Guelph

"Late last night so far away, I dreamed myself a dream,
Well, I dreamed I was so alone, isn't it nice to be home again?"
-James Taylor


      


I am back in Guelph. I have been here for almost two weeks. It is weird that I have already been home as long as I was in Lesotho. Time here certainly moves a lot quicker than it does there. I am not sad to be home: I like it here. This is my home. I am not sad to have left there. But I sure am thankful I got to go.

This is likely how I will end  this blog, and I was really hoping to finish strong. I wanted to write something powerful and profound, reflecting on what I had learned and how my new found knowledge can help others, but I am struggling to write anything all. I am okay with that. The truth is, I am struggling to understand what I experienced there and struggling with what to do with it all. If you have read this blog you already know the idea was for me to simply experience things there. I went to see, hear, smell, touch, and taste what life is like for for orphans who have lost their parents to AIDS, and what life is like for those who are caring for them. Then I was to come home and tell those stories. I guess I am somewhere in the middle right now. I certainly had a wide variety of experiences, and now as I settle back into teaching, parenting, laundry, banking, and vacuuming, I am waiting for the stories to start showing up.

International travel

One of the hassles with international travel is 6 hour layovers.

The good thing about  6 hour layovers is lunch beside the canal in Amsterdam. I am sorry that these are beginning to read like Facebook posts.

Necessary?

On the flight out of Johannesburg the TV set on the back of the seat in front of me (right in front of me!) had it's own remote. Seriously. When you pointed it towards the screen you had to kind of pull back to make it work.  Things like this make me miss that bicycle at Tlhakuli.

 

Not Him

It looks like the last time I posted this it got lost in cyber space, so here it goes again. This one's a bit out of order, but worth telling. During our safari adventure our guide told us some staggering facts about hippos. The river we were on was brackish, and is the only place on the planet that Bull sharks, crocs and hippos all live. He said you could swim there, but it would only be once and it would not be for long. This could be the most dangerous place on earth! He told us that their massive mouths open 150 degrees, they kill close to 3000 people a year, almost twice as many as lions, and they can run up to 55 km's per hour. Can you imagine a 2500 lb. beast chasing you at that speed!? He said if you ever startle a hippo, corner a hippo, or get in between a hippo and the water you don't have a chance. No chance. That night once we had returned from the safari we were walking from our hotel into town for dinner and one walked right in front of us. A hippo. It was terrifying. I have never been that close to any living thing that big or that dangerous before (obviously!). It was the size of a car. It came plodding out of the shadows about 20 yards in front of us, crossed the Main Street and disappeared up a side road. We stood frozen in fear. Waiting to hear screams of horror, or car horns, or something. Nothing. Not knowing what else to do, we carried on downtown for dinner.
I had pasta.
 Our guide had told us that one or two of them come in to town from time to time and that they eat from some of the gardens. Apparently they are used to the humans and the humans are used to them. We were told if you see one just keep your distance and you'll be fine. But I never thought I would ever actually see one.  My favourite part of the story was the next morning when I told the woman working at the hotel about it. Our conversation went like this; 
Me: I saw a hippo in town last night.
Her: Yah (as in Yah, so what?).
 Me: I was terrified.
 Her: (giggling) Why?
 Me: They are massive and they kill people.
 Her: Not him.

Hlotse, Leribe, Lesotho

 

I am leaving today, so I suppose this is my last entry, at least from here. Perhaps I will write a few from home as I reflect over the next several days (weeks?). It is hard to leave here.  This has been an incredible experience. However it would also be hard to stay. This is a difficult place. I realize I am no expert, I have only been here two weeks, but because of the nature of my stay I feel I have connected. The problems here are serious, the AIDS pandemic is very real and very dire. People are dying, families are being torn apart, children are being orphaned. It is hard to know how or when this country will heal. It will take a massive shift in policy, perception, and practice in order to make a change. However this crisis does not define the Basotho. They are in the middle of a crisis, but they are not defined by the crisis, they are  more than the crisis. They are a creative, beautiful, resourceful, generous, resilient people. We met a woman yesterday who runs the programs at Sentebale, a centre that runs camps for vulnerable youth in Lesotho with a focus on HIV (Sentabale). She told us a great story about her great grandfather who was a brave warrior that fought for freedom and independence. She told us about how proud she was of him, of her people, and of her country. It was easy to make the connection that she is a modern day warrior fighting for a new type of freedom. I look forward to the day that someone tells her story.

Another Introduction

Another person you need to know if you are interested in this adventure and the work being done here is Samuel. He is the AFM Social Worker who currently overseas the social, emotional, and developmental needs of the orphans. He is young, energetic, enthusiastic, and motivated. He is exactly what you'd want in this position. Having worked in residential settings for many years prior to teaching and for over half of my teaching career (so far), Samuel and I had many good conversations over the last two weeks. In my opinion, these kids are in very good hands.

Samuel and Liteboho were in Guelph this past fall. They have become colleagues as well as friends with the Bracelet of Hope folks. As a result they had us for dinner tonight for a send off on our last night here. Since being in Guelph they have also had a baby! Statistically speaking, I could make Lesotho sound like a sad and desperate place. It's not. It's issues and challenges are real and are serious. However it is also a country where people go to work, make friends, get together for meals, and where young couples have beautiful babies.

More on Mountains

For those of you who have been following, you will be glad to know that I finally got a good picture of a mountain! However I took it on my camera, not on this device, and so I have no way of getting it on this blog, or at least I don't know how to get it on this blog. I am still surprised that I was  able to even maintain this blog. I suppose it is worth saying that I couldn't have done it without the loan of some technology (thanks Trav!) and without my 'nephew' Daniel walking me through it (thanks Daniel!). 

Candice, Andy, and MeMahlompho

I apologize, I should have done this earlier. Allow me to introduce the team I have been with during the last two weeks. Candice is the Director of Business Development and Fundraising and all that sort of thing at the Bracelet of Hope office in Guelph. She has been with them for a year now but has been involved in charitable work, fund raising and social justice initiatives for some time. This visit was an opportunity for her to see the work that is being done first hand as well as meet with established community connections and potential partners. Candice asks really good questions and Bracelet of Hope is lucky to have her. Give her a call some time at the office, she loves to talk about what she does. Andy is the former Executive Director and is now the Program Director here in Lesotho. He advocates, coordinates, facilitates, and does just about everything that needs doing here in country. He is a liaison between the home office and the social work partners here. These last two weeks he has also been our tour guide, driver, and booking agent. He would tell you he is a grumpy old man, and he would do his best to make you believe it. But if you are ever fortunate enough to hear him talk about the orphans here, or see him interact with them, you'd realize he is as good as it gets. He is a dedicated champion of this charity and is the absolute right guy in the right job. MeMahlompho is Andy's partner. Though she is not technically a part of Bracelet of Hope, she is as dedicated to the children's well being as he is. This is her home, these are her people, and she takes the health and welfare of the orphans very seriously. We ate with Me almost every night, we used the internet at their place when we were in a pinch, and she joined us on our adventure to South Africa. It was an honour to have her with us through out our time here. But more importantly it was a real blessing to have a Besotho to interpret, explain, and make sense of the culture.  

Tlhakuli

We were back on the foster home tour today. At this point the foster homes are the primary focus of Bracelet of Hope and our visits have been a major part of our time here. Tlhakuli is another home way up a mountain side: A precarious walk straight up a mountain. It is situated in a stunning setting, more beautiful mountains, probably the nicest view yet. The children were once again, warm, welcoming and a ton of fun. But what struck me today was their indomitable spirits. You can't stop these kids. They have been dealt a very unfortunate hand, but it has barely slowed them down. They have lived through horrific situations I simply don't understand. But you can't stop them. They have had to learn how to survive trauma, neglect, abuse, abandonment, disease and death all at young, young ages. But you just can't stop them. You can't stop them from being kids, from wanting to laugh and to play. You can't stop them from growing, or learning, or making the best of their situation. You certainly can't stop them from having fun. Even a bicycle with no chain, brakes or tires can't stop them from biking around the top of the mountain. You simply can not stop them. 

 

Church

We went to church this morning at the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) in Butha Buthe. The larger AFM in Lesotho has a Social Development Department that filters the majority of funding that comes from Bracelet of Hope (BoH). It is an interesting arrangement. BoH provides funds for programming and the primary costs of the foster homes and AFM hires the Social Worker and the foster parents. BoH also has a 'program director' here in country to communicate, advise, oversee, coordinate, advocate, and anything else that needs doing here. Basically it is a three headed monster, and based on my experience seeing it all happen the last 10 days, it is a fairly effective one. Obviously communicating from Guelph to Lesotho, including times differences, language barriers, and cultural norms, makes things difficult from time to time, however good work is being done. Lives are being changed. Hope is being experienced.

The church service was incredible. First of all, it was 4 hours long and apparently that is the norm. The music was amazing. Actually, the music was fairly average, just a drummer and a pianist, but the singing was amazing.  There were no less then 10 singers at any one time gathered around 3 mics, while 4 or 5 of them took turns singing solos or leading the congregation. The singing also inspired a ton of dancing, marching, laughing, shouting, hooting and hollering. I realize this is not a great picture but it is the best one I got, I guess I was too caught up in the celebration. By the time we got to the sermon we had already been there for 90 mins! It was an impassioned sermon based on a verse in Malachi and focused on the value of family, whether biological, spiritual, or social. Then there was another hour of singing and praying. It was exhausting. Also, today was the end their 'family week' and so there was a big lunch served after the service. Because we were considered special guests we sat with the pastor and his wife and were served first. Nice perk of being a foreigner here!

Safari

There is a Jimmy Buffett song with the line, "Don't try to describe a KISS concert if you've never seen one". I think the same goes for safaris. We took a break from our visits and meetings in Lesotho and drove to South Africa with Andy and MeMahlompho for a one day adventure. The morning was spent bouncing around in a Jeep through stunning, lush, hilly, grassy park land inside a 96,000 hectare park. We saw elephants, rhinos, impalas, wildebeests, giraffes, wart hogs, zebras, Cape buffalo and a baboon! Wow. If you can imagine doing that, then you can imagine exactly what it is like. Before today I couldn't have imagined it.  

This afternoon was a hippo and croc tour on a barge in a river. Hippos have long been a symbol of affection between my wife and I (not exactly sure why) and as a result they have been a favourite animal of mine for a long time. Also, the main character in the book (and film) 'The African Queen' inspired the name of our first born and that story takes place on a barge, in a river in Africa. So for me to float down an African river seeing hippos up close and personal was an extraordinary experience. We saw two crocodiles but they were both stone still in the mud on the shore.    

The funny thing is, I thought this might make me feel guilty, having this sort of adventure while the children in the foster homes back in Lesotho carried on with their everyday stuff. It didn't. Nor did it bother me that so many people can enjoy this sort of thing while these orphans may never have the chance. As a matter of fact I felt just the opposite. It made me realize how fortunate they are to live near so much beauty and adventure. I was excited to think that this is their home, they get to grow up here, this is their inheritance. As they continue to grow, to heal and to strive because of the incredible work being done through Bracelet of Hope, who knows what they might get to see and do.

Haiku

Mountain photograph. Still trying to capture one. Perhaps tomorrow.

   

Unique and Necessary

 

It is incredible how many funeral service businesses there are here in Lesotho. It seems there is one everywhere I go. It is a unique and necessary industry here because of the number of HIV/AIDS related deaths.  If it seems inappropriate to post this beautiful picture with this tragic entry, that's because it is. These are the lives that are affected by this unique and necessary situation.

Makhoroana

Certain songs, flavours, colours, or smells become your favourites. It is hard to say why. I feel that way about the home in Makhoroana. I loved the setting it was in. We hiked way up a mountain behind the home with Thabang the chicken farmer. He is the son of the former foster mom, and he is an absolute star. I loved the the layout of the house. We spent most of the afternoon on the front stoop telling stories, laughing, and visiting with neighbours. Everything about this visit was absolutely delightful. Then the soccer game broke out. We played with a ball they had made out of old bags. The nets were made from bricks from the neighbours construction. The dry red dirt created a knee high cloud of dust that took 24 hours to scrub of my shins. It was just one of those magical moments. I couldn't have planned it any better and I will likely never experience anything like it again.  Not that it matters, but I did score the go ahead goal in what turned out to be a victory for our side.

 

Names

I am struggling with what to do about names. On one hand I don't want to use the names of my new friends in this blog. I don't want their names to be known simply as orphans in needs. However because I know that they are so much more than that, I want to honour them by using their names. I am still working through this one.

Mohalalitoe

After our sleep over we visited the home at Mohalalitoe. By the afternoon, after being woken at 4 am by the roosters and being caught in the heat of the day, I was exhausted. I didn't think I had it in me to make another visit. However opportunities like this don't come around too often, and when you find yourself in a room full of beautiful children who are so thrilled with what we (Bracelet of Hope) have helped provide, is it remarkably easy to get rejuvenated. I know blogs like like this get repetitive and cliche, so I will keep this one short, however this is worth telling. One of the girls here told me that she liked to draw. Because my own daughter likes to draw, I asked if she would like to draw a picture of my daughter, and I told her that my daughter would be thrilled to draw one of her and send it once I got home. Another girl loved this idea and so the two of them took my daughters grade eight grad photo from my wallet and created these masterpieces!