The Journey Begins

There is something truly beautiful about being welcomed at an international airport after 24 hours of travel.  And we were lucky enough to be welcomed by two good friends at the O.R. Tambo International Airport when we landed last night, around 10pm local time.  Kristen, a good friend of Andrew’s who lives and works in Joburg, and Mosa, Bloom board member from Lesotho, were both waiting to welcome two tired and straggling travelers.  After a nice night of unwinding after a long day of travel, we hit the hay.

The adventure to Lesotho than began early this morning with the rental of our car for the week.  Because neither of us can drive a manual (we know, we know) we opted for an automatic.  But despite the easier maneuvering, the roads in South Africa still turn you into the most attentive driver on the planet.  Driving on the left side of the road, while sitting on the right side of the car, sure does play games on your brain.  But thankfully, we were able to get accustomed to it quite quickly.

We stopped in Bloemfontein, where Andrew surprised his host family from his volunteer time in South Africa.  It was such a joy to see them and catch up.  After a nice meal, we headed to the Maseru border crossing.  On the way to Lesotho, we saw large, dark and ominous clouds rolling across the koppies and grasslands.  All of a sudden, a massive rain storm hit us.  This was truthfully unlike any rain storm I had ever seen in Africa.  The rain drops were hitting the roof of our car so aggressively, that it sounded like little rocks being pelted at us.  And then, it hit Andrew.  His African name, given to him by his host family, was motlalepula, or “the one who brings the rain.”  He instantly felt like at home. 

When we finally crossed the border “Team Lesotho”, or Bloom Africa’s newest group of young adult volunteers, from Lesotho, greeted us as.  The sun had already been down for an hour or so, and they waited patiently for us to arrive.  It was so wonderful to finally meet them in person.  After a short bit of hanging out, we discussed our busy schedule for tomorrow and the rest of the week.

Our drive to Roma on the pitch black roads was exhilarating.  Perhaps it was the dark turns, and not knowing what was ahead.  Or maybe it was the twinkling of lights from homes in the distance, looking simply like stars in the sky.  We rowed the windows down and took in deep breaths of that uniquely Lesotho air.  Ahh, it’s good to be back.

As we settle in for the night, we wish to thank all of you for your continued support.  Stay tuned for more updates soon.  We can’t wait to work with the community here, and to learn even more ways we can work together to help plant the seeds of hope for the orphans and vulnerable children.

Salang hantle,

Andrew & William 

A Return to Where We Belong

Tomorrow, William and I leave for a land many people are unaware of.  We leave for a land of Mountains, waterfalls, and dirt roads.  We venture to a picturesque landscape, scattered with sheep which seem to just be white dots in the distance.  The constant cooing of the doves and the heckling of the Hadeda birds will greet us each morning.  The smells of burning rubbish.  The sounds of cowbells passing by.  The setting sun over rolling hills and sandstone cliffs.  A nation of beautiful people…awaits us. 

Tomorrow, we leave for Lesotho.

It’s been just about a year since William and I have been back to the land that forever changed us.  So much has happened since that time, both in our own personal lives and the life of Bloom.  So many exciting, wonderful things. 

And returning to the Mountain Kingdom in the Sky adds to the fruitful blessings we’ve endured over the past year.  I am so excited to see old friends, surprise family members, and meet new and inspiring people.  No visit to Lesotho and South Africa is the same.  The plethora of diversity will be abounding, and I look forward to the simplicity and complexity of Africa.  I can’t wait to walk alongside my brothers and sisters again.

Striving towards a life lived through Ubuntu has been a challenge over the years.  But with each visit to southern Africa, I am reminded of the gentle and natural hospitality expressed by my brothers and sisters.  I am eager to hold the hands of those I have not seen for a year.  I am ready to serve, humbly, and learn new and fascinating facets of Basotho culture and life. 

And with every breath of fresh mountain air I will take, you all will be with me.  My family.  My friends.  My colleagues and co-workers.  Our supporters.  And those who wish they could be with us.  As Ubuntu has taught us, we are only who we are and able to do what we do because of all of you.

I thank you, and can’t wait to share more of our travels and experiences with you.

Sala hantle, (stay well)

Andrew    

A Trip That Changed Me

Hello to all!

First and foremost, my name is Nikki Georgeson and I am proud to say that I am an incoming intern at Bloom Africa. I have just recently returned from my first trip to Lesotho and I can confidently say that it has, and will be, one of the most timeless and touching moments I’ve witnessed. When I returned, I viewed the world through a different set of eyes. Being exposed to a different way of life has opened so many new ideas, questions, and goals. Being an international studies major along with a spanish and sociology minor at Wittenberg University, I always dreamed about going on adventures such as this one. However, how I dreamed of it, is nothing like how I experienced it. It was more than I expected.

             The beauty of the trees and the laughter of the people left me memorized. I was more than proud of the projects we accomplished with the Basotho people and it was amazing learning and spending time with the kids that surrounded us. We began the process of building two homes, built playgrounds, planted frui t trees, and other smaller projects throughout the areas of Maseru, Ramabanta, and Roma. I call it an accomplishment not because we completed each task, but because of the smiles that we received from the Basotho people as a result. The fact that we did it together meant everything. I stopped and I realized that this was proof that if people came together, great things can happen. That is why I am thrilled to be a part of Bloom Africa. This organization is an opportunity for me to progress with those who have the similar belief of working together to perform life changing projects in the country of Lesotho.

             The Basotho people taught me a new way of life and a different definition of humanity. Throughout my trip, I learned so much about myself by just simply interacting with people and it is something I wish to continue during my internship and college experience. Bloom Africa is a movement that gives me the chance to not only stay connected, but to work with a great team in order to aid and assist those in Lesotho.

-Nikki Georgeson

Nikki is serving as Bloom Africa's Social Media Intern and is currently a student at Wittenberg University.

Rural Poverty Reimagined

I used to believe eradicating the rural poverty experienced by my countrymen was a challenge that was impossible to tackle. I’d ask myself where does one begin, and even how. It is widely known that the rural population of Lesotho experiences poverty and the impacts of HIV/AIDS on a much larger scale than those living in urban Lesotho. I would like to believe there is no argument to this. My understanding of rural poverty in Lesotho is that it is perpetuated by resource scarcity. The resources I’m referring to range from educational, economic to even social. These are aspects that drive a state and its people. This type of situation is not unique to Lesotho alone, economic/social centers are usually found in urban areas. However, what I believe further intensifies rural poverty and the lack of resources, is the geographic setting of Lesotho.  Lesotho is entirely mountainous, so we have villages that are quite difficult to access. You find that even the most minimal of services are not provided for people living outside the city. As a result, all across Lesotho we have communities unable to reach their fullest potential.  There is such a distinct difference between children living closer to the city and those living in the outskirts. You find that the children in rural districts are not as optimistic about their futures, they dream but they do not dream big.  And this is because they don’t have the positive channels they can tap into that can encourage them to see beyond their surroundings.

I can now say Bloom Africa faces the challenge of rural poverty in Lesotho. The vision carried by Bloom Africa to establish Community Learning Centers means we will have boys and girls in communities who are motivated and empowered with various skills and dignity allowing them to take charge of their own destinies. Furthermore, I believe through the programs that will be offered at community learning centers, that the children’s self confidence may be developed.   This would, in turn, help them overcome what could be internalized poverty resulting from the conditions of their environment. Since poverty is experienced and defined differently, by being community orientated, Bloom Africa is able to understand the different facets of poverty, identify what helps reduce poverty, what works and does not work. My view of dealing with rural poverty as an impossible challenge has definitely been challenged!

Mosa Makutsoane is a Board Member with Bloom Africa and resident in Maseru, Lesotho.

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.

Realized Opportunities

Hello! My name is Corie Cappelucci and I am one of the newly appointed members of the Bloom team. I will be working for Bloom as an intern this semester while I finish up my senior year at Wittenberg University. I am extremely excited to be working for this organization and this opportunity could not have come at a better time. I say this for two reasons, the first has to do with my personal connection to Lesotho and the second has to do with some major life changing decisions that I recently worked through.

My personal experience with Lesotho comes from a trip I took to the country in the summer of 2011. I am not sure there are words that can accurately describe the twenty-eight days that I spent in Lesotho, but one that frequently comes to mind is “amazing”—my experience, the resilient and positive character of the Basotho, the country itself, and the friendships I made were nothing short of amazing. Although that word may seem ambiguous, its positive connotation seems appropriate.

I loved every moment of my trip to Lesotho and I was excited about the projects we had carried out throughout the country. I really felt like we had done our part to help make a difference and improve the future of the people we encountered, and I had ideas about how I could continue to do so once I was back at home. However, I was not prepared for the transition back to America. Upon arriving home, there were many things I realized I would not be able to do, this started with the somewhat menial failure of not being able to make it through the midnight showing of the final Harry Potter movie on the night I returned (I know, it seems kind of silly but it was a big personal disappointment), but soon I started to realize that there were other, more important things that I would not be able to do for Lesotho. Spreading awareness about the country is not easy when all people want to do is look at my pictures and listen to how great my experience was, very few actually take the time to listen and understand the more upsetting issues the people of Lesotho face.

It was not long after this realization that I started to feel very distanced from the country. I felt like I was losing touch with this very important part of my life and I needed a way to reestablish that connection, and that is when Bloom popped up on my radar J This internship is my way to reconnect and I could not think of a better way to do it than through this organization that was founded as a result of the very same type of experience that I had.

While this opportunity with Bloom will help strengthen my connection to Lesotho it will also help me pave the new path I have recently created for myself. As an Art History major my goal was to graduate from Wittenberg and attend graduate school for Art History and Museum Studies and ultimately work as a curator in an art museum. However, about a month ago I realized that I wanted to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector that was a little more service oriented and more geared towards working with and helping others. As a result of this I have completely altered my post graduation plans and am in the process of applying for a year of service through AmeriCorps. I am so excited about this new path and am even more excited about starting it off by working with Bloom!

-Corie

Corie is a senior at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio.

Hope

Lesotho has the third highest HIV prevalence in the world.  Just under one in four people in the country are living with HIV.  These statistics are astonishing, and they are real.

When Bloom’s founder, Andrew Steele, went to Lesotho in 2009, he met a small boy named Kopano.  Kopano was the youngest brother of Tiisetso, a teenage boy full of personality.  At the time, Kopano was a typical four year old boy, laughing and smiling at all of the world’s simplicities.  When Andrew lived in southern Africa in 2010-2011, he got to visit Kopano’s family a few times and grew closer with them.  He ate with them, did laundry together, and simply spent time in their company.  At this point, Kopano was older and he was now visibly sick.  He was not growing like a normal boy should.  His grandmother, Rose, thought that he was HIV positive, but could never get him diagnosed correctly because she could not afford the taxi fare to the hospital.

Andrew and Rose during one of the visits

Andrew knew he had to do something.  He turned to the non-profit that he started for this purpose.  What could Bloom do to help Kopano?  Bloom Africa began working with our local partners and funded the taxi fare for Rose to take him to Baylor AIDS Clinic in the capital city, Maseru.  We also made sure to cover the fees associated with the doctor’s visit.  During Kopano’s visit, the doctors found out he was not HIV positive, and was receiving medication for HIV positive adults by mistake, something that also made him sick.  Instead, Kopano was severely malnourished.  The startling, but actually somewhat positive news was enough to give Rose the motivation to make sure he becomes well.  We helped with getting basic food staples for Kopano and his family so they wouldn’t deal with severe malnutrition again.  We also gave Rose a small loan to start selling snacks in order to create a profit making operation to allow a sustainable income for food.

Kopano

Mosa Makutsoane, a Bloom Africa board member and Lesotho native, grew up in the capital city of Maseru.  She went to Roma, Lesotho, in September to check in on a few of Bloom’s projects.  Roma is where Rose, Tiisetso and Kopano live.  While Mosa was there, she got the chance to see Kopano and his grandmother, Rose.   After hearing Rose’s story again, she told Mosa that “taking Kopano to Baylor literally saved his life.” 

Mosa with Kopano and his friend

In an email to Bloom members about that day, Mosa said, “It’s one thing to hear how well he is doing, but to see how rejuvenated and amazing he’s looking is too good.” 

This is the best news that Bloom could have hoped for.  As we search to find the healthiest partnerships and ways to make our greatest impact, we come across certain scenarios that require action.  This was one of them.  We hope for a future where there is no need for our assistance in this way.  But for now, when we can, we will ensure children aren't suffering or losing their lives to preventive causes.  And to know that Kopano is now a healthy and happy boy gives us immense joy, happiness and appreciation.