Sunday, September 18, 2011
September 16, 2011
Spring in Lesotho. It’s a lovely time of year. There are blossoming fruit trees all over the countryside, and children’s mouths water in anticipation of the coming fruits.
September 9, 2011
Cultural Day for the government schools in Leribe took place today at Hlotse. It was a day filled with dramas in both Sesotho and English and many traditional Basotho dances. What a day it was. (September is like March in the Northern Hemisphere, filled with gusty winds, cool mornings and evenings and lovely sunny days). When we weren’t busy trying to shield our eyes from the enormous amounts of dust blowing at us, we enjoyed watching the young ones perform. The rhythms are incredible and usually made with only plastic buckets as makeshift drums and the lovely voices of the student singers. The songs and dances are passed down from generation to generation; you’ll not find a “dance or singing school” anywhere in Lesotho, yet almost every child can sing and dance the stories of their heritage.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
August 29, 2011
It’s almost September!…and August has been filled with its ups and downs. I have officially requested a one-year extension to my service in Lesotho. I want, desperately, to see my projects come close to fruition before I head back to the United States. Getting my project proposal together has been a difficult task.. I finally submitted it to the Lesotho Peace Corps office last week and was told that it’s a nearly impossible task I am attempting. So, do I give up? Do I just say I’ve bitten off more than I can chew?…forget it and just go home??? I can’t! I can’t tell if I am dealing more with the ultra idealistic Rusty or the ultra stubborn one. At any rate, here I stay for one more year .I shall certainly give more time to writing down details that the Peace Corps needs on paper. I can understand where this extreme organization with meticulous and very detailed questions has come from…no money waste, no fraud and full participation on the part of the Tabola community. I shall try to give the office what they want.
Enough about how tough things are. The weather has changed, yea!!!! Spring is definitely here; fruit trees are showing lovely pink and white blossoms, little lambs, calves and donkeys are “popping out” in every field, compound, etc., and young are and old are enjoying the longer daylight hours!
Last Friday our region of schools participated in a cultural day on the grounds of St Rose Mission in Peka. I am so very proud to announce that Mopeli Primary School took first place in the girls’ traditional dancing competition. We shall go on to compete in the district of Leribe contest on September 9th. Wish us luck! Yes, I did go wearing the traditional Basotho garb… seshoeshoe, scarf and blanket. In fact, I’ve become so accustomed to the blanket that half way through the day I found myself, like the Basotho ladies, taking it off my shoulders and rearranging it around my waist.
This Saturday the volunteers from my group, Ed.’10, will go to Maseru, to the site where Tom was killed last September 3rd. We’ll hold a small memorial service in his honor and then be on our ways back to our sites. It’s hard to believe that that was just a year ago.
Looking back on the past two years, I realize that it’s been darn hard; I guess the Peace Corps is right in saying “…hardest job you’ll ever love.”
On yet another note, enjoy some of the “everyday” pictures of Lesotho.
1. me, Andrea and Nathan waiting at the bus depot in Bloemfontein
2. the hostel in Cape Town
3. This is when Kimiko, Andrea and I went to Katse Dam for my birthday. In the picture are the three of us, Ryan and Nate...all volunteers.
4. Herd boys in traditional Basotho blankets
5. Me Matumo and her daughter, Lerato in school uniform
6. just a friendly rooster visiting Mopeli
7. A view of the convergence of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, taken from Table Mt. in Cape Town.
Missing all of you and the United States a lot, Rusty.
Enough about how tough things are. The weather has changed, yea!!!! Spring is definitely here; fruit trees are showing lovely pink and white blossoms, little lambs, calves and donkeys are “popping out” in every field, compound, etc., and young are and old are enjoying the longer daylight hours!
Last Friday our region of schools participated in a cultural day on the grounds of St Rose Mission in Peka. I am so very proud to announce that Mopeli Primary School took first place in the girls’ traditional dancing competition. We shall go on to compete in the district of Leribe contest on September 9th. Wish us luck! Yes, I did go wearing the traditional Basotho garb… seshoeshoe, scarf and blanket. In fact, I’ve become so accustomed to the blanket that half way through the day I found myself, like the Basotho ladies, taking it off my shoulders and rearranging it around my waist.
This Saturday the volunteers from my group, Ed.’10, will go to Maseru, to the site where Tom was killed last September 3rd. We’ll hold a small memorial service in his honor and then be on our ways back to our sites. It’s hard to believe that that was just a year ago.
Looking back on the past two years, I realize that it’s been darn hard; I guess the Peace Corps is right in saying “…hardest job you’ll ever love.”
On yet another note, enjoy some of the “everyday” pictures of Lesotho.
1. me, Andrea and Nathan waiting at the bus depot in Bloemfontein
2. the hostel in Cape Town
3. This is when Kimiko, Andrea and I went to Katse Dam for my birthday. In the picture are the three of us, Ryan and Nate...all volunteers.
4. Herd boys in traditional Basotho blankets
5. Me Matumo and her daughter, Lerato in school uniform
6. just a friendly rooster visiting Mopeli
7. A view of the convergence of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, taken from Table Mt. in Cape Town.
Missing all of you and the United States a lot, Rusty.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
August 18, 2011
Some things will take a long time to change…this becomes more evident every day in Tabola, Lesotho. After twenty-one months here, I am still shocked when I walk into a classroom and find a teacher beating her children for reasons beyond my comprehension. (Beating doesn’t have the same connotation here as it has in the U.S. Beating is synonymous with hitting with a stick.). “You’re wearing no socks today,” “Your book is still not covered,” “That answer is wrong,” “Your head is not shaved.” or, “. You did not bring in your money.” I shutter at the sound of the twig crashing down on innocent little fingers or the backs of shivering calves.
Yes, I know that I have not come here to change teachers…I am here to experience Basotho culture and offer glimpses into United States’ culture. But it’s so hard to watch! The more I work with Basotho children and teachers, the more proud I am of the American system of education. We do embrace the child! Most of our teachers can teach with enough self-esteem so as not to have to use punitive, forceful, negative methods to “get results” from their charges. We truly are a country that has learned that a child absorbs knowledge best in a safe, comfortable and positive environment.
Don’t misunderstand me; there are potentially good educators here, but they all seem to have a stick attached to their right hands (or left, as the case may be)…and, without the false power that the stick holds, most Basotho teachers are unable to function. Ask them to teach a lesson without holding that stick, and they become lost little puppies. By the same token, Basotho children truly believe that the only way for them to work is through threat and physical abuse. It will be a long time until a teacher can walk into a classroom in Lesotho and command respect without that attached stick! What an incredible waste of potential teaching talent.
I can understand that the more mature teachers might have trouble giving up the stick; after all, they’ve been teaching this way for years, and habits, good or bad, are hard to break. But why the young ones?? Why the teachers just out of the university or the teachers’ college where they are supposedly taught the theories of positive thinking, teaching and reinforcing?? Why do they immediately pick up the stick when they inherit classes of their own?
Yes, I have given workshops on alternative methods of classroom management, and yes, I have shown successful alternative methods through examples when I am in a classroom. For the most part, I am stared at with a look of skepticism and pity for the poor American who doesn’t realize that Basotho children are different…lazy, dishonest and apathetic…ugh
Some common reasons for the “stick” method are:
1. Children are lazy; they need to “feel the stick” to learn.
2. Children cannot be trusted; beat the “bad” out of them.
3. Children are forgetful, but they won’t forget if you threaten to beat them.
Sometimes I wonder why I am still here…but then a little one passes me on the path to or from school and shyly smiles, knowing that I, an adult, will smile back…even stop to talk…and then I know that I belong here.
If one young soul learns that kindness begets kindness, then some progress is being made. Maybe she or he will one day stand in front of a class filled with eager, smiling young faces and say to them, “Good morning my children; how can I help you today?”
Yes, I know that I have not come here to change teachers…I am here to experience Basotho culture and offer glimpses into United States’ culture. But it’s so hard to watch! The more I work with Basotho children and teachers, the more proud I am of the American system of education. We do embrace the child! Most of our teachers can teach with enough self-esteem so as not to have to use punitive, forceful, negative methods to “get results” from their charges. We truly are a country that has learned that a child absorbs knowledge best in a safe, comfortable and positive environment.
Don’t misunderstand me; there are potentially good educators here, but they all seem to have a stick attached to their right hands (or left, as the case may be)…and, without the false power that the stick holds, most Basotho teachers are unable to function. Ask them to teach a lesson without holding that stick, and they become lost little puppies. By the same token, Basotho children truly believe that the only way for them to work is through threat and physical abuse. It will be a long time until a teacher can walk into a classroom in Lesotho and command respect without that attached stick! What an incredible waste of potential teaching talent.
I can understand that the more mature teachers might have trouble giving up the stick; after all, they’ve been teaching this way for years, and habits, good or bad, are hard to break. But why the young ones?? Why the teachers just out of the university or the teachers’ college where they are supposedly taught the theories of positive thinking, teaching and reinforcing?? Why do they immediately pick up the stick when they inherit classes of their own?
Yes, I have given workshops on alternative methods of classroom management, and yes, I have shown successful alternative methods through examples when I am in a classroom. For the most part, I am stared at with a look of skepticism and pity for the poor American who doesn’t realize that Basotho children are different…lazy, dishonest and apathetic…ugh
Some common reasons for the “stick” method are:
1. Children are lazy; they need to “feel the stick” to learn.
2. Children cannot be trusted; beat the “bad” out of them.
3. Children are forgetful, but they won’t forget if you threaten to beat them.
Sometimes I wonder why I am still here…but then a little one passes me on the path to or from school and shyly smiles, knowing that I, an adult, will smile back…even stop to talk…and then I know that I belong here.
If one young soul learns that kindness begets kindness, then some progress is being made. Maybe she or he will one day stand in front of a class filled with eager, smiling young faces and say to them, “Good morning my children; how can I help you today?”
Saturday, July 2, 2011
June 26th., 2011
There were two entries for May, but they seem to have gotten lost! So much has happened since the April entry. First of all, it's incredibly cold right now; we're in the middle of Maria (winter). The winter solstice was a few days ago, so the days should start to get longer and warmer now...I hope! Today it's sunny, so everyone (including me)is out of their huts warming themselves in the lovely sun. The Ramoabis have most of their grandchildren visiting for the vacation...noise, chaos and lots of fun.
Today is also the one year anniversary of the death of
Today is also the one year anniversary of the death of
May 23, 2011
I came back from Maseru after a week of workshops in preparation for training the new volunteer arrivals on June 3rd. It was good to be back to my little rondavel in Tabola, good to hug my Tsoene Mathata again, good to see my Basotho family! Ausi Mathabo spent the week at my house in order to control my wild and crazy cat, Tsoene Mathata. He loves to go out at night and raise havoc all over Tabola. I was back home by Friday afternoon.
Saturday I went with the Ramoabis to the funeral of Ntate’s grandmother; she was over one hundred years when she passed. Ntate, being a deacon in the Roman Catholic church, was able to deliver the funeral service; I think it made him quite proud to lay his own grandma to rest…and he looked so eloquent presiding over the service! After she was buried, a huge feast was given in her honor…we ate a traditional meal of papa, moroho (cabbage), khomo (cow), motoho (pumpkin), beets and carrots. My family left before the rest of the village began their “traditional drinking of joala…home-made beer). As we were driving along, we came across an overturned taxi; much to my dismay, it looked just like the taxi we teachers ride to one of our schools, Renekeng. As we came closer, I saw Ntate Power, the owner of our taxi. I asked if he was okay, and he said yes…he also told us that there were no passengers in the taxi at the time of the accident…whew! To make a long story short, no one was hurt, but the taxi is gone forever! So, my longest walk to school, Renekeng, will now be a daily fact for all the teachers and me. It used to be a 1 and ½ hour walk, but we’ve actually shortened the time to about fifty minutes with shortcuts through maize fields, etc!! I guess I’ll stay fit for a while longer!!
On our walk to Renekeng this morning, we discussed a feast which we shall hold at Renekeng tomorrow/ it will be in celebration of ‘M’e Mapalesa’s life and all that is GOOD on the land which houses the Renekeng Primary School. As I had mentioned in an earlier blog entry, many of the teachers believe that the land is bewitched by an evil spirit because of the four teachers’ deaths in the past four years. In an attempt to rid the land of any evil that may be lurking, we have called for many priests and village chiefs to come and give their blessing to the land and us.
I truly believe that this WILL WORK because the teachers believe it. I feel that so long as they bring this positive energy to the feast, that energy will attract more positive energy and push out any negativity that’s been “hanging around”. I’ll try to take some pictures of the “exorcism” if it seems appropriate.
Saturday I went with the Ramoabis to the funeral of Ntate’s grandmother; she was over one hundred years when she passed. Ntate, being a deacon in the Roman Catholic church, was able to deliver the funeral service; I think it made him quite proud to lay his own grandma to rest…and he looked so eloquent presiding over the service! After she was buried, a huge feast was given in her honor…we ate a traditional meal of papa, moroho (cabbage), khomo (cow), motoho (pumpkin), beets and carrots. My family left before the rest of the village began their “traditional drinking of joala…home-made beer). As we were driving along, we came across an overturned taxi; much to my dismay, it looked just like the taxi we teachers ride to one of our schools, Renekeng. As we came closer, I saw Ntate Power, the owner of our taxi. I asked if he was okay, and he said yes…he also told us that there were no passengers in the taxi at the time of the accident…whew! To make a long story short, no one was hurt, but the taxi is gone forever! So, my longest walk to school, Renekeng, will now be a daily fact for all the teachers and me. It used to be a 1 and ½ hour walk, but we’ve actually shortened the time to about fifty minutes with shortcuts through maize fields, etc!! I guess I’ll stay fit for a while longer!!
On our walk to Renekeng this morning, we discussed a feast which we shall hold at Renekeng tomorrow/ it will be in celebration of ‘M’e Mapalesa’s life and all that is GOOD on the land which houses the Renekeng Primary School. As I had mentioned in an earlier blog entry, many of the teachers believe that the land is bewitched by an evil spirit because of the four teachers’ deaths in the past four years. In an attempt to rid the land of any evil that may be lurking, we have called for many priests and village chiefs to come and give their blessing to the land and us.
I truly believe that this WILL WORK because the teachers believe it. I feel that so long as they bring this positive energy to the feast, that energy will attract more positive energy and push out any negativity that’s been “hanging around”. I’ll try to take some pictures of the “exorcism” if it seems appropriate.
May 3, 2011
Winter has set in early this year; people say it’s because of all the rain we had during the summer. Whatever the reasons, it’s COLD already!
Last week was a setback week for me at work. After all the work ‘M’e Mathabo and I had put into writing a U. S. Embassy self-help grant, we were turned down…not only were we turned down, but they didn’t even read our twenty plus pages of reasons, details, equipment quotes, etc. The embassy claims that it is the Lesotho government who should be responsible for putting electricity into their schools. Since they’ve only done so in some high schools, they might back off completely if they see that we’ll supply electricity through American grants. Of course I argued that when the other schools see that Mopeli has electricity, they’ll want it so badly that they’ll hound the Lesotho government to get them the same…. to no avail.
It was suggested that I rewrite the grant and ask for solar power on the school’s property. The grant deadline was April 30th. but they’ve given me an extension until May 20th for my revisions. I shall put in for solar power, but at the same time I’m writing a Partnership Grant with the Peace Corps for both electricity for the buildings and a tarred road to the school.
I’ll not give up; this town has no hospital, or Dr’s. office…not even a nurse; if we get electricity into Mopeli. We’ll be able to bring an extension of Peka’s St. Rose Clinic to our school!! So, if you haven’t yet let me know that you’d like to be a sponsor for my Partnership Grant, please do now! I’ll need your name, address, phone number and email address….probably all of you who are reading this have already signed on board! Thanks if you have, and please do if you haven’t. I think the more names I have as sponsors, the greater my chances will be for being accepted as a grant winner. I believe your names will be posted on a web site, but I don’t think you’re under ANY obligation to contribute any money.
That week’s over and a new one has begun with fun! Renekeng, my furthest school, has lost its village taxi due to the very poor condition of the road, so we’ve all been hoofing it back and forth to work!. (It’s about an hour and fifteen minute walk each way…through cornfields, etc.) Today two tractors passed by as four teachers and I were trudging through the cold mud. They offered us a lift and of course we said SURE!!! What fun we had bopping along back up to the tarred road! I tried to get some pictures while the tractors were moving, but every time I let go to snap a shot, I thought I’d fall off…sorry!
I’m sure that all of you will here from me as soon as I get this Partnership Grant up and running on a website. Until then, enjoy your warm weather!
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