Just thinking

When thinking on the recent Connecticut school shooting, I think how we can not grasp what happened because we lost the innocent, and in the same process lost some of our innocence. Actions slapping justice in the face will never be understood.  Where do you even begin to prevent a similar act?

To the contrary, I am thankful that  although I am here in Lesotho working for the innocent, there is a clear path that will create change.  There are steps to take (and being taken) to both provide better situations to the children here and also prevent similar situations for those yet born.  Being able to take concrete steps provides real hope, and for today, when some things seem out of everyone's hands, I'll focus on making a difference one child at a time.

+BLBW

That's What She Said

To balance my previous post, I thought I'd share some fun thoughts and experiences.

1) The herd boys (modern shepherds) roam around the mountains in traditional grey blankets and gum boots and tend to their family's flock of sheep or cattle.  While hiking on Sani Pass, another volunteer Julie, mentioned that "it is funny because some of the herd boys don't wear clothes under the blanket." With timing only matched by a blockbuster movie, I swing my head around just as the wind picks up and blows open a nearby herd boy's blanket to reveal him wearing only his birthday suit.  In America, we have a different name for guys in blankets without clothes on.

2) While spending the night in a village last weekend, I was given the name Buyane.  I was told this means "to return."  Several villagers joined us in the dimly lit circular rondoval and began asking us questions and telling us about their village.  Fortunately, Lyle, one of the volunteers at TTL speaks fluent Sesotho.  The other volunteers have been here longer than I, and they recognize at least some words.  One of the village women looked at me, looked back at Lyle, and said something to the effect, "Buyane doesn't have a clue what we're saying does he?  His face is blank."  Lyle provided the excuse that I had been in Lesotho for only two weeks.  That being said, I figured a better option would be to just smile the rest of the time.  Later that night, I was given yet another name which I can only pronounce as the movie Ratatouille, and it means "to be happy."  I suppose that's better than being named "the boy with the blank face."

3) During the visit to the village mentioned above, I learned that some things are funny regardless of culture.  And apparently, a white kid making donkey noises in a rondoval is one of those cross cutting cultural phenomenons.

More to come.
BLBW

Reality

Sometimes Reality slaps you hard in the face.  Today was one of those times.  Sadly, one of the babies that was in our Safe Home passed away last night.

Reality is she was unable to overcome the struggles of having HIV, keeping food down, and having an elevated heart rate.

Reality is out of 1000 births, an estimated 81 Basotho babies die.  Compare that to 7 American babies, and you begin to see the stark contrasts.

This baby (who I'll name at a later time) was a sweet and beautiful baby, with a tiny grimace that could light a room.

Outreach Extravaganza!

Another fantastic week has come and gone. 

One quick story:

Last Friday, I went with the Outreach Team to a village about three hours away.  On the way, we stopped by a client’s house to weigh the baby, measure their height, and utilize a MUAC strip (which stands for middle upper arm circumference), and test for HIV.  Those measurements are recorded by the Outreach Team to determine if a baby is on track for proper growth and development.   Most of these clients are doing well enough to stay in their villages.  Only in the worst cases do we bring children back to the Safe Home at the main base.

I should note that driving three hours away does not get you very far on the “roads” here.  In fact, most of the time we were crawling in our 4x4 at a snail’s pace over rocks, gravel, streams, and seemingly impassible dirt paths.  It’s surprising what you can force a 4x4 to do when the only other option is to tumble down a mountain cliff.

Our primary goal for the day was to reunite Renang with his caretaker, in this case, his grandmother.  Renang came to the Safe Home about three months ago because of malnutrition.  Many of the children that come to the Safe Home have suffered from malnutrition, either because their mother cannot produce sufficient amounts of breast milk or their family just doesn’t have enough food to go around.  Additionally, many of the children in the Safe Home have been exposed to HIV because their mothers test positive.  I’ll write more later about the miracle that surrounds babies escaping the same HIV fate as their mothers.   Simply put, with the proper drug regimen, many babies do not contract HIV during birth or during breast feeding. 

Back to Renang.  After asking a couple of locals where Renang’s grandmother lived, we found her at the edge of a hill in a row of three rondovals.  Renang was a little hesitant, especially since a group of school children came to welcome us and were staring intently, curious about what we were doing in the village.  We discovered three of the children, probably 6 or 7 years old, had been former TTL Safe Home clients, just like Renang.  Now, four or five years later, they were healthy and full of spunk!  After a couple of quick pictures, we headed down the hill to make the official reunification. 

We entered a dark rondoval, the only light coming from the open door, where Renang’s wise grandmother sat on the floor.  I listened as the Outreach workers instructed the grandmother about things that were foreign to her: how to open a yogurt container, how to brush Renang’s teeth, how to give him medicine, etc.  We brought a toy dinosaur for Renang to play with and handed it to his grandmother.  Watching them interact as strangers yet with the familiarity of family was an unforgettable moment. 

After the reunification, we headed back on the mountain roads for the trek back to base.  Another great day in Africa was in the books. 

More to come….

BLBW (now also known as N'tate Buyane or N'tate Rethabile)

Good Day Africa

Greetings from the Kingdom of Lesotho!  (Someday I'll learn that phrase in Sesotho, but I assume it sounds something like, "Lumelo Click Click eya Lesotho!")

Today marks the end of my first week here in Lesotho working for an organization (TTL) that strives to mitigate the effects of HIV/AIDS on the most vulnerable children.  Lesotho has an approximate 25-30% HIV prevalence, which is third only to nearby Botswana and Swaziland.  It's an astounding figure.  That being said, what's perhaps more astounding and encouraging is that there is authentic hope.  There is real and honest hope that the HIV prevalence will decrease significantly in my lifetime.


How did I get here?
The simple answer: airplane.  More seriously, I had the good fortune about 5 years ago to travel around Africa to volunteer at several organizations whose clients were South Afican and Kenyan children infected and affected by HIV.  Not only did I gain a heart for Africa, but also for the HIV population specifically.  I knew I would always return to Africa to learn and offer help, but did not realize it would be so soon.  After applying for and accepting a year long fellowship, I'm back and excited for an adventure!



I look forward to sharing my experiences with you.  Although some people would consider a location that is 24 hours of travel from their home, the middle of nowhere, I know I have arrived in the middle of somewhere, somewhere with special people and a special culture, somewhere where I will learn more than I teach, and somewhere that will shape the way I view life's gifts.  Cheers to being in the Middle of Somewhere!

More to come...
BLBW