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.
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