesotho is in limbo without a generation to anchor it, but there are extraordinary things being done that bring hope to the future of this tiny African Kingdom.  Sentebale is a small charity founded by two men who heard Lesotho's desperate cry for help, Prince Harry of England and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho.  In my short time in Lesotho I have been very impressed by Sentebale and the affect its hard working staff are making on the countries vulnerable children. In its work Sentebale focuses on partnership with the local people and demands accountability to insure that it is the children who are benefiting from it's funds. It is easy to get bogged down my the countries grim statistics but when you look at difference Sentebale has already made in its three short years of existence it gives me hope that the people of Lesotho will be able to survive. 

The Basotho tradition of young boys being sent to the mountains to herd live stock is an particularly worrying issue.   The practice of Herd Boys is very common in Lesotho. These boys and their families are terribly poor and by working in the mountains they are given some live stock which is traditionally seen as a status symbol.  Working in the mountains is also in many circumstances a right of passage to young men.  But the problem is that these young men have no formal education. They grow up alienated from the rest of  society in a very male environment. Rape is a common and these young men have no concept of HIV/AIDs and how it is spread. Sentebale is working to educate these boys not only in formal academic education but as well as in trade skills. Obviously, education is everything in transforming and empowering people.  But when your working with in the confines of people's cultures and accepted ways of life things can be difficult. Sentebale is thinking about long terms solutions and ways of educating herd boys that don't necessarily include a class room.  Ways that could possibly include computers and technologies so that they could receive a mobile educations.

The Mamohato  camps are particularly interesting to me. They are a network of camps for a only HIV positive children in Lesotho. A few times a year children from the surrounding communities are invited to come to camps for a week or so. 50-60 children are given meals, education on their disease and fun.  The camps have been proved one of the best ways of getting kids to take their medication in the country.  Many of the children previously didn't know that even with HIV they can live a long and for filling live and there for the camps and the education that provide give them hope.  I was lucky enough to visit a branch of the Mamohato network something called Teen Clubs with one of our children from the home. It was one of the best days I spent in Lesotho.  The Teen Clubs are a day long review of the information covered at the actual camps. The focus of HIV/AIDS education, health and nutrition. They play games and basically have good time. I was immensely touched by the beauty of the children and their happiness through out the day. They were truly empowered by the attention they were receiving.  I think if Sentebale continues and expands up the Mamohato network the affect it could have on youth of Lesotho will be invaluable and wonderful blue print for other African countries. 

Mantsase its self is sponsored fifty percent by Sentebale. They pay our manager Barbara's salary and I think it is that commitment to the long term well being of their partners is what makes them special.  By paying salaries you are really investing in the home's future oppose to just throwing money at a problem and hoping it is used with the children's well being in mind.  You are allowing the home to build a foundation so that it can grow upward with leadership and there for have more of a affect. This especially important because nearly all of Sentebale's partners are the only ones of their kind in the country.

I am looking forward to returning to Lesotho in September and really begin my work. I am not sure where it will all take me but I have a feeling a lot will present its self.

Life and Death

Yesterday as I was returning from lunch a group of children came galloping toward me, faces brimming with excitment and pride. The leading thrusted his hand toward be and in his hand was a little bird's nest and in the little birds nest was a little brown bird. All perfectly intact, perfectly perserved. It looked as if the bird had just laid down for a nap in his life's masterpiece and never woke up. I don't know where the children found it but we took the little birds body and burried it under a tree.
But it was one of those moments that takes you breath away and reminds you how transent life is. This little bird spent the majority of its days building the it's nest from and then one day death takes him and all that is left of her existance is a twiggy fortress. But if you must die you die and accept it.

The stars here are amazing. The night sky seems smothering in all its complexity. Looking up into the specks of potential life straining their light down to be on Earth, makes me appreciate my smallness and connectedness to the rest. That in the grand scheme of things I am no bigger or more important than any of these children, than the farmer who I watch evermorning hurding his cows, nor am I any bigger than that little brown bird.

Yesterday, I joined a little teen meeting in a local school house. The topic that day was love. Most of the discussion was in Sosotho so I couldn't understand the details. At the end we all stood together and I listened as they sang a hymn. Then terrifyingly, out of no where, they asked Me to close the meeting by preying. Now, as we all know, I don't know how to prey. I literally had no words. But I just thanked them for accepting me and giving me the opportunity to spend time with them and I thanked god for this time together and I told them how ver grateful I am to know them. Walking back home over the grassy hills of Lesotho we jumped on eachothers backs seeing who could bare the heaviest load.

Home in Lesotho

I arrive in Lesotho a little less than a week ago and in many profound ways I feel like I have come home. Lesotho is a tiny africa kingdom that is entirely land locked my South Africa. It is desperatly poor ( I don't know all the stats but trust me it is) and is my first taste of a propper third world country; but is beauty is unfathemable. Grassy plain stretch out on either side of until they collide with stiff mountains pentraiting the pale blue sky. It is winter here in Lesotho and the 53 children who I am working with run about in mismatched sweaters, mostly with holes in them. I have a hard time call the children, children, because to me they are little people. They don't play the role of children. They are who they are. They are complex souls. Some of whom have been raped, beaten, kept in the barn like a sheep or a pig, starved and many are HIV postive. But I am so impressed with there independence. They get up in the morning and run and fetch their little plastic wash bins where they all bath themselves. Then they dress themselves and the rest of the day is open to whatever adventure they can imagine.
They have a "village" that they took me to yesterday. The little place that looks like ancient ruins of a sort, where the children have collected food, drink, and furniture from the local dumps. Its quite extrordinary to see. They go to "school", "work" and "bed" all created out of their collective imaginations. One little boy dug himself a hole and covered it with some wood and now calls it home. We went for over a dried river bed and ended up at the house where I am staying. We sat on the steps and they sang somes and did little dances until in one flash of a moment they all decided it was time to go and took me by the hand "come one aousi Dominique. lets go!"

They have taken a particular liking to my tattoo and they go and fetch pens for me to draw tattoes on them. So now there are about 10 african children running around sporting anchors on their writsts.

About three days ago I went into town on an errand with one of the house mothers. We went to the local hospital because her son needed an x-ray. We sat and waited for the X-ray for a good half an hour and then finally got it. Then we say and waited for the Doctor to look at in another part of the building and then we waited to pay for the meds and then we waited to actually get the meds. Alot of waiting and alot of moving around but seeing as this was my first time in a Lesotho hospital I didn't mind. Most of the people stared at me and a few of the better english speakers plopped down next to me to tell me all about themselves. One woman even let me hold her baby.

Most of the lesotho people wrap themselves in big heavy blankets to keep the cold out and there for all there figures look the same triangular shape. It is interesting to sit in a place and know that nearly a third of its people are HIV positive. Is that person dieing from aid? That woman in the wheel chair with no shoes on. Who looks as if her body couldn't handle another breath. Is it Aids for some other horrible disease that has its grasp on her young body. Nearly everone I meet, some in there family has just died.
I was helping the old woman who does the washing, her face looks like the inside of a folded palm and her teeth are not more than brown decaying stumps fit for a compose heap, and was telling me as if it was nothing that her son had just died. I get the sence that people die here all the time and it is just the way things are.

traveling

The rain is pissing down and we are tucked between and watching the fire fight an epic battle against the elements. I am staying at the most amazing backpackers lodge. A cluster of log cabins and cottages that look out over the plunging mountains and trees. Yesterday, when the weather, was better, the dogs took us for a long walk through a forest where I am sure Hob Gobblins and Knomes live. You have to be careful not to leave the kitchen door open or else the horse will come in and help himself. Last night as family of strangers ate beef stir fry and cuddled up on the couch and watch slum dog millionair.

I think the concept of a back packers lodge is beautiful and great. A place for travelers to come in and take refuge from the road and their times of homelessness. There are people from all walks of life and I feel totally safe and warm. The more I travel the more I see that people are not as bad as there reputation suggests.

last days in Cape Town

Today is our last day in Cape Town. We went to the organic Cafe for the last time and the owner gave us a big hug. Tomorrow at 8 am we will lug our backpacks onto a bus and travel for 8 hours northeast to Plattenburg, our first stop of many!  I know most people who know me will think its quite funny and hardly believable that I would riding a bus let alone with a backpack, let alone for four weeks. But I am really looking forward to seeing something new everyday and meeting people from around the world. The good thing is the green hue of my backpack matches my Long Champ bag!  

I will be traveling for four weeks along the coast of South Africa with Maryeke. We will finish our trip in Lesotho, a small country that is totally land locked my South Africa. Maryeke will travel to J-burg from there and I will stay on for nearly 3 weeks volunteering at another orphanage outside  of Meseru the capital of Lesotho. 

I am highly looking forward to my time in Lesotho. I have felt drawn to this country for months and I can't believe it is working out for me to spend so much time there.

Cape Town has been an amazing experience but I am ready and excited to the next chapter in this African Adventure. 

almost done...

My time at the orphanage is coming to a close. It seems a bit unfair that I am finally feeling at home and it is almost time to go. I have made up my mind to go traveling for a month through out South Africa and will be leaving Cape Town next week. It is bitter sweet. I am excited to see as much as I can and think that it is an opportunity not to be missed but on the other hand the children have carved a special place in my heart and it will be hard to leave them. I just tell myself that I will have to leave them sooner or later. 

I have a lovely couple of days at Masi. The sun was shinning brightly and we spent most of the days outside and we even going for a walk through out the township which excited the children as much as it did me. It is so interesting to see these little beings dancing through streets paved with garbage and gawking at free roaming cows with more flies on them than meat. They sang songs and waved joyfully at men and women looking out the windows of their tin shacks. 

The baby I was carrying fell asleep in my arms and his head bobbed back and forth with each step I took. I have truly fallen in love with  the children. I look at their faces and just want the best for them. But how can I insure that their lives turn out well? I can't. But there is a lot of work to be done in the world and I intend to use my life to a least chip away at the problems. 

I have been learning a little about each child's back ground and why they are here. Most parents are alcoholics. With the unemployment rate so high it is hard to tell if the parents don't have a job because they are drunk or if they are drunk because they don't have a job. Either way poverty is one of the worst things for the human spirit and I think you have to have experienced it to understand its damages on the soul. It is very hard to be a parent when you have no money. It is very hard to be a good parent when you have to work 12 hours a day to keep yourself and your child alive. I don't know who is to blame but I suppose thats not important; fixing it is what's important. But it is hard to imagine that such lovely little creatures could have come from such toxic situations. It makes you believe that is possibly nurture that trumps nature. The South African government does not like adoption I don't think; especially international. Ideally they would like orphans to be put back into their communities and be raised by extended families or foster parents. But I think that is a good way to keep the poor poor and people segregated by class and race. There are so many children in need of loving homes and a decent future and because of the HIV/AIDS epidemic more on the way.

I hope we can use this orphaned generation for change oppose feeding them back to the problems that made them.

Garden Route

We drove for four hours and watched the run rise over the Indian Ocean.  The car ride was for the most part quiet and what noise there was, was promptly blocked out my ipod.  Carla (the german volunteer) and were in the back seat, while Ursula( tour guide) and Marcus(ursula's friend) rode in the front.  Ursula had packed plenty of fruit, chips, and sweets for the long drive. I had a orange and an apple for breakfast and left the chips and sweets to her, which she enjoyed! 

We arrived at our first stop, the game drive,  around 11:00 am.  Ursula spoke Afrikan to all the staff and we browsed in the gift shop and drank lattes. After about an hour we were fetched by our driver/ tour guide Julius.  He hoisted our selves into the four wheel drive and set out. We saw giraffe, zebra, lions, and were even chased by an elephant. But the best part was the mama rhino and her baby. She was very comfortable with people and took her baby right up to us and walked slowly passed where she continued munching on leafy treats. We sat for what seemed like a long time just watching her. The game drive lasted all and all about 3 hours. It was small compared to larger parks in Africa where all the animals live entirely freely off the land and each other. We didn't see all of the big five ( missing the leopard and the water buffalo) but I didn't mind. 

We drove for another 2 hours to hour home for the week, a small and simple apartment that looked over the marsh.  We stocked the cabinets with vegetables, meats and breakfast foods. Since I have been in South Africa I have realized that I am a total food snob. I see that I am used to eating really high quality food and I am shocked to see that most people are perfectly happy eating white rice, white bread, canned vegetables and fried everything. I happily offered to make salad be my contribution to the meals. 

The next morning we drove to two hours through what sandy colored planes framed by the mountainous distance. Two hours is a long time to be in the car by most normal standard but two hours laced with Jesus tunes is numbing indeed.  By noon we had arrived in time for the first cave tour. I decided to take the "standard tour" oppose to the "adventurous tour" where you climb through unfathomable small spaces in the bottom of a musty cave; I was wearing cashmere. The "standard tour" proved to be worth the money and not nearly as stressful. The caves were originally discovered by Bushman but because they were too superstitious to explore beyond the first cavern. But the beyond the first cavern is these beautiful structures or different shades and hues. Some look like organ pipes and some even look like angel wings. 

I was on the tour alone( the others went on the adventure tour) and really got to soak in the energy. 

Next, was the ostriches. We rode the ostriches and fell off the ostriches. Learned about how many people you can feed with one ostrich egg(12 people) and their various mating rituals. There are pretty stupid animals and while they are quite striking to look at and admire you can tell that there is not much depth. 

We cooked a pasta dinner that night ( I made sure it was whole wheat) and were taught to play dominos by the South Africans before we retreated into some much needed sleep. 

The third day was my favorite. We drove to an elephant sanctuary where we spent an hour interacting with elephants( there are pictures on facebook). You reach out your hand and elephant rests it's trunk in your palm and together you go for wander in woods. Elephants, oppose to ostriches, are intensely deep. They mourn and burry their dead. You can tell just by looking at them that they have emotions and are incredibly wise. 

The drive home was a good five hours. I was exhausted and dreaded going straight to work. But the moment I opened the door to the orphanage and all the kids came rushing to meet me shouting "hello mama" I was happy to be there. 

I am finally feeling at home at masi. I find myself bounding with children who I didn't think I would ever connect with. Some of the older boys are so profoundly special. They are all little Princes.  They have amazing skills with the babies and I just imagine what wonderful fathers they have the potential to be some day.

We played outside in the sunshine all day yesterday. The children ate sugary sweets and took turns swinging as high as possible on the swing set. The older boys let out their pet rabbits, muphasa and simba. The rabbits hopped about as the boys scrubbed the cages so that they could earn their spending money. The younger children blew up balloons and danced in the little square of grass, looking a bit like rabbits themselves.  I took loads of photos and was incredibly happy to be there amongst all the beautiful little beings.

I have been thinking about cutting my time at orphanage short, not because I am not loving it, but I have the opportunity to travel through out South Africa with my friend Maryeke.  I haven't made up my mind entirely but I feel like it is a win win situation either way. Traveling through Africa would be an amazing experience and I feel I should try to see and feel as much as I possibly can while I am here. I don't want to leave the children though, especially now that I am feeling at home...