Team Lesotho Visits Leratong

On Saturday, we went to Leratong Community Learning Center to celebrate the big day of BLOOM Africa.  Irrespective of the distance between our two countries, we are one team.  So as BLOOM Africa was celebrating a re-launch in America, we wanted to volunteer in solidarity.  So when I got to Leratong my with teammates, we were amazed by the number of kids we found there.  On a daily basis a number of +/- 100 children go to Leratong.  They are being tutored by 3  women volunteers from the Roma community.

The children at Leratong CLC & Team Lesotho

One of their projects really had an impact on me.  It touched me to see hats and other items made out of recycled plastic bags.  The children have become very skilled at doing this.

Items made of plastic bags during life skills training

This made me realize that there is great potential at Leratong to make BLOOM's vision a reality.

This can be made possibly by us, Team Lesotho, giving them the support they need.  I believe if we can invest our time and brain power int his CLC, something good will be produced and BLOOM's name will go places,

This can be possible by providing daily supervision, as well as more projects and activities on site.  There is a a real potential in this CLC.

Thank you so much for giving us this opportunity.  You guy's don't only put a smile on the faces of the children who attend the CLC, but also Team Lesotho as well.  We are grateful.

Team Lesotho: Mammeisi, Bokang, Malefa

May the almighty bless you and your efforts.  We love you.

Khotso,

Mammeisi Manyeli
Team Lesotho member
  

A Request and a Promise

As a medical student, I have learned about the health impact of HIV/AIDS for the individual patient. I have learned about the anticipated disease course, treatment regimens, preventative measures, and support groups for patients and their families. In the United States, an HIV diagnosis has a troubling prognosis but has improved greatly in the last three decades since the disease emerged. The medical research community may be years away from a vaccine or cure, but HIV may be considered a chronic condition in some patients. However, the impact of HIV/AIDS on any individual, regardless of country or wealth is tangible and dramatic.

HIV/AIDS has dramatically changed the landscape and culture of Lesotho. In a country of 1.8 million, there are an estimated 160,000 orphans and vulnerable children. The impact is noticeable in every village, despite improvements in detection and treatment. The need for change and improvement is apparent. The problem-solving (and public health) part of my brain wants to assess communities and villages, design programs in collaboration with the villages, and record results and improvements in the outcomes for these orphans to celebrate their successes. However, my motivation and passion to improve the lives of Basotho children is not driven by the analytical part of my brain. My motivation and passion comes from my heart and a promise to a young mother in Lesotho in 2009.

On my second trip to Lesotho in 2009, a brief conversation with a young mother changed my life forever. We were at the Baylor Pediatric Centre of Excellence, a treatment facility for HIV positive children, to play and interact with the children while they waited for their appointments at the clinic. It was relatively quiet near the water tap and I was taking a moment to enjoy the smiles and laughter around me. The mother approached me with her youngest child on her back, secured by a Basotho blanket. We exchanged greetings and I explained why we were at the clinic. Then she asked me one of the hardest questions I’ve ever had to answer, “Will you take my child back to the United States? I’m HIV positive and I can’t take care of her.” I fumbled over my words and held back tears as I tried to explain that I couldn’t take her child. A laundry list of reasons and excuses ran through my head, but they all seemed insufficient. So in that moment, I did the only thing that seemed to do justice to the young mother’s request. I promised that I would finish my education and work as hard as I could to improve the lives of Basotho orphans and vulnerable children. I could not make an individual promise to the young mother and her children, but I could promise to never forget her children or her country. It wasn’t enough for her that day, but it is the best I could do.

Every morning I am reminded of her face as she made such a challenging request and I work tirelessly to fulfill my promise to her. I have a few more years of medical school ahead of me, but I am able to work on my promise by volunteering with Bloom Africa. Bloom Africa has allowed me to accomplish more than I ever could as an individual, a true example of Ubuntu. “You cannot do all the good the world needs, but the world needs all the good you can do” (Anonymous).

Khotso & Lerato (Peace & Love),

Betty

Betty Cheney currently serves as the  Secretary of the Bloom Africa Board of Directors. She is a medical student at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

If I had words to make a day for you, I’d sing you a morning, golden and true

                Every morning in Lesotho, I would wake up with two significant mindsets that would fill my soul for the day.  I would wake up with a feeling of purpose, and I would be filled with hope.  The mornings would be a promise of the work that would be accomplished, as well as the time and opportunity we had to get our hands dirty into making the future better for the Basotho we loved so dearly.  Throughout the day, every experience I encountered would pull on these mindsets.  I would plant a tree and wonder, “What if it doesn’t grow?”  I would hug a child and think “Will they be able to go to school?”  While the sense of purpose would remain strong, my hope would start to dwindle as I witnessed the complicated oppression they lived in every day.  I knew I was making a small difference, but the problems seemed too big to heal completely.  In the evenings, everyone on our Lesotho trip would come together to talk about what we experienced and how it was weighing on our minds.  We struggled as we talked about the poverty, hunger, and sickness that plagued those we loved, but we also talked about the greater change that was becoming from our small simple acts.  We had the evenings to grapple with this concept; how simple acts, when multiplied by millions, could change the world.  We might have gone to bed feeling confused and overwhelmed, but in the mornings, there was always the beautiful restoration of purpose and hope. 

          

                 I think it was important for everyone on our trip to find that sense of purpose when coming back to America.  In our own way, we each had to find avenues to keep giving out our Lesotho love.  As I struggled to feel at home again, I remembered a conversation I had with a Basotho friend about his country.  He said that in Lesotho, everyone had the opportunity to just be themselves.  There was so much land that they had the time and quietness to actually hear their own voice and really be free.  He left me with the words that in America, we were just a statistic.  Lesotho was a place to become more than just a number.  My mornings under the African sun were a reinstallation that I was called to make a difference.  Returning back to America, I missed the mornings of those beautiful, raw emotions, but was fueled with the desire to never become an invisible number that my friend warned me of.        

No matter our experiences, having been to Lesotho or not, I think every human deserves to wake up with the hope and purpose of a bright day.  We have the power to live out our life as examples of human goodness, spreading this purposeful hope to others who need it most.  Right now, I have the hope of believing I can make a difference as an intern with Bloom, I have the purpose of finishing school so I can use my education to make a difference for others, and I will always have the love of Lesotho in my heart.

-Katharine

Katharine Ritzi traveled to Lesotho in 2011, and is currently a senior at Wittenberg University. She is also serving as an intern with Bloom Africa.

After Awareness

At the beginning of this month, I was fortunate enough to travel to Lesotho for the first time with the Springfield Rotary. As a Wittenberg student, I was very familiar with the country through the stories of my friends who had traveled there during service trips in the summer. I watched many come back changed with a new outlook on life after just one month in the country. But even though I heard all the stories, I was completely unprepared for the influence this trip would have on me. And in fact, I am still having trouble putting into words exactly how it is that I am changed.

            

Above all, the trip made me aware of so many issues that go unnoticed or ignored in my daily life. I learned what the term “economic disparity” actually means for our country as well as abroad. The question came up throughout the trip of why we should put our efforts into helping other countries when there are people right here in the U.S. experiencing extreme poverty. I myself thought about this a lot. I believe it’s so important for us to give back to the communities we live in, and contribute our own assets to the growth of own neighborhoods. But this trip showed me that I am also a part of a global community. The people of Lesotho are also my neighbors. Kaofela rea tsoana. We are all the same.

With children after a hike in Roma, Lesotho

The second half of our trip, we traveled down toward Capetown, stopping to go on safari, hiking up to the lighthouse at Cape Point, and taking the boat out to Seal Island. The transition from being a visitor in Lesotho to a tourist in South Africa was one of the strangest and most eye-opening aspects of the trip. And for me, it solidified the global awareness I felt I had gained through my experience.

            

But I think the biggest feeling I’ve experienced is this question of, what now? What comes after awareness? At times in Lesotho, and during our time in South Africa, I was overwhelmed by the poverty and the inequality that exists there. How do we even begin to combat a problem this big? And how do we do it from so far away? I think that part of the challenge of international service is communicating the story of Lesotho to the people back home. Raising awareness is the first part of my job now that I’ve had the opportunity to travel there myself and become acutely aware of the poverty in this country. But we also have an opportunity to go one step further.

On our last day in Lesotho, we visited the high school in Maseru to meet the newly formed Interact Club there. During our meeting, a boy named Theko performed a poem for us that he had written himself. In it, he told us about his life, how both of his parents were lost and described in detail what a life on the streets means for the youth in Lesotho. Hard work and long hours for little pay is the most many youth in Lesotho can hope to achieve. Theko told us the very things that we hear every day but still don’t seem to know about—children waiting for leftovers on the street with no home to go to at the end of the day and no one to care for them when they get sick. But despite these odds, the last stanza of his poem was filled with hope:

Damn it, it’s okay.

It’s okay with me being a resist

But one thing for sure

I will step on stones that

Haters throw at me

Till I make it to the top

And show future what I will hold for it

Because it’s not what the future holds for me,

But what I hold for it.

Theko, standing left of his teacher, at his High School

The last lines of this poem show a spirit in the Basotho that is just waiting to bloom. Theko has the power to change not only his future, but the future of his community. I think that Theko is a minority in the sense that his hope is at the surface. Many of the kids in Lesotho still need to be empowered, to be given the tools and the chance to change their futures. Hidden under the gravity of each of their situations is the strength they need to change it. This is where we can help. After awareness comes our ability to equip youth like Theko with the resources they need to be the change in Lesotho and uncover the possibilities of a brighter future.

Khotso,

Catie 

Catie Stipe is finishing her senior year at Wittenberg University, and visited Lesotho in March 2012.

Back To Where The Heart Is

Six years ago I took a trip that influenced who I am today. I was fortunate to be one of 30 Wittenberg students to travel to Lesotho with Professor Rosenberg. The trip exposed me to another part of the world and to a country that I did not know existed before. Today, Lesotho feels like my second home.

It was easy to fall in love with Lesotho’s beauty and the friendly and welcome spirit of the Basotho (people of Lesotho.) The smiling faces of the children became a part of me. The work we did in orphanages, Habitat for Humanity locations, and an AIDS clinic opened my eyes.  Holding the hand of a young orphan infected with HIV gave me an understanding of the depth of the virus; of the immense effect it was having on the people of Lesotho. I saw the need- one in four Basotho are infected with HIV/AIDS and the result is over a 100,000 orphans in the small country- but I also felt the incredible potential of this beautiful country. The experience inspired a group of us to create BLOOM Africa.

Two weeks ago, after six long years away, I had the opportunity to return to Lesotho with my brother Andrew Steele. As we crossed the border during the darkness of the night into Lesotho, I rolled down my window and was immediately greeted by the distinct smell I remembered. Tears filled my eyes listening to the beautiful singing welcome of the school children.  I was overcome with goosebumps. I couldn’t believe I was finally back.

I can remember as a kid watching the Lion King and dreaming of a faraway place of Africa. This continent, that was once just a dream to visit, has now become a reality in my life. Now, I have visited twice, and we have a team of amazing volunteers around the world devoting their time to help with BLOOM Africa. In all, our return to the nation of Lesotho was surreal.

While there, I was continuously confronted with the phrase Kaofela rea tsoana....We Are All the Same. Through travel and meeting people from all different walks of life, the phrase encapsulated the truth I've learned. As humans we all share common hopes and dreams that binds us together. During our trip, we visited project sites, spoke with leaders in the community, shook the King’s hand, and met with local and international NGOs to learn and collaborate. There is great work still to done in Lesotho, but I am optimistic and re-energized that working with the Basotho and BLOOM Africa there is a brighter future ahead for the children of Lesotho.

“Maybe I’m a hopeless optimist.  Maybe I’m naïve.  Maybe I’m unrealistic.  Maybe my educational expertise isn’t sufficient to anticipate how much can and will go wrong.  Or maybe I just can’t bear the thought of failing the kids again.  It doesn’t matter.  I’m all in.  And for the long haul.”

-Dr. William Henk

Thank you for sharing in BLOOM Africa’s dream.


Peace,


William


This blog entry was written by William Thomas, BLOOM Africa Deputy Director.

Meetings - Lesotho Style: Lesotho Update #2

Andrew and Billy have been staying busy with meetings, meetings and more meetings! Check out the details of their fun, educational and motivational engagements below....

On Thursday:
We met with the Principal of Fatima Primary School in Ramabanta,
Lesotho. We heard about the struggles, the challenges, the successes,
and the opportunities at her school.

We also met with Lerato, who is a leader in the village. She spoke to
us about how great her village is, as well as the crushing realities
of HIV/AIDS and orphans in her village. She will be a great partner
for BLOOM.

We had some nice meetings with ladies that are making and selling
scarves and knit hats from scratch, all the way from the stage of
receiving wool, to spinning it, to knitting it. We also met with a
guy in the community that makes art from rocks that he grounds.

On Friday morning:

We met with the the Principal of the primary school in Roma and the
the lady volunteering her time to run Leratong Community Center. It
was very insightful hearing from both of them.

We also met with Little Angels to check up on our project there. The
water is running perfectly and the kids were all smiling. We spoke
with Rose and Kennedy there and dropped off shoes for kids there
without them.

We have built some very nice relationships during our time here, as
well as learned how to best work with the Basotho people. We are
looking forward to updating you in more detail!

Another post full of big things for BLOOM and the orphans of Lesotho!! The BLOOM team is looking forward to creating lasting relationships and designing projects with all of these wonderful people!

Kings, Kids & Colleges: Lesotho Update #1

Lumela, friends! Andrew and Billy have been extremely busy the past few days in Lesotho. All of their hard work is paying off, though, as they continue to make new connections and generate new support for BLOOM. Here is a look at what they've accomplished, what they've been doing and what they'll be bringing back to the BLOOM Africa team!

We are currently in Maseru after meeting with a professor who teaches at the National University of Lesotho.

We arrived in Lesotho on Saturday night after a busy day of driving and seeing some folks. Sunday we spent the day in the community in Roma, and did some hiking. After spending the morning with some children in the village, we traveled to visit the Lesotho Child's Counseling Unit. This was a place of safety for children who have been badly abused or abandoned. The Wittengerg trips have been going to this site for the last number of years and volunteering there. Sadly, in November, the structure caught fire and was completely burned down. It was very sad to be back and see the charred ashes of a building that used to have so much happiness and joy inside its walls.

On Monday we spent the day with the Springfield Rotary Club in Motsekua, where they were dedicating the orphanage they have funded. His Majesty King Letsie III attended the large celebration, and gave the closing remarks at the program. After the program, we had lunch with His Majesty, and both William and I were able to meet him and discuss BLOOM Africa and our vision. We also connected with contacts from the US Embassy. After the event, we visited a school and orphanage, and spent time with the school's principal. We learned a lot about the challeneges that primary and high schools are now facing in Lesotho.

Tuesday was a busy day for us, spent in Maseru. We spent the moring at Kick4Life, an NGO using soccer to combat HIV and empower youth. We met the new director and are excited about the potential to work together in the future. That afternoon we had a meeting with the Director of the Peace Corps in Lesotho, and gained many new contacts that will be beneficial to moving forward. Later in the afternoon we met with our contacts who run soccer tournaments in Thaba Bosiu that promote healthy living and empowerment.

Today we met with the professor and will be visiting Little Angels. This afternoon we will head to Ramabanta where we will spend two nights. We hope to speak to some teachers there to hear of the difficulties of teaching in rural Lesotho. We will not have access to internet until Friday evening.

Yesterday was Billys birthday and we certainly celebrated in a good fashion! We raced up a mountain with just enough time to spare to catch the sunset, another beautiful evening in the Mountain Kingdom.

Love you all and wish you were here!!!

Big things are coming our way, folks!! Stay tuned for more updates, more good news and more ways you can help us help the orphans of Lesotho!

**Should anyone want/need to get ahold of either Andrew or Billy, you may call their Lesotho cell phone at (266) 57 40 27 93.

A New Year, A New Hope

It’s now 2012, and the New Year brings many new beginnings.  Many people state ‘new year resolutions,’ that may fizzle in weeks or act as a catalyst for change and direction in the coming 365 days.  Some people don’t make resolutions come the New Year, but are happy to wash their hands of the previous years troubles.  Either way, the coming of a new year signifies optimism and a fresh start.

I carry this new kind of hope for BLOOM Africa, Lesotho and humanity in general.  I know I can be overly ambitious and a bit of a dreamer at times, but I can’t help but get excited about the possibilities in the year ahead.  How can I not get excited about our growing organization and the potential to touch even more lives in Lesotho?  How can I not be thrilled to know we have a larger network of supporters to spread the good news about the Mountain Kingdom in the sky?  We are currently in the development stages of our new vision as an organization, something we feel will catapult how successful our impact can be in Lesotho.  We now have, more than ever, people wanting to become socially engaged with BLOOM and their communities.  There is just so much to be optimistic about.

Of course when the New Year starts, we grasp on to the hope that our dreams and desires will become realized.  Without hope, what are we as human beings?  Who was Franklin Delano Roosevelt without the hope of a prosperous and successful United States?  Who was Nelson Mandela without the hope for a free and democratic South Africa?  What would a farmer do if he did not have hope in his newly planted seeds?  It is clear that hope is central to so much of what we do and who we are.

We are dedicated towards creating a hope that is concrete, everlasting and full of love and justice.  The word hope has been thrown around lately much like other words that seem to diminish their importance.  But for children who are parentless, hungry and lacking basic resources, hope may be their only resource to escape poverty. 

Join me in sharing this fresh, rejuvenated hope for the orphans and vulnerable children of Lesotho.  Let us have hope for a better tomorrow through our mutuality with our brothers and sisters thousands of miles away.  Yes, hope is not something that can be counted, graphed or collected.  But it is the resource that is most important…the resource that has the power to change the world.

-Andrew