©help lesotho contents february - march 2016 – letter #1

2016 ©Help Lesotho

Contents February - March 2016 – Letter #1 ................................................................................................................................................................. 1

February - March 2016 – Letter #2 ................................................................................................................................................................. 3



February - March 2016 – Letter #5 ............................................................................................................................................................... 12

February - March 2016 – Letter #6 ............................................................................................................................................................... 15

February - March 2016 – Letter #1 As I set foot on the soil of Lesotho last week, I started the twelfth year of my journey with the Basotho.

Before landing in Lesotho, there is a point when one can see the mountains from the small plane’s windows.

Then I know I am home. This year, I was filled with trepidation about what that view might look like after

months of drought. Thankfully, there have been short, gentle rains since Christmas. I felt enormous relief to see

green on the mountains instead of the dull, hopeless beige I had feared.

Global partners, the World Food Program, and the Lesotho government are strategizing ways to help the more

than 650,000 people who are at risk of starvation this year from the paralysing heat and drought wreaked upon

sub-Saharan Africa this year. Imagine the effect on our vulnerable populations - especially breastfeeding

mothers, young children, HIV patients and the aged. There were several months when our Centre had no water

at all – even the town we live in had none. They had to import it from higher regions. It was incredibly

challenging hosting hundreds of people for two five-day Leadership Camps, a three-day Alumni Conference and

all our other regular activities.

The effects of the drought persist and are very real. The winter preserves are gone. Seeds shrivelled in the soil

after the September planting. There is no time left for grain crops to mature before June’s freezing

temperatures. There is hopefully time for one crop of vegetables, but nothing to eat before they mature and

not enough to store for next winter.

As if to reinforce my relief, it rained on the drive to Hlotse from the airport! I arrived at home and the power

went out. Welcome to Lesotho!

Peg’s Letters from Lesotho – 2016 2

As I work, it is routine for me to hear the bells on sheep and cows. This morning I was treated to the grunts of a group of pigs as they foraged at our front gate! Life is never dull!

Our programs are in such demand that we have converted our two garages into classrooms. I walked into one

garage yesterday during Saturday story time. It was packed. Half the children were from the nearby school for

the deaf and the rest from surrounding villages. One young boy signed for the deaf children as ‘M’e Pontso

read the story. Children clustered around our duplicate copies to follow along. One little munchkin was clearly

thinking this was a bedtime story!

One of my joys in returning each time is the staff. Our staff are all Basotho, with the exception of our wonderful

Country Director, Shadrack. This year, two staff you may know have changed portfolios. ‘M’e Mampaka who

previously managed our Child Sponsorship Program all these years is now in charge of the Grandmother

Support Program. Ntate Makoti, one of our Leaders-in-Training program graduates, is now the Child

Sponsorship Officer after two successful years interning under ‘M’e Mampaka. ‘M’e Felleng, who managed the

Grandmother Support Program, is now the Advocacy and Networks Officer – to address our ever expanding

reach and scope. Last year, we had almost 20,000 beneficiaries covering a massive geographical area. Last

quarter alone, with no water, we reached over 4,600 beneficiaries with our programs!

Shadrack holds two-day quarterly staff meetings to build the team, share challenges and successes, review

organizational information and plan ahead. There were 32 participants at the first meeting of 2016, including

our grandmother leads from the villages. Staff came from all locations to participate. We explored lots of issues

and successes, but perhaps the most popular was the session on how our programs are designed and delivered

to promote the cognitive development of our beneficiaries – and how it enhances our own. Great discussion

and lots of interest. The staff were particularly touched as I told them of the sacrifices our donors make to fund

these important programs.

I was delighted to present Five-Year Service plaques to ‘M’e

Montja, our amazing cook and assistant house mother, and Ntate

Motsamai, our wonderful driver. There were tearful moments as

they shared how much they value working at Help Lesotho and

how they have grown as individuals. I look forward to my individual

meetings with each staff to catch up. These are the people who

make our work possible and such a huge success – they are an

incredible group.


We have two new interns this year, funded by the Ministry of Global Affairs

through our partnership with the Interagency Coalition on AIDS and

Development (ICAD). Jo-Ann Osei-Twum (right) is from Brantford, ON and

Sarah Otto (left) is from Ottawa, ON. They will be with us until August

supporting programs and projects.

I was surprised to learn that I am not the only white woman in town these

days. Risa Keene from New Hampshire is here with her husband, a

physician, for two years. Risa, a speech therapist, will volunteer in our Centres for half of every week over the

next year – working with the pre-school program, library and literacy work. The staff have embraced her with

open arms.

Wishing each one the very best, sala hantle.

Peg

PS On a personal note, in church this morning, an absolutely adorable baby cooed throughout and I became

happily distracted with my anticipation of my third grandchild arriving next July to my youngest son, Abe, and

his lovely wife Jessica! I wish every Basotho child was so blessed as this new babe will be.

February - March 2016 – Letter #2 I hear regularly that central and eastern Canada has been in a deep freeze. While their nights are -35 to -40

Celsius, it is +33 to +35 during the day here. We are concerned that the heat will take away the benefits of the

little rain we have had. In my last letter, I mentioned the drought. An American doctor here told me that there

were five weeks before Christmas when there was no water at all in the hospital down the road, water was

brought in for surgeries only and there was no water for doctors to wash their hands otherwise. A startling

image that brings the scale of the drought into perspective.

Just a sweet aside – as I am writing, three tiny, emaciated little deaf boys have threaded themselves through the slats in the gate to use the swings. We are closed on Sundays but they can’t stay away. This place has become their home.

Like a proud mother hen, I am bursting to tell you that Palesa Nkaile,

who graduated from high school in December received the second

highest results in the entire country!!! She has been part of our Help

Lesotho girls’ leadership program and received school sponsorship for

the last six years. While waiting to start university on full scholarship,

Palesa is tutoring almost six days a week to help others do well. Palesa

came to see me this week and was not only happy that her future

education was ensured but truly appreciative of all the camps,

conferences and leadership training she has received since she was

twelve years old in our programs. Palesa wants to be a doctor. She left me a note:


“‘M’e Peg, I love Help Lesotho and the girls’ leadership program. You offered me free life-skills that give

guidance to a healthy life with better choices and a clearer future. Those programs empower women and girls

in Lesotho who are vulnerable and prone to all forms of abuse. They created a place for girls to build new

friendships and learn. Help Lesotho has given me a reason to live and hope for a better future. Help Lesotho

has taught me to give back whatever has been given to me to others.”

As I mentioned in my last letter, our centre is so busy that we are now

using the garages for classrooms. This week was Grandmother Day at

the Hlotse Centre and I wanted to show you what that looks like! You

just gotta love the hats!

Grannies out doing exercises and dancing – getting them moving – alongside the cows!


One reason we are bursting at the seams is the

popularity of our computer classes. There is a huge

waiting list. On a first-come, first-serve basis,

participants come two hours a day for two months. One

hour is a lesson and practice at using Microsoft Office,

building a CV and skills like formatting. The second hour

is a life skills class where they learn about AIDS and

gender equity, gender-based violence, conflict

resolution and communication skills, etc. Participants

initially join the life skills classes reluctantly. By

graduation, it has changed their life and their

perspectives.

Two years ago, four male police officers came. They

were shy and uncomfortable taking this free class.

‘Learning is for children’. Now every session includes

more police officers, on company time. Before

Christmas, one session was half priests and the other


half police officers. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall for those conversations!

One of the current sessions now has 17 senior police officers – both male and female. They are asking for two

hours of life skills training daily! While we have them on site, we are also taking them aside and giving them

extra training on gender and domestic violence. Their more-than-enthusiastic participation in this type of new

learning is a huge definition of success and community impact. It is impossible to separate HIV transmission

from gender-based violence. Just think of how this can change society if we can reach more police and local

leaders through the carrot of computer classes.

Lesotho, the Mountain Kingdom, is now ranked first in tuberculosis (TB) infections, with 852 people in every

100 000 now infected according to the World Health Organisation’s 2015 Global TB Report. Most people here

have compromised immunity systems. Hundreds of thousands are on antiretroviral drugs (ARVs). A form of

chemo therapy, they are hard on the body. When I first came here, there were no paediatric ARVs. Children

were put on fractions of adult pills, imprecise and potentially too strong dosages. A few I know well are now 18-

19. I have seen the ravages on their development through childhood and adolescence. Their cognitive and

physical development has been compromised. They are small of statue and have intermittent periods of illness

and cognitive confusion. Many lack the food to digest the drugs and so they eat away at their mouths and

digestive systems. So many are ripe for the other opportunistic diseases that lurk around to prey on the

vulnerable. The WHO states that TB will eventually wreak greater damage than HIV/AIDS has.

People often ask me how I balance the sadness and relentless challenges here to avoid becoming discouraged. I

never do get discouraged because our programs are so effective, so appreciated and so relevant to the local

needs here. We cannot change everything, cannot cure diseases or generate rain. But, we can give people the

hope, kindness, support and education they need to move forward in healthy, confident ways each and every

day – gifts that will never be devalued. It is totally worth it. I also never feel discouraged because of your faith

in us. Our donors are wonderful – they are faithful year after year and truly believe in us. Not a day goes by

here that I do not think of you – our donors - and how incredibly touched and rewarded you would feel if you

could see how far we stretch your funds – in sustainable and innovative ways. It is this partnership with you

that allows us to work.

Please know how much grateful we are. You are right here beside us all the way.

Rea leboha haholo (thank you sooo much)

Peg

February - March 2016 – Letter #3 It is early in the morning as I write and I hear a gentle rain falling on the tin roof – what a wonderful sound.

There is so much going on here I am tripping over myself to describe the activities clearly.

Help Lesotho is stepping up its efforts to reach more people and provide more leadership opportunities for our

beneficiaries to run public events and activities. One such initiative is the formation of a national Grandmother

Network, with Help Lesotho as chair to guide the development of the network.


Another initiative is the GIRL4ce Movement, planned and run by girls and boys

with older youth mentoring the younger ones in leadership. The focus of the

movement is to educate and encourage thousands of youth in learning about

and practicing human rights, gender equity, HIV prevention and ending

unhealthy practices such as child early and forced marriage (CEFM) and gender-

based violence (GBV). The girls and boys in the movement’s leadership have

been meeting on weekends to plan and prepare various advocacy activities. The

girls have even trained police officers!

The GIRL4ce Movement has conducted massive activities in three locations over the past two-week period,

with the expectation of reaching 2,000 youth, teachers and community members to advocate against CEFM

and GBV. Many of our graduates who are members of Help Lesotho’s Alumni Association are committed to

helping execute these activities, which include songs, poems, and speeches. At Hlotse High School, the target

was 400 participants. Nearly 500 primary and secondary students came!

Last Sunday, a church service was planned by the GIRL4ce young leaders to talk about these issues, pray for

victims of gender-based and sexual violence, and have a moment of silence with participants holding lit candles

to remember and honour the victims. The best laid plans – the school auditorium reserved for the service was

double booked and the entire group had to walk 30-45 minutes (depending on your speed!) to our Centre. And

they came – close to 300 participants!! The grandmothers were seated in the place of honour at the front. I was

just thrilled to chat to the priest beforehand to know what he was going to say and I learned that he is a

graduate of our Leaders-in-Training program last year! He loved it. The messages spreads!


After the three-hour service, the grannies went by

themselves to form a circle on the property and sang and

danced by themselves for 20 minutes. Gosh they are

adorable! They encouraged the youth to care for one

another and stop this violence against girls.

A similar event was held in the village of Pitseng, again

using the school auditorium on Saturday for 500

youth. The next day there was a community walk from

the village of Pontmain to our little Centre that

attracted 400 community members. The activities

were then repeated in Butha Buthe district reaching an

additional 600-800 people. Youth were in charge of all

these activities as they publically stood up to protest

against early and forced marriage and gender based

violence.

It is wonderful see these young boys and girls talking to their peers and community members about such

important issues that affect them all. These activities are not merely educational – they are therapeutic.

Estimates vary but even among boys and grannies the level of abuse is staggering. At these events, the

participants hear clearly that someone notices them, that what they are experiencing is wrong, that they do not


deserve this and that it is not their fault. Somebody cares. Somebody expects this to stop. Young people are

going to step up and speak out until it does. These events matter!

There is so much excitement in our office about upcoming projects. In the coming months, we will:

1. Launch a new group of 150 young mothers;

2. Start a new Computer and Life Skills program at the Pitseng Centre in our new container-computer

classroom; and

3. Hopefully distribute 2,000 solar lights to vulnerable students who need light in order to do their

homework!

You have likely heard about this solar light campaign since Giving Tuesday in early December. We are only

$3,100 away from our target of $30,000 to make this project a reality! I love to think of students turning on

their solar-charged lights for the first time as they sit down to read, solve math equations, and practice their

writing skills. I have been in so many huts that have little or no light. How can these kids pass when there is no

option to read or study at home after chores? Such a simple thing but beyond the reach of our students.

You can find out more about the project and/or donate what you can by clicking here.

Thank you for the encouraging notes and emails – they mean a lot and I love touching base with you – even in a

few lines.

Salang hantle (stay well)

Peg

February - March 2016 – Letter #4 Ntate Shadrack and I recently spent a couple of days in Maseru

for meetings, making various arrangements and sparing time to

talk about our upcoming strategic plan. The founder of the

Country Directors’ Leadership Forum of Lesotho since 2008,

Shadrack chaired a meeting of its members. World Vision

Lesotho presented the latest stats about the drought, now

called the “green drought” because although the recent rains

sprouted the grass there will be no harvest to speak of. If the

many people who are on antiretroviral drugs for HIV/AIDS do

not have enough food to digest the drugs, the drugs will eat

away their digestive system. Corn stalks, normally shoulder

length at this point, are barely a foot tall. Animals are emaciated. Food prices have risen 13%. 77% of people

report they have had to borrow money to purchase food from loan sharks - predators on the poor. Watching

the animals grazing on the quarter inch of grass that has grown in the past two weeks brings it all home, given

that it is past mid-summer here.

http://www.helplesotho.org/our-work/solar-lights-for-students-in-lesotho/


If you are interested, you can read more about the green drought by clicking here.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/feb/18/lesotho-green-drought-hunger-rain-

malnutrition-disease

From Maseru, I went to the small town of Roma to lecture at

the National University of Lesotho to undergraduate students

on Help Lesotho’s approach to delivering psychosocial support

to vulnerable populations. It was special to meet the students

and talk about our work. They were studying to be counsellors

and especially interested in our approach. Unfortunately, I

cannot accept their invitation to return to speak to larger

groups or to the faculty. There is never enough time!

Before I left Roma, I sat listening to the funeral music on the

other side of a stand of trees from where I stayed in a little

village. The music was transcendent. There are far too many funerals in Lesotho – this one for a young woman

who had died of AIDS. She was a cook and supported 22 people with her meagre wage. She leaves behind a

couple of tiny children. The place of music in this culture is impossible to overstate. Music permeates every

aspect of life. Every meeting at our work starts with a song. Music is the living expression of grief, of joy, of

hope and longing. The harmony is awesome and compelling. This one little funeral, held in a tent by the side of

the dusty road, was a testimony to the resilience of the Basotho people to keep going under the duress of more

grief and loss that one can imagine. Where words are entirely inadequate, music takes over.

While I am in Lesotho, I often travel

deep into the mountains by myself in a

four-wheel drive truck. This is when I

connect with the country the most. I

had to laugh – leaving Roma, one sign

says there is 60KM to your destination;

45 minutes later, another tells you it is

only 50KM to go. Forty minutes passes

and the sign says 30KM. Bear in mind

this is on switchback turns. This land

belongs to the herd boys, their cattle,

goats and sheep. While rare to pass

another vehicle, it is the norm to share

the road with donkeys bearing sacks of maize meal, women carrying huge weights on their heads up VERY

steep paths in the hot sun for hours, tiny boys shepherding animals and horseback men shrouded in threadbare

blankets and face covers against the dust in the 30 C degree heat.

Going through one tiny village, I was totally enamoured of four little boys – first bathing together in a small tub

by their hut and then sunning stark naked in the warm sun on a nearby rock. They were beside themselves with

delight – laughing and splashing. It was all I could do to restrain myself from stopping to play with them. One

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/feb/18/lesotho-green-drought-hunger-rain-malnutrition-disease

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/feb/18/lesotho-green-drought-hunger-rain-malnutrition-disease


can’t though – when one has the white skin that glows in the dark. It is never possible to be subtle or

inconspicuous. I often feel my presence disturbs the natural order of things and so feel reserved to intrude

where I have not been invited. The Basotho are always welcoming but non-the-less, I am a disturbance.

We are excited to welcome four guests – women who

have come to participate in our work on the

“Mountain Kingdom Awaits” trip. Judith Manley, a

dear friend for 25 years and a huge encourager for

me, is one many of you may know. Her husband,

John, was the Master of Ceremonies for our first big

fundraiser in 2006 with Stephen Lewis as our special

guest. John was also the MC at our Tenth Anniversary

in Ottawa last year. I value their friendship very

much. Patti Giffin, from Atlanta, is also one some of

you will know. She too is a long-time friend. You may

remember her from when her husband, Gordon, was

the American Ambassador to Canada. Gail Helmcken,

from Vancouver, is a retired teacher who has been a

hugely enthusiastic child sponsor since the beginning

and is so excited to meet the children in our

programs. Jan Miller, from Kingston, is a member of

the Kingston Grandmother Connection (KGC). This group have been the largest funder of our Grandmother

Support Program for the past ten years and without them, we could not sustain that program. The KGC has

raised over $250k since the beginning and is such a large group of wonderful women – I think about 225 in their

membership. It is exciting to have one of them with us to actually meet the grannies.

It is a real honour for our staff and participants to host guests who care so much about our work that they are

willing to leave their families and come to see it for themselves.

You see, although our work is fraught with challenges and heartache, we are surrounded by amazingly selfless,

generous people. They, like you, walk this journey with us and we feel part of one family – donors, staff and

beneficiaries. It is a real privilege.

Salang hantle (stay well)

Peg

PS thank you to all those who LIKE and SHARE our Facebook posts. This is a zero cost way to spread the work

about the impact of our programs where they are needed most.


February - March 2016 – Letter #5 Lumelang,

On Wednesday, we bid farewell to our four special guests

from North America, Gail Helmcken, Judith Manley, Jan Miller

and Patti Giffin. It truly was an amazing experience to travel

around Lesotho with them and see people, places, customs

and landscapes through their eyes. They were such a pleasure

to have. I marvelled at their reactions to watching traditional

dancing, hearing the unbelievably magnificent singing, and

reading to the most adorable children you have ever seen.

They met young mothers and played with their babies. They

built key-hole gardens with grannies, watched a weaving

demonstration by disabled women, and participated in our

leadership trainings on sexual violence and grief and loss.

They heard grannies, children and youth open their hearts about their troubles and how they have learned to

overcome them. They traveled by horseback in the tops of these majestic mountains to one of the most

isolated and poorest schools you can imagine. They met a fine young man in Thaba Tseka, one of Gail’s sisters’

sponsored children, who is 17 years old and starting grade eight. He is over the moon to be able to continue his

education. They attended church in the middle of nowhere. They were greeted by traditional chiefs, local

councillors and villagers with grace and warmth. They received a unique dance from a witch doctor. They

served grannies their special monthly lunch. They learned a bit of Sesotho. They laughed and occasionally cried.

This was only the second time I have led a group to Lesotho to experience the ‘mountain kingdom’. We feel this

is an important way to show our donors the enormous impact of their funds. Yet regardless of what we say,

visitors are never prepared for the depth of gratitude, the magnitude of our work or the gentle loveliness of the

beautiful Basotho people. Our guests cherish the authentic activities with our staff and beneficiaries. It truly is a

life-changing experience. We were all deeply touched by their passion for our work and the bonds they formed

with the staff and beneficiaries.


We have decided to do another trip next year to

coincide with our Grandmother Conference, where

we bring all 200 grandmothers from our

Grandmother Support Program together from all over

the mountains. It is five days of learning, sharing and

empowerment. Guests of this next trip will have the

unique opportunity to spend time with grannies at

this inspirational conference in addition to visiting

rural primary schools, touring the beautiful

countryside, and meeting children and youth at our

Leadership Centres.

If you are interested in joining me for the Mountain Kingdom Experience in 2017, please contact

[email protected]. It will be at the end of February 2017 for 12 days.

We have been working tirelessly to develop a measurement and evaluation database that will greatly increase

our capacity to track our beneficiaries and most importantly – our impact. We hope to have Phase 1 complete

this month. As you know, our work is complicated because we are encouraging change in human beings.

Capturing such change is complex. Our database is now up and running and holding our most precious

information. For the first time ever, we have somewhere to input pre- and post- program survey information

that will show the extent that Help Lesotho’s programs are helping vulnerable children, youth, and

grandmothers to build their resilience, improve their self-management, and take action for the benefit of

others. While data is rarely ‘exciting’, we are very excited!! Phase 2 of this project is to improve our reporting

capabilities based on this data. With so many multi-faceted indicators, we require separate software to

maximize the reporting capability for all this new information. I am hopeful that someone out there will be as

excited about reporting our impact as we are, and will want to help make this next phase a reality. We estimate

mailto:[email protected]


needing $15-$20K, but will submit a more formal project outline to prospective donors. If you, your company,

or someone you know is interested in helping, please reach out.

Finally, this week we held the graduations for two of our most intensive

programs – each lasting two months. Our ceremonies are very special and

the attendees proudly come dressed in their finest! Ntate Shadrack gave a

rousing speech at each group to inspire them to become leaders. At one,

there were 85 Computer and Life Skills graduates, including the police I

have been writing about. The chief of police was among them and I was

petitioned to train more officers from other areas – hundreds of them!

The very next day, in Shadrack’s mail box, there was a letter of

appreciation from the Chief with a list of 19 more officers he is hoping we

will accept for training. They were so appreciative and humble in their

closing remarks.

The other group was 60 graduates from our Leaders in Training Program

(LIT). This is our most intensive program, involving the entire organization

to pull it off when we have so much else going on. As they ate their celebratory lunch, I was able to speak to

each and every graduate. I almost had to leave twice to fight back the tears. They were so appreciative –

intently telling me how their lives have changed and how much they want Help Lesotho’s programs to continue

and reach their families and friends. They praised and thanked the staff for their kindness and support. They

repeatedly asked me to thank the donors who made this possible. They pledged to return to their families and

communities to step up and speak out against injustice, gender inequity and violence against women. If you

could have heard the men in their commitment to change to protect women. Words fail me in describing how

deeply I was touched. I started this annual program in 2006 and estimate that we have trained over 500 youth

to date. Imagine the cumulative impact of these fine young people all over the country! One young man

tweeted during the day:

'M’ Peg said, "we believe in you. We have put our hearts and souls into you; the best of everything we have has

been offered to you"

Reflecting on today’s events @helplesotho , 'M'e Peg said to us "it's all for you and now you need to go out and

make it all for them"

A special thank you to all the Help Lesotho family for taking us through this journey that is LIT. Now it's our

turn!

I guess that pretty much says it all! Wishing each one well from Lesotho.

Peg

https://twitter.com/helplesotho


February - March 2016 – Letter #6 As I traversed the tarmac in the rain to the small plane that would take me from Lesotho to Johannesburg, the

skies were foreboding with a steady rain. Rain! So little, so late. I am haunted by the sight of the fields,

especially in Thaba Tseka. Corn that should be shoulder height is less than a foot; fields that should be bursting

with produce are unplanted or dying well before maturity. The sight of the dry streams and river beds, women

washing in shallow muddy puddles, and children pushing wheelbarrows up and down the mountain roads to

find water makes the issue clear and terrifying. As I leave, the nights are cooler; the mornings crisp. Winter will

come – as inevitable as the sunrise and with it cold and hunger. The United Nations Food and Agricultural

Organisation recently issued a warning that the state of malnutrition for under-five-year-olds in Lesotho is

critically high. According to the report released last week, the national malnutrition rate has risen to 33% of

children suffering from malnutrition and 50% from anaemia.

I will miss the sound of cows, sheep and horses waking me up. I will appreciate my showers more. I will be

more grateful for what I have.

A generous partner foundation in Denver, Colorado has purchased a brand-new computer lab for our Pitseng

Centre with 22 new computers. It is so exciting to think of how this will revitalize the community and give

students, youth and adults a chance to learn marketable skills. Of course, they will also take life skills during

their two-month course – that is the deal! The chief and local counsellors have already signed up! Discouraged

and disengaged out-of-school youth, always so hard to reach, will have a purpose and a chance to change their

lives and behaviour. Young mothers will begin to believe they can move on with their lives. We expect the

delivery in a few weeks. The community cannot wait – this is the most exciting thing that has happened since

we opened the Centre in June 2008!

The past two months in Lesotho have been packed. What stands out the most though is the tremendous efforts our communities and beneficiaries expend to show how much they love and appreciate our work. We get constant messages, letters and speeches from our beneficiaries of all ages – more grateful and heartfelt than you can imagine – to thank us – to thank you - for caring so much about them and their lives. One example is a speech a young woman made at the intensive Leaders-in-Training graduation last week:

The Help Lesotho staff have always seemed to understand that attitude is

contagious. Thanks for your positive attitude when we found ourselves dwelling on

the negatives of life. You help us count our blessings instead of our troubles. Your

optimism was contagious, it gave us the courage to dream and the faith to believe

that our dreams can come true. Thanks for the lessons about life. By your words

and actions, you have taught us about love, discipline, hope, courage,

responsibility and more. One of life’s greatest ironies is there’s so much to learn in

so little time. That’s why we value the wisdom you’ve shared with us. You cared

enough to teach, and we won’t forget.

Thanks for your care, your concern, your help and your kindness. Even in your

busiest moments, you always made time for us. Through your words and deeds,


you have taught us a lesson that will last a lifetime; the power of compassion. We will be forever

grateful.

Thanks for listening to our dreams and thanks for believing in them. When we summoned the courage

to confide in you, you supported us, you encouraged us and you trusted us. If you harboured any

doubts, you hid them. Please know that your faith was effective. Because you believed in us, we can

have faith and believe in our dreams, too.

- Ramotheba

When I meet our grannies, as old and poor as they are, they are dressed

neatly in their finest Seshoeshoe dresses with gifts of song and dance.

They are bursting with speeches to share what they have learned and their

plans to make life better for themselves and their children. They write

songs of thanks. They hold my hands as if ever to let them go.

I took our international guests to a VERY remote village to meet some

grannies. The whole village turned up – a village of old grannies and

children. One rarely sees a man or youth. The men have died or left and the youth have gone to seek work and

a better future. With the help of our local staff, I had pressed upon them beforehand that they should not

prepare food. The Basotho are so generous and hospitable but it is too painful to take food from their meagre

supplies. I struggle with how to graciously keep them from making these enormous meals when I come. After a

wonderful visit, a spokeswoman from the grandmother group in that area handed me the equivalent of CAD $5

in small bills for us to purchase drinks in town to compensate for the lack of opportunity to provide us with a

meal. I know very well how much that money represents to them and was almost in tears to accept – which I

must. They gave us handmade pots and brooms. Such generosity is beyond humbling – the widow’s mite!

Our Help Lesotho family is enormous and loving – it is amazing. Just one example was the reception we had at a

mountain school a 50-minute horse ride up into the clouds. We were met by the entire community with

traditional songs and dances. The 156 children in this tiny primary school wore the track suits we had provided

last year – to replace their threadbare clothes. They wore the Toms shoes we had distributed instead of bare

feet.


They proudly showed us the repairs to the holes in the concrete floors of their classrooms. They ask for

nothing. They cheered and made a public announcement when I told them they will soon be receiving solar

lights for their dungeon-like classrooms and for every student to bring home, thanks to your generous support.

As I return home to Canada, I am racking my brain to think of more ways to engage people in this amazingly

powerful work. It truly matters - and the Basotho are counting on us. We so appreciate the few large donors we

have. Their consistent, generous donations help to reduce our reliance on the often uncertain availability of

grants and ensure we can provide the services we know are needed so badly. Finding more such large donors is

a constant challenge that keeps me awake at night. I believe completely that if people could see our work they

would be so happy to support it. This is what each person who sees our work in person tells me!

So much has been done since my first visit in August 2004, and so much is yet to be accomplished. I am very

excited as we complete our strategic plan for 2016-2019. Our growth and implementation has been targeted

and successful. We know what we need to do and how to do it. We are ready!

Thank you for walking this journey with us – it is such a privilege to do this together ….. and as this little

mountain school says:

God bless Help Lesotho 2016!

With my love and appreciation,

Peg

©help lesotho contents february - march 2016 – letter #1

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