Day Two in Lesotho - February 2010

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VISITING THE KING -- We breakfast on scrambled eggs, bread, pork and beans and English style sausage (bland hot dogs) and then load up in our caravan of four Toyota Crew Cab 4X4s and one Land Rover with roof rack to make the 40-minute drive to Maseru. We arrange a stop at the new mall for 30 minutes to pick up some necessities like batteries, sunscreen and espresso drinks (instant coffee or tea is served at the lodge; I share Starbucks VIA instant coffee packs with the group). Rick decides to invest $30US in a desk fan for our room, which he knows will make a nice gift for the World Vision office staff when we depart. He decides that will make the room more pleasant with some air movement. After the brief visit to the mall that is still receiving its finishing touches as a new construction site, we head to the King's palace in Maseru. The landscaped grounds sit on a small hillside, surrounded by high, concertina wired fence with machine gun armed guards. We are escorted past his residence to the royal offices. The palace and offices are made of limestone native to Lesotho and look like they were designed by a contemporary architect in the 1960s. Gracious, but by no means oppulent. We are ushered into a reception room with couches and chairs, where the King's chair sits in front of a massive fireplace topped with his official portrait. His aides wear sharp, custom tailored suits and ties and he appears in a casual shirt and slacks to meet with us. Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy presents an official proclamation from our County and Joseph Castleberry has a dozen Northwest University coffee mugs and official T Shirt for the King. Our teenage trio present him with a box of smoked northwest salmon. He is impressed to see students with us. I have a Psanky egg created by Rich Johnson, an artistic zookeeper from Pt. Defiance who hand designs the eggs as gifts. He is working on having one of his eggs in every state and every country. I have personally gifted eggs of his in Osaka, Bangkok and Singapore on a 2003 Asia trip with Rotary, so when he finds out I am Lesotho bound, he sends the egg with me for the King. It is green and blue design with a northwest wildflower motif. The King joins us on the patio for photos following the formal presentations, then invites us to the lounge for tea and cake. The World Vision management team joined our group for the meeting with the King, so the session includes brief introductions and greetings from each of us. We depart the Palace for Ha Kolo, the village where Mathabo lives. Her story is part of the World Vision Experience Africa exhibit that toured the US in 2007-08 to put a face on the HIV AIDS pandemic for Americans. Our visit with her village and school will prove to be a life changing experience for the teenage girls in our group.

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Photos

Pierce County team on palace grounds
We gather to meet the King of Lesotho. From Left:(back row) Joe Castleberry, Pat and John McCarthy, Bob Bowen, Gary Nordlund, Dean Curry and Rick Olson; (Front) Beth Nordlund, Kathleen Olson, Gabby Curry and Sarah Nordlund.

The Palace Offices Courtyard
We enter the offices building for our audience with King Letsie III.

Psanky Egg
Created with Northwest Wildflower Theme as a gift for the King by Rich Johnson, a zookeeper at Pt. Defiance in Tacoma.

Chatting with the King
Dean Curry, left and John and Pat McCarthy chat informally with the King following the official audience.

Official Portrait
King Letsie III allows our group and the World Vision management team to gather for a photo before we enjoy tea and cake service.