Lesotho

This weekend, Hooter, Lindsay, and I traveled to Maseru, the capital of Lesotho (pronounced leh-sue-tue). We wanted to take advantage of a free weekend to visit a new country and see two other GRS interns (Curtis and Austin), who are working there for the year. To get to Lesotho, we took 2 minibuses, which are the most basic form of transport here. It was an interesting experience on many levels. For instance, the way a minibus operates is by waiting in a designated area until it fills with enough people and then it leaves for its destination. If you’re lucky and arrive when there’s an almost full bus, you leave immediately. On the other hand, if you are the first person, you could wait a few hours. Fortunately, the longest we had to wait was an hour a half. However, waiting twice on a trip that takes only three hours by car, can get a little frustrating. We were the only White people riding the minibuses and the other passengers were pretty surprised we were riding them. Still, they were all very friendly. When we had to stop early in our trip (tire troubles) and wait an hour for a new minibus to arrive, we had a great time with two young women and one of their children. This adorable little boy loved getting his picture taken and could do break dancing moves and dance like Beyoncé from her “All the Single Ladies” video.



The women were also open and willing to talk to us when I asked them questions about HIV and the pervasiveness of young, high school-aged girls dating so called “sugar daddies” (older men who buy gifts for younger girls in exchange for sex, despite the truth of this interaction never being fully acknowledged). As the girls are typically from lower economic backgrounds, the cell phones minutes, clothes, cash, and other items they receive are highly desired. They told me that girls with sugar daddies are particularly prominent in Kimberley. I had read and heard that sugar daddies were a problem in spreading HIV, but having the prevalence of it confirmed by someone who is a part of the culture and sees it on a daily basis was much more meaningful. They shared that older men in Mercedes Benzes drive around with young girls, who look like their daughters, but are actually their lovers. Apparently, many girls feel peer pressure to engage in such relationships. One of the women likened it to feeling a need to dress in nicer clothes in order to be popular. However, in this situation, instead of wearing nice clothes, it has been taken to the extreme of engaging in risky sexual behavior in order to gain popularity. This practice is risky because older men are more likely to have HIV. In all likeliness, they probably also have at least one other sexual partner in addition to these young girls, which adds to the chances of spreading HIV. (Multiple concurrent partnerships are a huge risk factor in the spread of HIV, especially in Africa. I will explain it in more details in a future entry)

After our unique experience with minibuses, we finally arrived about six hours later at the Lesotho border. It was amusing to be able to just walk across the border and quickly have our passports stamped. On the way back, I quickly flashed my passport to an officer and he waved me on without even looking at it. It’s quite different from border control at home. TIA as we’re always saying (This Is Africa).



Lesotho is a unique country in that it is entirely surrounded by South Africa. It’s almost like an island country in the center of South Africa. Despite its location, it greatly differs from South Africa. Most noticeably, there are very few White people. The White people that do live there are almost exclusively international volunteers, who practically all know one another. Without the strong presence of a White population like South Africa, racial tension and segregation is minimized. It is much more the portrait of Africa that I had originally imagined. In addition to the racial composition, the landscape significantly differs from our Kimberley home. The most noteworthy and appreciated difference is the presence of mountains. On Saturday, we drove about an hour outside Maseru to a place called Malealea, where we could explore the mountains. We opted out of the pony trekking option and decided to set out on our own adventure. I really felt that I was in the Lion King when we were sitting on a rock ledge, overlooking the dry savannah below. The landscape was pretty cool and at times reminded me of Peru.



On Sunday, we helped Curtis and Austin with an event they had organized. They work with Kick4Life, a partner organization of GRS. It is a British organization that utilizes GRS’s curriculum to teach about HIV and AIDS. I was very impressed that in the previous 2 weeks, their organization had trained ninety GRS coaches. The event was the first opportunity for these new coaches to put their skills to the test. Their energy and passion were great. I was definitely jealous. The coaches in Lesotho are exclusively volunteers and therefore, only receive transport money. In Kimberley, we have fewer than ten coaches and they are dropping like flies despite receiving a stipend in addition to transport money. I only wish we could have coaches that were as passionate and excited to volunteer as the coaches in Lesotho.



The event that Kick4Life hosted combined a soccer tournament with an HIV testing component. All of the kids who participated were orphans. Some had mismatching shoes, others played barefoot, but they were all excited to play soccer. Boys were the majority, but there were still some feisty girls in there. Each team was assigned a few GRS coaches, who began they day by running some energizers and GRS activities. The main lesson they taught is called “Choices”, which emphasizes that everyone has the right to make his or her own choices in life and that it’s okay to choose something different from everyone else. It may be something as simple as your favorite sport or color, but it also applies to choosing to abstain or use a condom when others aren’t. The kids are to recognize that they control their own lives and with smart choices, they have bright futures.



After this activity, the tournament games began. The kids were competitive and seemed to really enjoy themselves. There was also music playing throughout the day and people who weren’t playing made some really fun, spontaneous dance circles. I loved watching them dance and hope that one day I will be half as good as they are. It’s great that no one is shy about dancing here. Young, old, male, female – everyone dances when they hear music. I really wish it was the same at home.



The part of the tournament that I was most interested in was the voluntary HIV testing component. We’re having a Skillz Holiday camp at the end of this month and my main contribution to it is securing a testing partner. Like the tournament in Lesotho, we will be using the help of an organization called New Start. New Start is great because it provides nurses, counselors, confidential tents, and testing kits, all for free. I recently met with a woman from New Start in Kimberley, and was thrilled with how cooperative the organization is. The way that the testing component worked at the Lesotho tournament, was if people wanted to get tested, they could visit a tent adjacent to the fields. Once inside, they receive pre-counseling, testing, and post-counseling, regardless of whether the test is positive or negative. The entire process is confidential and people that test positive are referred to local clinics or hospitals where they can start receiving treatment. I met a young man at the tournament, who ended up there just because he heard music. Once there, we started talking to him and he decided to get tested for the first time. I felt really moved by his decision. For the first time, a face was put to the idea of the entire process. It made it very real for me. I also heard that many of the newly trained coaches got tested during the day. They’re huge role models for the kids, so I found their brave decision quite admirable.

Thanks for sticking out this entry – somehow they always end up longer than I intended. Cape Town interns are coming to visit us this weekend! We plan on doing some fly fishing (a first for me) and seeing the South African national soccer team, Bafana Bafana, play Madagascar in a ‘friendly’ match. It’s the first time they’ve ever played in Kimberley and I’m pretty surprised they chose it as the location for the game, but I’m pumped so I’m not going to complain.

Also, a special thanks to everyone who has donated to my internship! I love the support and I’m happy to have raised a total of $8,000!