The building of our nes classrooms at school has begun!
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Monday, August 13, 2007
Pea Field
In the village of Ha Maputsoe we have been given the use of a small plot of land. On this land we have planted peas. They are just starting to sprout and should be ready to eat in a few weeks. In the resorce centre in Ha Maputsoe we have started feeding the children - every weekend they get some papa, cabbagge (soon peas) and an egg. Then on Sunday they get chicken. For treats they get peanut butter on bread - nice and good for them! The children are all in school and during the week they are provided with one meal a day in school. We also have 'Art in the Afternoons' - the kids love this. Lots of paper, pens and there happy! The gentleman in the picture is Ntate Lazuruas - the chairperson of the commettiee we work with in the village.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
A little note from Amy!
For those of you who don't know me I'm Amy-Coll's little sister. Me Mom and Dad went to Africa in July for 2 weeks to spend some time in SA with Coll and to see Lesotho aswell.
We flew into capetown and met Coll at the airport. We spent 3 days in capetown and went to Table mt., Robben island and other tourist attractions. Then we hired a car and drove along the coast,stopping at villages and towns along the way. One of the places we stopped was Albertinia where we did a Safari. It was amazing!
The food and accomadation were sooo cheap and really good everywhere. The food was out of this world(probably my fave thing about the trip!). Another place we stopped was Plettenberg where we did Whale watching...O MY GOD!! It was sooo cool-the whales where under the boat and everything! They were 17 ft(i think) long! We did another Safari in Addo. This one wasn't guided, u just drove through yourself and you had to spot the animals. It was way better than the first one because the animals weren't locked in and we saw 47 ELEPHANTS!! All of the towns were along the coast and they were famous for surfing-we watched so much surfers and they were brilliant!!One of the towns was Jeffreys Bay were there was a huuge surfing competition and everything revolved around it!
We drove back to Capetown and flew to Lesotho.We went to the ambassadors house and had a dellicious dinner and a great time! When we got to Maputsoe we saw Coll's school,its soo small and there's only one tiny toilet for loads of pupils! The village was so packed with people selling things in there stalls and women with babies tied to there backs and it's like something out of a Trocaire add. But they were all so happy because they dont know any better. There just happy with what they have and you dont fell sorry for them but at the same time you know that they need help. We went to the orphanage to visit the kids and they were soo beautiful, they were so good and always smiling.When your there you dont think about them all being sick or anything like that. They're just kids,the same as at home. Coll's house is actually alot nicer than i expected(but its still pretty basic) and she's well looked after by everyone who knows her. We met Father Tim-a lovely man who really understands what needs to be done there and how to do it.We met Elana-an Italian girl living next to Coll. She's a teacher in the nursery and she's Coll's best friend out there.
Everyone at home is really proud of Coll and we're so happy to see how settled in she is. I miss her lots but she's coming home for Christmas so thats something to look forward to!
We flew into capetown and met Coll at the airport. We spent 3 days in capetown and went to Table mt., Robben island and other tourist attractions. Then we hired a car and drove along the coast,stopping at villages and towns along the way. One of the places we stopped was Albertinia where we did a Safari. It was amazing!
The food and accomadation were sooo cheap and really good everywhere. The food was out of this world(probably my fave thing about the trip!). Another place we stopped was Plettenberg where we did Whale watching...O MY GOD!! It was sooo cool-the whales where under the boat and everything! They were 17 ft(i think) long! We did another Safari in Addo. This one wasn't guided, u just drove through yourself and you had to spot the animals. It was way better than the first one because the animals weren't locked in and we saw 47 ELEPHANTS!! All of the towns were along the coast and they were famous for surfing-we watched so much surfers and they were brilliant!!One of the towns was Jeffreys Bay were there was a huuge surfing competition and everything revolved around it!
We drove back to Capetown and flew to Lesotho.We went to the ambassadors house and had a dellicious dinner and a great time! When we got to Maputsoe we saw Coll's school,its soo small and there's only one tiny toilet for loads of pupils! The village was so packed with people selling things in there stalls and women with babies tied to there backs and it's like something out of a Trocaire add. But they were all so happy because they dont know any better. There just happy with what they have and you dont fell sorry for them but at the same time you know that they need help. We went to the orphanage to visit the kids and they were soo beautiful, they were so good and always smiling.When your there you dont think about them all being sick or anything like that. They're just kids,the same as at home. Coll's house is actually alot nicer than i expected(but its still pretty basic) and she's well looked after by everyone who knows her. We met Father Tim-a lovely man who really understands what needs to be done there and how to do it.We met Elana-an Italian girl living next to Coll. She's a teacher in the nursery and she's Coll's best friend out there.
Everyone at home is really proud of Coll and we're so happy to see how settled in she is. I miss her lots but she's coming home for Christmas so thats something to look forward to!
Friday, July 27, 2007
Beautiful Lesotho Landscape
The landscape around Lesotho at the moment is so amazing and changing every few miles and every few days.
eew
English School Boys
The second quarter exams have been sat and passed!.....now only 8 weeks till the main one - a lot of work to be done but hoping for just as good an out come!
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Holidays
Cape Town
Well I just waved Mom, Dad and Amy off for there long trip home. They have been here for two weeks and we spent two days of that in Cape Town - doin' the tourist thing and seeing the sights, before we headed along the coast on the Garden route and then spent our final few days in Lesotho.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Initiation School
I was delighted to get to one of the ceremonies of the Maswati village initiation school.
It started with the slaughtering if a sheep (ugh!) – I think I got to see more than I wanted and the smell was unbelievable! Then it’s the women’s job to clean the intestines and fill it with left over meat to make sausages. The men butchered the rest of the sheep and started cooking it….
We spent the next few hours watching dancing, songs and story telling….. This was class!
The chief and the sangoma (traditional doctor) then brought us to the kraal (A resting place for animals and where the first and last parts of the school take place). Initiation school is not talked about and is a kind of taboo so to be able to go there and be told about it was impressive!
We met with boys who have graduated, as you can not see the boys who are in the school. This school is for males and females, and as a female we were only allowed to hear about there roll of girls, but we managed to get some info out of the lads after!
When we went back to the village it was time to eat. Seeing the sheep slaughtered and how it was cooked did nothing for my apatite!
It started with the slaughtering if a sheep (ugh!) – I think I got to see more than I wanted and the smell was unbelievable! Then it’s the women’s job to clean the intestines and fill it with left over meat to make sausages. The men butchered the rest of the sheep and started cooking it….
We spent the next few hours watching dancing, songs and story telling….. This was class!
The chief and the sangoma (traditional doctor) then brought us to the kraal (A resting place for animals and where the first and last parts of the school take place). Initiation school is not talked about and is a kind of taboo so to be able to go there and be told about it was impressive!
We met with boys who have graduated, as you can not see the boys who are in the school. This school is for males and females, and as a female we were only allowed to hear about there roll of girls, but we managed to get some info out of the lads after!
When we went back to the village it was time to eat. Seeing the sheep slaughtered and how it was cooked did nothing for my apatite!
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
IN KINGS PRESENTS
Me and Elena at the Kings house.
The King and his daughter.
The backdrop to the kings house....
The King and his daughter.
The backdrop to the kings house....No1. The Funeral
The queen’s grandmother died in May and on the 27th we attended her funeral here in Mapustoe in the present of the king.
No2. The Christening
Last Saturday we were honored to be invited to the christening of the next in line to the thrown. The kings first son Seeiso Seeiso. After we went to the king’s residences for a slap-up meal in his beautiful gardens. I got to meet and have a little chat with him. He’s a good looking man!
No3. The Castle
Wednesday is the day we have our formal reception in the palace……I’ll let you know how I get on.
The queen’s grandmother died in May and on the 27th we attended her funeral here in Mapustoe in the present of the king.
No2. The Christening
Last Saturday we were honored to be invited to the christening of the next in line to the thrown. The kings first son Seeiso Seeiso. After we went to the king’s residences for a slap-up meal in his beautiful gardens. I got to meet and have a little chat with him. He’s a good looking man!
No3. The Castle
Wednesday is the day we have our formal reception in the palace……I’ll let you know how I get on.
Broken Bakkie
Oh I am so stupid sometimes…. I had to go up the north of the country last Wednesday so I took the mission’s bakkie (pick-up truck). After my day of touring I pulled into the local petrol station to fill up. I couldn’t get hold of Fr. Tim so I asked the guy at the pump if it took petrol or diesel – after a lot of smelling stuff he decided diesel. So 5 min later I found myself at the side of the road with a broken bakkie and no credit on my phone! This would have all been fine except it was getting dark (you don’t be outside in the dark in this country!) Just before I started panicking Bethanne phoned. She and Sarah B were running around trying to get credit for me and text me the number so I could send out a few SOS’s……….
Fr. Tim to the rescue…….we got towed to a garage which cleaned the engine and the bakkie was back to normal the very next day!
Fr. Tim to the rescue…….we got towed to a garage which cleaned the engine and the bakkie was back to normal the very next day!
Durban
It wasn’t warm enough to swim but paddling was nice.
Well after waiting for our trip to Durban it finally came and went. We had such a blast. We got a little heat into our bones. Durban is a seaside city that has tropical weather all year round.
Pic915
We managed to stumble across ‘Africa day’ in the middle of the colonial area. There was music and people just enjoying the weather on there bank holiday weekend.
Durban has a big Indian influence – so to get the most of the city we went to the Indian market to browse, shop and haggle. We left at 5….after waiting and waiting for our taxi and being told that it wasn’t safe for us to be out; we were ushered by a friendly local in to the Cathedral. Being told again that it was not safe; we met a guy from the church youth group who brought us in to the priest’s house for safety while we waited for the slowest taxi. When our taxi finally arrived we were escorted out by body guard! It was exciting stuff – Durban is not a safe place to be after dark!
Knowing that the biggest shopping mall in the southern hemisphere was in Durban we had to see it – It was big. The problem with big malls is that you have to walk like miles to find what you want, it was a bit unproductive, but I did manage to buy a scarf!
The Aquarium was one of my highlights. It was massive and in an old ship. It took us most of the day to get around it and marvel at everything.
I got the chance to sample foods that I wouldn’t normally taste. First, sushi – which was horrible! We were in like the best sushi place in South Africa and I ended up having noodles and beef. I also had the Durban Indian specialty, bunny chow - half a loaf of bread scooped out and filled with curry. I think we all tasted dished that night that were too hot for us and it was glasses of milk all round (well to begin with!)
We managed to stumble across ‘Africa day’ in the middle of the colonial area. There was music and people just enjoying the weather on there bank holiday weekend.
After trying in vain to find live music we ended up in a rock bar that was having a fashion shoot for some magazine. I was hilarious to see the models pose and men wearing way too much make up…..as well as every male in the bar looking like they had reached heaven – Beer, music and the chance to oogle at 6ft models. Unfortunately we I didn’t get in the shoot but Bethanne should be getting a huge check some day soon for her the back of her head appearing in a picture!
Durban has a big Indian influence – so to get the most of the city we went to the Indian market to browse, shop and haggle. We left at 5….after waiting and waiting for our taxi and being told that it wasn’t safe for us to be out; we were ushered by a friendly local in to the Cathedral. Being told again that it was not safe; we met a guy from the church youth group who brought us in to the priest’s house for safety while we waited for the slowest taxi. When our taxi finally arrived we were escorted out by body guard! It was exciting stuff – Durban is not a safe place to be after dark!
Knowing that the biggest shopping mall in the southern hemisphere was in Durban we had to see it – It was big. The problem with big malls is that you have to walk like miles to find what you want, it was a bit unproductive, but I did manage to buy a scarf!
The Aquarium was one of my highlights. It was massive and in an old ship. It took us most of the day to get around it and marvel at everything.
I got the chance to sample foods that I wouldn’t normally taste. First, sushi – which was horrible! We were in like the best sushi place in South Africa and I ended up having noodles and beef. I also had the Durban Indian specialty, bunny chow - half a loaf of bread scooped out and filled with curry. I think we all tasted dished that night that were too hot for us and it was glasses of milk all round (well to begin with!)
We managed to stumble across ‘Africa day’ in the middle of the colonial area. There was music and people just enjoying the weather on there bank holiday weekend.
After trying in vain to find live music we ended up in a rock bar that was having a fashion shoot for some magazine. I was hilarious to see the models pose and men wearing way too much make up…..as well as every male in the bar looking like they had reached heaven – Beer, music and the chance to oogle at 6ft models. Unfortunately we I didn’t get in the shoot but Bethanne should be getting a huge check some day soon for her the back of her head appearing in a picture!
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Culture Day
Here are some pictures of culture day at a local school......... I think the pictures say it all.Friends 2
I wrote about some of my friends before and now I finally have pictures of them to show you all- Farther Tim was is flying form when we went for a slap up meal at the sisters last Sunday..... I think we were all after a little too much wine and a lot of really good food!
I got the girls, Sarah B and Bethanne, to pose for my little Iechyd da! (cheers in Welsh) picture....Only three more weeks left till they all leave me - Sob!
Jo's just showing off here - she's kissing a police man and it means she can get away with wearing the hat- it actually suits her!
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Lebese
Over Easter I had a special friend staying with me - She kept me occupied and was great company! Named Lebese (meaning milk) has now gone back to her owners, so no-one to catch the rats for me!
ISPCC
This is Donal, his girlfriend Celine, Elena and me. We went to see the school that the 18 voul from the ISPCC built in 7Days - pretty impressive!
Basotho Blanket
The Basotho blanket is not just pretty but very pratical in the mountains on cold days. I met these lovely Me's (mothers) in Butha-buthe with there traditional blankets.
Me’ Lidia’s orphanage
This was my second orphanage I have visited in Lesotho. It is on the out skirts of Maseru. It is run by a wonderful, magnificent woman, Me’ Lidia. This is one of the orphanages that Dee is involved in. It’s not just her who has a soft spot for the children but the children there have a soft spot for Dee. Me’ Lidia is a social worker and the orphanage is for children who have been abused sexually, male and female.
There is a wonder feeling of home (where the neighbor’s children come to play), an amazing atmosphere and a real feeling of love – this is all because of Me’ Lidia. If you think these children haven’t been through enough, at the start of March the orphanage burnt down (It was a warm day and the kids were outside. The orphanage was Me’ Lidia’s house. Since then Me’ Lidia and the kids have been living with Me’ Lidia’s mother. This house is tiny, only two bedrooms, they have since received a porter cabin. There are talks of funding for a building for the new orphanage. Through Me’ Dee I hope to do a lot for this Orphanage.
There is a wonder feeling of home (where the neighbor’s children come to play), an amazing atmosphere and a real feeling of love – this is all because of Me’ Lidia. If you think these children haven’t been through enough, at the start of March the orphanage burnt down (It was a warm day and the kids were outside. The orphanage was Me’ Lidia’s house. Since then Me’ Lidia and the kids have been living with Me’ Lidia’s mother. This house is tiny, only two bedrooms, they have since received a porter cabin. There are talks of funding for a building for the new orphanage. Through Me’ Dee I hope to do a lot for this Orphanage.
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