February 2010 in Lesotho, Africa

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The Global Neighbor Project team of 12 visited Lesotho to tour the Sekameng Area Development Project supported by World Vision, of which GNP is a major contributor. GNP is an outreach from the citizens of Tacoma/Pierce County, WA including the faith community, elected officials, community leaders, students and community volunteers to Sekameng, Lesotho, Africa in support of the orphans and vulnerable children affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Five of us had visited in September 2006, so we were anxious to gauge the progress of the communities in accessing clean water, fresh produce, and utilizing caregiver kits, school supplies,furniture and uniforms as well as setting up pork and poultry production, sewing and shoe making micro-enterprises. Pastor Dean Curry initiated the Global Neighbor Project, and this would be his fifth visit to Lesotho. Our team includes Bob Bowen from World Vision (second trip); Joseph Castleberry, President of Northwest University; Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy and her husband, Superior Court Judge John McCarthy; Dean Curry and his daughter, Gabby, 15; the Nordlund family -- Julie (second trip), Gary and daughters Sarah, 17 and Beth, 16 and Kathleen Olson and husband Rick Olson, who is the official photographer for the trip.

Our first day in Lesotho is sunny and very warm. After the smooth hour long flight from Johannesberg, we are met by the World Vision staff that will be with us for six days. We are happy to greet our chief host and interpreter, Agatha, who had been with us on our September 2008 visit. There are five four wheel drive vehicles to transport us, each with a World Vision staff driver/interpreter. Two of them had been with us before, so it was like greeting old friends. We drove into Maseru to debrief at the World Vision Lesotho Headquarter Office to meet with the Country Director Martin and the management team. He is a native of Zimbabwe, but the rest of the staff are all Basotho residents of Lesotho. We are surprised to see a new mall just opened, with two levels of shops, a small food court, large supermarket, variety store and electronics store. Shop Rite and the stores in downtown Maseru now have competition on the edge of town. We visit the Phetahatso Primary School on the outskirts of Maseru. While not supported by our efforts, it is interesting to contrast to the rural schools we have been assisting since 2006. We pay a formal visit to the Maseru City Council for an exchange of gifts and pleasantries. I have brought along a gift of hard candies for Mr. Mokhethi, the City Engineer who facilitates the meeting. We had met him in 2008 and I wanted to bring him a special thank you gift. He had asked us on the first visit why we were there supporting children in his country. We had told him them that as Christians, we were following the command of Jesus to take care of the widows and orphans of the world and we had selected the Sekameng area of Lesotho because it had about the same population as Tacoma. He was pleased that I had remembered him. We make it to the Mmelesi Lodge where we will spend five nights in the early evening. We check in to our five separate rondevele rooms and then convene in the dining room for our buffet dinner. The lodge provides breakfast and dinner. The food is plain and wholesome, and the group is happy that they have Coke Zero and Sprite available. Our rondeveles have thatched roofs and windows that open but no screens or fans, so it is quite stifling. The bathrooms have flush toilets, sinks, tubs and wand showers, but water pressure and hot water are intermittent. The accommodations are clean and quiet and the first night is clear. Without the glare of lighting, the pitch black sky is a sea of constellations and stars for us to identify.

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Photos

Airlink Arrival in Lesotho
Our dozen travelers arrive in Lesotho on Wednesday, February 10,2010 after 20 some hours in flight from Seattle/Tacoma to Wash. DC to Dakar, Senegal to Johannesburg, where we stay overnight at the airport hotel to catch the morning flight.

Phetahatso Primary School
We visit a school on the edge of capital city Maseru and are greeted by students gathered to sing a welcome

Official Welcome to Phethahatso
VIP seating is arranged for our group to meet the principal, teachers and some parents formally.

Traditional Dance
Girls perform the traditional Basotho dance while kneeling and singing, punctuated by whistle blows and a unique shoulder shrug move.

Basotho Lunch
We are served squash, greens, rice, maize (the staple cornmeal mush), baked chicken and beans for lunch.

Soccer and Pencils
The school principal is happy to receive a new soccer ball and supply of pencils for the students from Kathleen Olson and Pat McCarthy (right).

International Texting
We may be in a country with limited electricity, but the solar powered cell towers allow us to use our mobile texting to keep in touch with Tacoma. Pastor Dean receives message from staff.