An Exciting Return

It’s that time of year again.  In just 10 short days, I will be heading back to Lesotho with my good friend and BLOOM Deputy Director, William Thomas.  This will be the third year we have gone back to Lesotho to continue building strong, life-long relationships with our friends and partners.  But, this year is different than the last few years in a big way.  We are bringing 6 volunteers with us.

This year is the inaugural BLOOM Voluntour, where 6 volunteers will join us on an amazing journey of self-discovery and transformative experiences.  The volunteers are as diverse as the beautiful mountain ranges in Lesotho.  Three volunteers will join us from Chicago, one from Dallas, one from Cincinnati and one from sunny Santa Monica.  You have already met two of the volunteers on this blog, (Laura and Sarah) and you’ll meet the rest of the gang on this blog and on our social media.  On February 28, we will all depart from Chicago’s O’Hare airport towards our welcoming hosts and friends in Lesotho and South Africa. 

After we settle in for the night after our long flight, we will travel to Lesotho with a stop in Bloemfontein.  We will be having a South African braai with the Monamas, my host family during my time in South Africa, and others in the community.  After our fill, we will head east and cross into Lesotho through the Maseru Bridge border gate. 

We will be spending 5 days in Lesotho, mainly in the Roma and Ramabanta communities.  In Roma, we will volunteer at Leratong Community Centre, meet members of the community and hike to see dinosaur footprints.  We’ll spend a day in Thaba Bosiu, the mountain range where the Lesotho kingdom was born.  There, we will meet with partners who BLOOM Africa has funded, and hike up the famous mountain where King Moshoeshoe defended the Basotho nation against all intruders.  We will then trek high up into the mountains until we reach the tranquil village of Ramabanta.  The volunteers will enjoy an afternoon of pony trekking where they will see cave paintings dating back thousands of years.  We’ll also meet with women in the community who have been making scarves and hats in the Center where BLOOM is expanding its work. 

Ramabanta

After our time in Lesotho, we will head to the world famous Kruger National Park in South Africa, where we will spend 3 days on safari.  There, we will have the chance to spot the big 5 (Elephant, Lion, Rhino, Leopard, Water Buffalo), as well as embark on some exciting activities and adventures.  Our visit will conclude with a visit to the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, one of the most powerful museum experiences one can endure.  And on March 10, we will return to our homes, changed and transformed forever.

I’ve often been asked what I’m most looking forward to about this upcoming visit.  I honestly have to say that it’s the opportunity to introduce Lesotho and South Africa to 6 fantastic folks.  To see their faces when they see the sun set behind the majestic Maluti Mountains.  To hear their laughter when talking  with the children at the Community Center.  To touch their hands as we walk together with our partners and learn more about Basotho culture.  To taste new foods with them that they have never had.  To see their expressions when they hear their first Lion roar in the distance deep in the bush.

And like last year, we will be blogging our experiences right here.  Follow us on our journey, and I hope you can join us next year!

With great anticipation,

Andrew

Volunteer Spotlight: Sarah Braden

Sarah will be joining us on the BLOOM Voluntour in March.  In preparation for her return to Lesotho, we posed these questions in which she responds below:

Sarah and her dog Lucy

What made you want to go on the Voluntour?

I took my first trip to Lesotho in 2009 with a group of Wittenberg University students, and the 'Magic Mountain Kingdom' totally stole my heart.  While there was great need, the happiness I saw in the children, and the selfless giving of the Basotho was overwhelming.  When our bus arrived in the city, happy children ran alongside us with bright smiles on their faces.  For being a country of immense poverty, it struck me how excited and happy they were.  I was truly moved that first night.  Our group completed many different projects around the city, including planting gardens, digging pit latrines, and painting bedrooms and orphanages.  It is so rewarding to serve.  Our trip lasted for a little under a month, and upon leaving, I knew that I had to go back someday.  I began volunteering for BLOOM Africa the year after I graduated by hosting annual happy hour events in Beaumont and then Dallas, Texas.  When I heard about the Voluntour opportunity, it wasn't even a question of whether or not I wanted to go. I emailed Andrew and said, "Where do I sign up!?"

What are some things you're excited about to experience in Lesotho?

I am most excited to interact with the children and families.  It's a very freeing feeling to work alongside somebody.  I am also excited to grow alongside the other BLOOM volunteers.  A person experiences a lot of emotions when put in a new environment, especially an environment so completely different than where we live.  I think that talking about our experiences together as a group will allow each of us to grow in our own ways.

What makes you want to serve

I've always had a heart for service.  I went on my first service trip in 2007 with Athletes in Action.  We went to LA and served at churches and day cares along skid row.  That's when I truly realized how much I've been blessed in my own life, and it made me want to give time and energy to people who really need it.  Ever since that trip, I've continued to seek out ways to serve.  I believe when you give for no reason other than to just give, you get just as much out of the experience as what you produce.

Sarah lives in Dallas, Texas.

Volunteer Spotlight: Laura Olson

Hello BLOOM supporters! Thank you for supporting such a great organization. I look forward to learning so much more about the country of Lesotho and how we can make a difference! I work in the non-profit world and know that it indeed does 'take a village' to not only raise a child, but also to create change for the better. The mission of BLOOM Africa appeals to me because it is not only supporting the immediate needs of orphans in Lesotho, but it is looking for ways to create ways to sustain that support and improve their way of life.

I believe in giving-back. It was instilled by my parents while growing up, and it continues to drive who I am today. I've been fundraising, volunteering and helping locally in my community since childhood. It has guided me to my current profession in fundraising for one of the largest non-profits in the world. But being in the fundraising world, I am always looking for more opportunities for hands-on work. I also work everyday to improve my immediate community, so the opportunity to branch out and travel internationally to help was very appealing. 

If there weren't these things called bills and student loans in my life, my dream job would be to help build needed infrastructure or help run empowerment programs in Africa. Ever since a very powerful class on Africa in college, I've been continuously learning about the cultures, ways of life and challenges within the continent. Specifically, I am drawn to issue of empowerment of women to take care of their families. Africa may be a long ways-away from our own everyday lives, but I believe it is important understand the world outside of our own bubble and to learn as much as I can about other cultures in order to fully appreciate our own blessings. 

I am so excited to learn more. I want to experience the beauty of Lesotho's landscape and culture. But I also want to learn as much as I can about how they live. How does their economy work? How does the culture vary from one village to another? How do they hope to continue traditions and/or change cultural norms? How do they hope to support the orphans in the country? How can we try to change the number of orphans that need help? Most of all, I want to know how I can help. I am looking forward to learn how I can and thank BLOOM Africa for giving the opportunity to do so - Kea leboha!

Laura Olson

Laura is a Senior Relationship Manager with United Way of Metropolitan Chicago.  She will be 1 of 4 volunteers visiting Lesotho on the inaugural BLOOM Voluntour in Spring 2014.

Lead With Love

It is no real secret, if you know me to any degree, that I really love people. I recently heard a quote by Cory Booker that said, “We need to lead with love”. I could not agree more, nor say it any better. It sounds so much like something I would say, I have wondered if Cory Booker stole the quote from me. He didn’t. I give him full credit for his simple, eloquent statement.

I think there are many salient moments in my formative years that shaped the way I move through this world. However, my two trips to the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho stretched and developed my emotional capacity for love and compassion beyond a limit that even I ever thought I could surpass. Working alongside the Basotho was an incredibly special time in my life and the experience was only heightened by the fact that I had the thrilling privilege to share it with Wittenberg college students. For the first time in my life, I could literally see the capacity for compassion in a person grow before my very own eyes. On more than a dozen occasions I saw a student “figure it out” – what it meant to have compassion and share an emotional experience in empathy with someone they hardly knew but understood why it was important to do so. Amazing. Simply stated.

Often I have wondered how we can enliven the compassionate spirit within others around us that we know could use a good dose of it. I have not created a magic potion, or remedy that I can use, although I will quickly market it if I do. What I have been able to do is recognize ways in which growing compassion in people might be effective. I have observed how my young niece is developing a strong sense of compassion and much of it, I believe, stems from sharing my stories and experiences from traveling to Lesotho. My niece, Zoe Sage, has a mother (my sister, Mickey) that believes in leading with love and has instilled much of that attitude in Zoe. Add this rearing approach to the exposure Zoe has had to my Lesotho stories and we have a loving, sensitive 9-year old that finds a space in her heart for even a piece of trash. That sounds humorous and as if I am exaggerating but I’m not. This young girl has a capacity to find a place for everything in this world and for everything to have a shared community in which it can grow and be loved. Yes, even trash. When Zoe was 7 years old, Africa was the second continent she could clearly point out on a world map, or globe, after indicating where North America was. But my favorite part of Zoe’s big heart is how often she references the children in Africa and Lesotho specifically. When we wrote a letter to Santa two years ago, one of Zoe’s items on her wish list was to provide all the “cheldrin in Afrika with shoos, soks and gud cloths”. That moment was imprinted on my heart so much that I still remember the beautifully expressed – albeit incorrectly spelled – words she used. This past spring when Mickey and Zoe were doing some spring-cleaning, Zoe suggested that they send “some of my old stuffed animals to the children in Lesotho so they have something to play with”. Priceless. Simply stated.

If I was going to experiment with how to build compassion in people, I may use the model of Zoe’s young life as the template as it appears that she has developed the care and understanding about the importance of our global brothers and sisters without much resistance. It proves to me that the ability to have compassion for others is an innate sensibility that we are born with and, if cultivated at an early stage in our childhood years, will be unveiled to the benefit of those who surround us.  To tell the story of my time in Lesotho with family and friends, while feeling futile at times, has proven to generate some shared compassion about a cause that is dear to me, including in my niece, Zoe. That is some rich residual impact of the growth of compassion in my own heart. Fulfilling. Simply stated.

I will continue my pursuit to share the development of compassion and empathy in others around me, whether they are 9, 19 or even 99 years old. As much as I can, after my time in Lesotho, I will always aim to do my best to Lead with Love. Simply stated.

Sarah

Sarah Jurewicz is a founding Board Member and currently resides in Springfield, Ohio.

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 Very Special Re-Launch

Since January I have had the date July 27, 2013 circled in red on my calendar. The date is special to me on a personal level and after our BLOOM Africa quarterly board meeting in January, it become even more special. At the meeting we selected the date of our BLOOM Africa re-launch event – July 27, 2013 – therein commencing the big red mark making on my calendar. By the way, red is my favorite color, so when I use it, it means something special.

Saturday IS a special day – the BLOOM Africa re-launch event. We will be unveiling a new brand, announcing our relocation to Chicago and sharing with attendees the new and exciting steps we are securing to fully fund our new Community Learning Centers (CLC) in Lesotho. Although BLOOM Africa has been working hard completing projects since its first official launch in April 2010, recently we have picked up momentum thanks to three successful golf benefits, two proactive trips by Andrew and William to Lesotho and the support of generous donors. This re-launch event will expand the notion of what a small group of passionate and compassionate individuals can do to make a difference on a global level. I have been amazed at the persistent growth of BLOOM Africa as I have been able to have a special perspective as a founding board member. As an organization run strictly by volunteers – not a single executive or board member is paid a single itty-bitty cent – to be preparing to establish our first CLC after three years of planning, friend-raising, fundraising and promoting, is impressive.

Sometimes it is hard to relate the loving passion for Lesotho that I have – that each of us with BLOOM Africa have – and I understand that for many people without a first-hand experience it’s hard to grasp the importance of our work with the Basotho. However, the growth of BLOOM Africa and the continual story-telling of how we have impacted and can impart growth of the orphaned and vulnerable children there has proven that our hearts can be read and our emotions can be translated. If you haven’t taken a lot of time to understand what BLOOM Africa is doing, now is a terrific time to get informed. Talk to a board member, a team member, a volunteer or our founder and just listen to the loving fire that ignites as you hear about a personal exchange with a Masotho child or a Basotho family. One story into the conversation I am certain you will be convinced that the work BLOOM Africa is doing is genuine, sustainable and meaningful. These stories will be one thing that is NOT new at the re-launch; these are the stories that have stuck in our vivid memories since the moment we interacted with the beautiful people of Lesotho.

BLOOM Africa truly does plant seeds of hope – hope for a better future free of HIV/AIDS, full of empowered and courageous young adults and firmly united in a global sense of sister and brotherhood.

-Sarah Jurewicz

Sarah has been a Board Member at BLOOM Africa since it's founding in 2010 and currently resides in Springfield, Ohio.

Stepping Back

One of the things many of us on the BLOOM Africa team love the most about Lesotho is the fresh perspective it brings to our own lives.  Visiting our friends and the communities we work with at Leratong, in Roma and Ramabanta, often leaves us with a renewed sense of purpose for how to contribute to a community, a greater appreciation for the small things in life, and a realization of what matters-our relationships with each other.  it is the ability to step back and see a big picture that attracts us to our work with the communities in Lesotho.

And it is in that spirit that i am heading off on a new adventure, to serve two years in the Peace Corps in Botswana, Southern Africa.  I will be serving as a local government capacity building volunteer as part of a larger HIV/AIDS Capacity Building Initiative.

In light of my commitment to the Peace Corps, I have decided to take a step back from the BLOOM Africa Board of Directors.  It has been a true pleasure getting to know the members of the BLOOM Africa team and their many supporters.  I will continue to support BLOOM, both here and in Lesotho, as much as possible and look forward to sharing my experiences with everyone!

Ka Khotso,

Erika

Erika has served as a Board of Director since 2012.  She will continue to provide her skills & expertise to BLOOM Africa in an advisory capacity.