Five Months in Lesotho and Counting!

Lumelang!

I have now been at site for two months, going on three! At the end of this month, all of the 88 volunteers have our Phase III training which marks the end of our “lockdown” period, and for health volunteers at least, the start of our projects. I’ve continued to have some issues with being officially approved at my clinic, and because of this, I’m kind of stuck doing only work in the clinic. I’ve just been helping out where I can, mostly in the pharmacy. It helps that the staff at the clinic are really behind me being there and have been incredible supportive and kind this whole time. I am lucky to work with such great people around me!

For some relevant news in Lesotho, the teachers across the country are currently on strike. They have a long list of demands and are working with the government and church organizations to come to a solution. Unfortunately, all of the students in Lesotho have been unable to go to school during this time. The strike is going on its third week this coming week, and will continue for one more week if a conclusion is not met. Then they will have one week of school, and four more weeks off. The education cohort is unable to work during this time, and have been told by Peace Corps not to go to their schools if all of the teachers are on strike. It’s a very frustrating time for teachers, students, and volunteers alike and we all hope that the teachers and the Ministry of Education come to a compromise soon!

Even though I have not been able to start projects, I have had plenty of time to think about them, and talk to my co-workers and community members about them! I have also identified some needs and wants and have these have shaped my ideas for projects. Here are some that I’m hoping to start after phase III.

1. Night classes for herd boys: Herd boys, or shepherds, are groups of boys and young men who are hired by local families to take their cows and other animals out to graze during the day. Due to this, they typically do not attend schools during the day. Therefore, herd boys are a population in Lesotho that’s at risk for HIV. A counterpart and I from the clinic are planning on starting a night class for these boys, since they cannot attend school during the day. We will hopefully cover various topics from HIV prevention, to sexual and reproductive health, healthy relationships, substance abuse, goal setting, and other life skills. We are also hoping to cover topics that the boys themselves would like to learn. We are still working out timing for these classes as well as content, but this is the general idea. Another component of the night classes will also be HIV testing and health screenings from the clinic once every so often since the clinic is also only open from 8-4. We cannot go ahead with this project until after I am approved to be at the clinic, but once I am, we will hold several community gatherings in different villages surrounding the clinic to gauge interest.

2. Adolescent Health Corner: I’ve touched on this topic before in my blog, and here it is again! One of my goals for the clinic is to assist them in creating a sustainable adolescent health corner. This will be a physical space at the clinic that is run by trained health professionals to deliver health services to adolescents specifically. One of the nurses at my clinic actually helped create an adolescent health corner in another clinic she worked at before coming here. She is very interested in assisting to create one at our clinic! There are some challenges, however, because the clinic is already quite understaffed, and for this project, we’d need a committed staff member to be working in this part of the clinic full time. Hopefully when I am permitted to write grants, I will be able to assist the clinic in hiring a full time staff member. But for now, hopefully we can start small with trainings for the clinic staff, youth health clubs, and other activities that will hopefully lead to a fully-fledged adolescent health corner.

3. GLOW Club, STEM Club, and GRS: There are also non-clinic activities I hope to work on. GLOW stands for Girls Leading Our World. This project would be an after school activity for interested high school, secondary school, and primary school girls and young women. The topics primarily focus on girls empowerment, HIV education, life skills, and goal setting. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The high school near my village has a science lab, so I’m hoping to gauge interest to start this club! Finally, GRS is Grassroots Soccer. It is typically for secondary and high school students to understand sexual and reproductive health issues and HIV prevention in a fun, hands on way! All of the lessons include a component of soccer, so the kids play soccer and learn HIV related information. If I plan to do this, I will need to find a male and female counterpart, likely from the school, and we will have a training in GRS sometime in June.

There are other projects here and there that I hope to work on as well, but these are the ones I am going to focus on primarily for the time being! I am excited to get started as soon as I have clearance! I am also very much looking forward to seeing my friends from my cohort at our Phase III training.

That’s pretty much all for now! It’s peach season in Lesotho, so there are peach trees blooming everywhere. It’s wonderful to walk under a tree, because the smell of peaches just wafts right to your nose. It’s really delicious and incredible. Makes me really love being where I am, even when the challenges feel overwhelming. Tomorrow, I am canning peaches with my host family! We’ll be picking them, peeling them, boiling them with sugar and water, and then sealing them in old mayo jars. Don’t worry, they’ve all been cleaned very well. Can’t wait! Sala Hantle!

P.S.- Stay tuned this month, planning on an exciting International Women’s Day post (March 8^th).