Journal by Susan Schaefer, on one month assignment in Lesotho, Africa
On Saturday, 13 May, the LRCS celebrated World Red Cross Day with major festivities in the mountain village of Mount Tabour in the southern lowlands of Lesotho. It was a two-hour drive to the village and the ceremony lasted about four hours. Many dignitaries from Red Cross, local village chiefs and even the Deputy Prime Minister of Lesotho were in attendance. In between speeches there was a tree planting ceremony, as the Lesotho Red Cross is also very involved in conservation and environmental education.
The event included singing, traditional dancing and several skits performed by adults and children to educate people about topics from First Aid to HIV/AIDS protection. It was remarkable to see the number of people who came to the celebration and to feel their enthusiasm for the Red Cross.
One thing I have learned while in Lesotho: life moves at a much slower pace than in the United States, and you must learn patience.
Lesotho is currently experiencing a chronic food shortage as a result of a combination of poor environment and drought or difficulty working the land because of health problems and limited resources. Prior to my arrival, the Lesotho Red Cross Society (LRCS), with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (Federation), conducted a distribution of winter wheat, vegetable seed and fertilizer to assist vulnerable families with addressing their longer-term food needs.
Food for the Soul
In a land where there is a food shortage, meals are events in themselves and take much longer than is customary in the United States.
Benefits of Training
For the first two days I was part of a team interviewing volunteers. We spoke to five volunteers in each district office then chose two from each to attend a two-day training in Maseru. The class taught volunteers to evaluate and improve Red Cross programs, skills which will help their community solve its long-term food needs, build a stronger local Red Cross organization and may also help the volunteers in the future when applying for jobs.
The Land and Its People
The days we traveled to the villages gave me a chance to see the difficult conditions in which people live. The land reminds me in many ways of the American Southwest, with scrub-brush and large mesas culminating in snow capped mountains. There are shepherds traveling across the land with their cattle, sheep and goats.
The villages are spread out and reaching them often involves a long trip on a rough road that has been eroded by wind and sporadic torrential rains. But, the Basotho people of Lesotho are almost always smiling and very welcoming to anyone new.
The toll of HIV
It's startling to realize that any time you are in a group of three people in Lesotho, statistically, one of them is infected with HIV/AIDS. One of the many challenges this country has is its high rate of HIV/AIDS infections and the number of orphans as a result. Home care, AIDS education and orphan care are some of the main programs run by the Lesotho Red Cross Society.
Common Threads
Tim and I spent a few days training a group of 18 volunteers to be program evaluators. All were excited to learn something new. A portion of the class information covered the history of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and its Fundamental Principles. I have taught this information in my local Red Cross chapter, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for years, but it was an extraordinary feeling for me to do the same thing half way around the world.
By the end of the training I was honored to receive my Sesotho name - Hlalefang - which means "be wise" because, as it was explained to me, "you are encouraging us to be wise."
