Being Patient

Taxi or Kombi, can hold sooo many people

    When I arrived here in August I asked one of the other volunteers "What should I know about Lesotho?"  He said just remember to be patient.  So this week I had my test at being patient.  On Monday I had my week planned out, mostly helping teachers with creating IEPs (Individual Education Programs) for their students and I was going to do a workshop on cognitive disabilities on Wednesday.  Monday went as planned, although instead of helping several teachers I worked with one teacher the entire day on her IEPs.  I think her version of "help" was that I would do each one for her, oh well, we did them together.  Tuesday I was asked if I could go to Maseru (capital 3 hours away) on Wednesday for a meeting.  My principal forgot that she wouldn't be able to attend and needed someone to go. This was fine, except that it meant that I couldn't do my workshop planned for Wednesday, oh well.
     Going to Maseru with public transportation meant that I had to leave town by 6:00 to get there by 9:00.  As I was walking to the taxi rink in the wee hours of the morning, my principal called and asked me if I could go back to the school because she didn't know how to put the new printer cartridge in.  How does a very smart woman who budgets for and manages an entire school not know how to do this?  Not to mention the fact that they have had this printer since before I came, oh well.  After a printer cartridge insert lesson, I was finally on my way.  I squished into the Venture with 9 other people (size of a SUV) and was off.  As I always do I asked the driver to find me a Sprinter (second taxi thing) to transfer to.  Unfortunately I got into the Quantum instead, this looks like a sprinter but makes all the local stops.  Finally I get to Maseru and have to take a "special" taxi to the meeting.  I think it was special because I am foreign and they want to charge me a lot more, oh well.  Finally I get there, over 40 minutes late.  I am never late, I hate being late, but I was late.  Of course this is the day that the heads of the meeting, forum, decide to talk about being professional, on time, etc.
   At the forum I was able to talk to a few people about obtaining services, wheelchairs, etc.  However most of the presentations were done in Sesotho and the translator (who is very helpful) was very busy with other things and I missed a lot, oh well.  I decided to walk to the mall after the meeting and there I got some groceries, REAL CHEESE and wine.  I also had a latte at the coffee shop, first one since NY, yummy.  I decided that I better get going so I could be back to my house before dark.  My taxi to the taxi rink got stuck in traffic, so I got out and walked not knowing it would take over 30 minutes.  Finally reaching the taxi rink I settled on a quantum, too tired to search for the sprinter.  We sat there for at least another 40 minutes waiting to fill up, they won't leave until every possible inch of space is full!  On our way and going fast until TY, town along the way.  Several people get in and out in this town and then the quantum conductor kicks us all out and we have to get into a different quantum, oh well.  In this next one we take forever, but finally reach the midpoint where I sit in another Venture for at least 30 minutes waiting to leave.  This particular Venture is really falling apart, no inspection process here for vehicles.  I think my door might fall off so I spend the whole ride holding onto it and leaning in with my fingers crossed.  FINALLY I was back in BB, after leaving over 12 hours earlier, and I just had another 30 minute walk home.  At least I had a latte!

     Thursday started off with a phone call at 5:30am. MacDonald's mother asking me to go with her to the Social Welfare office with both of her disabled children.  I thought this was a good idea because last time she went they were not so helpful and we decide if we brought the kids they might make something happen.  For those of you in the US, picture going to the DMV.  We sat at the office for over 2 hours just waiting for someone to show up.  Then when they did show up they said that they couldn't help us, it had to be the other person from the last time who couldn't help her before.  This is when I decided to mention that I had met the head of the ministry, their boss, at my meeting in Maseru and she gave me some info about wheelchairs etc. Soon after someone finally came to help us.  They asked me to go with them to the hospital and they would give us a new wheelchair for MacDonald.  At the hospital I was led to a storage room and had move boxes around to reveal brand new wheelchairs!!  Hooray. Unfortunately our ride to the hospital was only one way, so I got a lot of funny comments walking back through town pushing an empty wheelchair.  Back to the office, paperwork filled out, and our 4 hour visit was over.  MacDonald left in his new ride, brand new adult size wheel chair!!!  THANK YOU was all we said, but I wanted to say "How come we were originally told that there were no wheel chairs? How come we had to bring 2 disabled children to the office when you are supposed to go to their house? How come you wouldn't help their mother the first time she came?"  I didn't say any of these things because I am remembering to be patient!!

MacD and his brother with his new wheelchair!!

     Finally it is Friday and I am trying to cram in working with 3 more teachers on their IEPs.  Everything happens here in its own time and I am slowly adjusting.  It is not always easy to be patient and it is exhausting.  This week has reminded me that we have it pretty good at home.  I miss the subway and the organized chaos of NYC.  At least I had a latte!

Quiet Week

   This is Me' Mary.  She is one of my favorite people here in Lesotho.  Mary has been working at our school for over 20 years, since the beginning.  Many of those years she worked without pay.  Now she is paid, but it is very little because she has very little formal education.  She believes strongly in teaching students with disabilities and she has a great sense of humor.  She is usually here bright and early and she always gets students to help set up the dining hall for yoga.  Mary also is one of our go-to people for planting, animals, building, etc.  She pretty much knows how to do everything.  When we were working on digging out the foundation for the new pig area, I became tired pretty quickly, but Mary dug all day and she is 64!  She walks to school everyday, pretty far, and she is often carrying large buckets of stuff on her head. She is one of the really tough women here that I talk about a lot, yet she is so caring and always has the best interest of our students in mind.
    Below Mary is a picture of my walking crew.  These kids usually leave around the same time as me and we walk to school together.  They are pretty fun and they will run to catch up with me or slow down to wait for me if I am in sight.  Our usual conversation is very brief, comment on the weather, how are you, etc.  But we have quiet understanding of friendship.  The taller girl in the blue was very excited to show me her report card a few weeks ago, even though we don't really even know each other.  It is funny how so much of my day is spent walking and talking to people.  After living in NYC with millions of people you get used to just walking by people without saying much.  Here it is the opposite, I have to say hello to everyone.  Although some days I wish I could hide, for the most part I really enjoy the friendly social walks I have here.  Lumela (Hello) probably comes out of my mouth at least 100 times a day.
   Well overall, this was a quiet week.  I was sick for a few days with a stomach bug and I came to fully appreciate indoor bathrooms.  No fun running to the latrine in the rain and dark!  All better now.  I can't believe it is already almost the end of October.

updates

Last week when there was no school I took a couple of days to hike in the mountains.  I visited another peace corps volunteer in the village of Ha Sefako, at the very top of Lesotho.  We were technically hiking on the border between South Africa and Lesotho.  At one point we were on the top of a mountain looking down into South Africa's  Golden Gate National Park.  We saw zebra, springbok, buffalo and eland through our binoculars.  We also heard monkeys and I thought I saw a hyena chasing the buffalo, but my friends say it was probably a dog!  On the left is me very tired and hiking down the mountains.  We went to the top of tow different mountains and were gone from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm, the terrain was pretty steep and rocky at times and I now have very sore knees!

     

No School

No school this week, yet this is the 3rd day in a row that I have been to my school.  Although some students have gone home for the week, there are still many who stay here because they don't have a home to go to or because they live too far away to go home for just a week.  Which means that the house mothers and fathers are also here.  Today we are taking a small group of students to the capital to present at a southern African environmental day, EEASA Conference.  The students made crafts out of recycled materials and now they will show them and sell them to people who are interested.  We might even taken them to KFC for lunch.  Yes, that is right, Kentucky Fried Chicken.  It is the only American chain here in Lesotho and it is very popular.  I sometimes see families all dressed up to go to the one in Botha Bothe.  It is not cheap for people here, and therefore it is a big occasion when they do go.  I have only been a few times and that is when I am with my work friends who really want to go.  Anyway, I think that that the students will be very excited if we go there!   As you can see from the picture above we did go, and the kids were very excited.  We also caused some traffic jams by trying to ride the escalators at the mall.  Our students have never seen one (there is only 1 in the country) and they got quite scared and even sat down on them!

The other picture is of my principal with the materials that the students made.  Overall we had a great day and it was so much fun to see our students proud of their work in the big city!                                                                                                                                                                    

Besides spending some time at school I have also done a few home visits this week for my new friend MacDonald.  He is a 14 year old with pretty severe CP who does not attend school.  His brother actually attends our school and has cognitive and language delays.  His mother came to me a few weeks ago and told me about him.  She would love to have him attend a school but his disability is pretty severe and his wheel chair is from when he was 4 years old.  Now, ten years later, the chair does not exactly work for him.  I have asked the appropriate ministry about getting a new chair and they said yes they can give him one, but they don't have any now.  So his mother and I are working on fixing up his chair.  I am going to use a wooden broom handle to make extensions for the foot pedals and some foam or pillows to raise the seat.  We are also trying to make him an adapted spoon and cup to try to work on having him learn how to participate in feeding himself.  If we can get things figured out a bit, we are hoping that his chair can get him to our school for at least a few mornings a week.  I think his mother, who lives in a tiny home with two children with severe disabilities could use the break and that he might enjoy some social stimulation.  I will keep you posted on adaptations and progress with MacD (as his mother calls him).