Saying Goodbye Part 2

My host mother, 'M'e 'Masekila and me before the ceremony.

My host mother comes to the door in her red Seshoeshoe dress. I immediately stop what I am doing, “’M’e, U motle hakahang!” (Mother, you are beautiful right now.)

“Che, ausi Thato, re batle hakahang,” she replies. (No, ausi Thato-that’s me-we are beautiful right now.)

We grab our things and head out the door, walking through the village together. As we approach people, my mother ululates loudly before we begin the customary greeting process. After our greetings, before they can ask, she proudly tells them that we are going to a party for me because I am finished my work.

As the community building and chicken house come into view, I see Bo-‘M’e busy bustling around outside. Then, the ululations begin in chorus, calling everyone to see that I am coming. As we get closer, these incredible grandmothers I have been blessed to work with begin singing and dancing towards us. They surround us and sing for me before guiding me to continue on into the hall. They parade behind me, still singing until I sit down at the table in the front of the room.

I look out at the empty chairs and chuckle to myself. Two years ago, I might have thought that nobody cared, but now I know better. Village ceremonies never start on time. My mother and I were over an hour late. Everyone else now knows to come because of the volume of our arrival.

I sit in the seat of honor and look at the space that has seen so much of my work. Along one side of the room are fifty bags of chicken feed, awaiting the very late arrival of our chickens. Dotted all over the white ceiling are dirty imprints of the soccer ball we used for the Grassroot Soccer HIV programs I did with teenagers. I can look at the chairs and identify by color whose house each one came from. It is surreal to realize the time to say goodbye has finally arrived.

Soon the room is full enough that Bo-‘M’e and the chief decide to start the ceremony. Ceremonies in Lesotho all follow the same structure. First, there is a short hymn followed by a prayer. Then, the MC, in this case, ‘M’e ‘Majustice introduces themselves, the purpose of the event, and explains how the ceremony with proceed. From there, the MC invites various individuals to speak about the person or topic for the ceremony. In between each speaker, the MC announces the next speaker and then everyone joins in singing a song as the speaker comes to the front. At the end of the ceremony, instructions for the meal are given, a prayer is said, and the formal portion concludes.

Chicken Coop Construction: COMPLETION!!!

Chicken house completion has finally happened...although two months became more than four, the house is completed and ready for the arrival of MCCC's 200 egg-laying chickens!!

The burglar bar completion finally happened a week after the third business owner gave me a quote. His staff was incredibly professional and efficient when they came to do the installation. They even helped fix a burglar bar on our hall while they were there! 

Burglar Bar installation-I had to see it to believe it!

The next week I had a momentary panic when the man we bought the chickens from called. When I ordered the chickens, he said the delivery would be happening in September. We were into the second week of October and still needed to finish the cages and buy chicken food. Before I answered, I was sure he was calling to tell me the chickens had arrived. Instead-to my great relief-I learned they would be arriving at the beginning of November! 

Ntate Tau adding drinkers to the chicken cages.

Over the next three weeks, every moment that I was not away to assist with Pre-Service Training for the newest members of Peace Corps Lesotho, I was working with Bo-'M'e to ensure we were ready. Ntate Tau, our chicken cage designer, returned a few times to install the chicken cages. His workdays were some of the most fun as we chatted extensively about numerous topics while he worked.

Chicken Coop Construction: Burglar Bar Busts

Angry Beth waiting by windows clearly
devoid of burglar bars.

Six weeks ago, I excitedly paid the deposit to the second man intending to install the burglar proofing for our chicken coop. After the failed installation attempt in August-thanks to no electricity and no large generators available anywhere near my village-I was excited to be working with Buthe Buthe Aluminum and Glass, a business that appeared to be more professional and more established with an actual storefront, truck and generator of their own.

As we discussed the details, my new burglar bar man set dates to measure the windows and to install the burglar bars within the week. I cleared my calendar to accommodate the dates and was thrilled to think of how fast this business would be getting the work done.

Somehow, my hope lasted up until last Monday at 1:30. It was the eighth time in five weeks I had cleared a full day on my calendar for the burglar bar installation. It was the eighth time I called multiple times throughout the morning only to be told he would install on another day. Anticipating two weeks away from site for various Peace Corps work and the arrival of our chickens, I was done!

I firmly told him that he needed to do the installation as promised, that day. He, instead, offered me a refund of my deposit.

I grabbed my stuff and angrily stomped the thirty minute walk to get a taxi to town to collect my refund. Luckily I did not bump into anyone, as I was ranting and raving aloud the entire way out. When I arrived at his shop, the owner had “left for Maseru.”

“Oh no he didn’t,” I told the tiny woman manning the shop as I pulled out my phone. My stress level and anger were astronomical as I called him again. Many conversations occurred via phone between us and between him and the small woman. As my anger literally boiled over and caused liquid to leak from my eyes, the woman tried to help find a solution that would make me seem less upset. I finally agreed to leave the shop as he would be sending me money through my phone by evening.

Just about anyone could enter this house,
even crazy Americans without the keys.

With chickens due “in September”, my stress level was through the roof. Thanks to Butha Buthe Aluminum and Glass’s failure to actually do the work promised, chickens could arrive before cages or burglar protection are installed. That evening, my brother mistakenly asked about my day. As a result of me telling him the drama that had unfolded and my extreme frustration, I also taught him a new idiom: spitting nails. He and I both laughed about it.

A week later, I still did not have my deposit back. A large male PCV accompanied me in case I needed intimidation. I was much nicer than I would have been last week and managed to get my deposit back without resorting to intimidation or calling Peace Corp’s Safety and Security Manager. I am still a bit stressed but mostly am relieved that the chickens did not in fact arrive in September.

Meanwhile, the Peace Corps staff swept in to help me out. The staff that ensures the PCV homes are protected called up their guy and helped arrange installation of our burglar bars…hopefully this week. Somehow I am still optimistic despite the multiple failed attempts.

MCCC’s Egg Laying Chicken Project has been in development since March 2015. After many delays, MCCC and I were able to write a successful grant proposal for a VAST grant through Peace Corps. VAST grants are funded by PEPFAR to help with HIV-related work and OVC (Orphan and Vulnerable Children) care. It is due to MCCC’s work with OCVs that qualified us for the VAST grant. Otherwise, we would have applied for a PCPP [Peace Corps Partnership Program] grant and would have been asking for assistance in funding this grant proposal. I encourage you to consider supporting other PCPP projects.

Posts about this project include:

 Workshop Woe, Busiest of Birthdays, Checking Out Chickens, A Day with Bo-’M’e, Chicken Coop Construction Day One, Day Two, Day, Three, Day Four, Day Five, Weeks 2 to 4, Weeks 5 and 6.

Books for Life Book Club

Life is better with books. 

Books fresh out of the box the day they arrived at my hut

About a year ago, an NGO called Trees for Life donated two boxes of children’s books to my host organization (MCCC) through their Books for Life program. Although a number of neighborhood kids read them at my house immediately after I opened the first box, it took a few months for the women to decide the best way to put this donation to use.

It was finally decided that we would start an English Reading Club for school children. Our goal was to get some high school students to take leadership of the group; to plan and read with the younger children. It was a brilliant plan, as it would increase the community engagement and English skills of both age groups. After a few attempts to do leadership training with high school students chosen by my organization to lead the club, we realized that high school students are exceedingly busy between school, traveling to and from school, homework, and their chores. They simply were not interested or motivated to use their small amount of free time to lead the club.

My counterpart and a dozen children reading at one of our
first book club meetings. 

As a result, my counterpart, Ausi ‘Mareisi, and I stepped in to get things started. We are still hoping others will take on the leadership of the club over time, but at least for the moment children are getting the opportunity to read books in English. They practice reading the books aloud to one another, which is helping to bridge the gap between their abilities to read and write English compared to hearing and speaking it.

There is nothing quite as exciting as watching a child who rarely gets to look at a stack of books reverently pick up one and start sounding out the words within it.

Chicken Coop Construction: Weeks 5 and 6

Construction Completed!!

Week Five: We have completion! Well, construction completion anyway. Although the house is not yet ready for chickens to arrive, the roof is completed and well secured for its windy locale. Although I missed watching the team finish the house, I learned of their accomplishment before boarding my taxi to come home. Multiple people in town stopped me in my tracks; thrilled me to tell me that the chicken house was done and beautiful.

As my taxi crested the hill before our building site, I caught me breath eager to see the completed project. It looks wonderful!

Week Six: When week five started, a friend helped me schedule someone to install burglar bars in the house on Sunday of week six. In my head, with burglar proofing happening Sunday, the cages would also get installed this week.

Clearly I should not develop expectations, even when things are scheduled and we have asked a million clarifying questions in two languages.

When the man building and installing our burglar proofing arrived, we were all stunned. He was shocked to learn we do not have electricity in our village. Bo-‘M’e and I were equally blown away that he never mentioned needing electricity to complete his work.

As PCVs, we are supposed to work with host country nationals in all things. This is to build their capacity to do the work after we return home. In this case, I am grateful to have worked alongside women in my organization as otherwise I would have feared my language skills caused the confusion and delay.

Still waiting for burglar bars on these windows, but wow,
that roof is pretty!

One of the leaders in my organization and I had spoken to this man twice in person. The first time was when we were getting a quote for building supplies and pricing. He looked at the printed list of supplies and said we had everything we needed listed and priced his work. The second time we spoke was on the day that we bought the building supplies. Again, we checked to ensure we had everything as we did not want to have to hire a vehicle for later deliveries of building supplies. Again, he confirmed we had everything and he gave us his contact information.

I have an incredibly hard time understanding this man’s Sesotho, so it is possible that I would have missed any mention of electricity despite knowing the word. I was, however, working alongside ‘M’e ‘Majustice and a woman from the building supply store. ‘M’e ‘Majustice knows that we do not have electricity in our villages. She would have quickly jumped in had he suggested anything connected to moltakasa or use of a generator. I do understand her Sesotho. The woman from the store translated many of his words into English for me and I am certain this important fact would not have been ignored as much of our district does not have electricity.

As a result of this miscommunication, we spent two hours trying to find a generator for the following week. His job at the building supply store makes him only available to do the work on Sundays. He made it clear that we needed a large generator. When he looked at the first one we found, it was too small. We went to another family’s home to see their larger generator. Although larger than the first, it too was too small. Then he clarified the power of the generator we needed-double the first one we had looked at. As we walked back to my supervisor’s, I expressed concern that we may be unable to find one that large as our village does not have people rich enough to have such large generators and we do not have the money to rent one from somewhere else.

Before he departed for the day, I asked him to take a look at our supplies again, just to be sure that if and when he returns we actually have everything needed to do the job in one day. It turns out that we are missing square “tubing” to serve as the outside of the burglar door frame. We need to buy two sections. Apparently, checking the list when we were at the building supply store on two separate occasions did not highlight this important missing piece. Buying these now will require hiring a truck as they are too long to strap to the top of our taxis.

One of the women in my organization poses with the
completed chicken house before our meeting.

So now we have to figure out how to find a huge generator, buy oil and petrol for it, buy the two sections of square tubing, and hire a vehicle to deliver the tubing or we have to find a new person to do the work; one who can arrive with and by his own power. This lack of clarity looks to more than double the anticipated cost of burglar proofing the chicken house in addition to slowing us down.

Despite my frustrations with the man who was to do the work, I am surprisingly unfazed by the situation. Obviously, my expectations are shifting and I am becoming more accepting of the twists and turns in the project.

Bo-‘M’e and I visit numerous houses in multiple villages trying to secure a generator large enough for the project. We are unsuccessful, however, my visit to town to get new quotes from people with larger shops gets us a few reasonable quotes that come complete with transport, installation (including bringing their own generator), and the supplies. As predicted things will be twice what we estimated, but a careful look over the budget and remaining funds reassures me we can still afford this vital step in our project. 

MCCC’s Egg Laying Chicken Project has been in development since March 2015. After many delays, MCCC and I were able to write a successful grant proposal for a VAST grant through Peace Corps. VAST grants are funded by PEPFAR to help with HIV-related work and OVC (Orphan and Vulnerable Children) care. It is due to MCCC’s work with OCVs that qualified us for the VAST grant. Otherwise, we would have applied for a PCPP [Peace Corps Partnership Program] grant and would have been asking for assistance in funding this grant proposal. I encourage you to consider supporting other PCPP projects.

Posts about this project include:

 Workshop Woe, Busiest of Birthdays, Checking Out Chickens, A Day with Bo-’M’e, Chicken Coop Construction Day One, Day Two, Day, Three, Day Four, Day Five, Weeks 2 to 4

Chicken Coop Construction: Weeks 2-4

Week Two:

The view from the door includes a...floor!

Although I was away from site for the second week of construction, the building team was eager to move forward. Unfortunately, as they prepared to begin putting on the roof, they discovered we did not have enough cement bricks remaining to elevate the high side of the roof.

They send me a message letting me know and attempted to get the women in my organization to come up with a solution. Bricks and other building supplies are, apparently, an exception to the Basotho tradition of borrowing things that are needed. As a result, no bricks could even be ordered until the morning I returned, five days after it was determined we needed fifty more bricks.

The guys did break with building tradition though, pouring the concrete floor even though the roof was not yet in place. They even created a step up to the door, which was a pleasant surprise for me.

Week Three:

Week Three started with me buying more bricks. When asked, the brick-makers assured me that they would deliver within the week, but probably on Monday. This would mean that the work could be completed on either Monday or Tuesday. My host brother and I stressed the importance of receiving the bricks as soon as possible so we could finish work before he and other students had to return to school.

Constructing the beams for the roof

Mother Nature decided to surprise Lesotho with precipitation on both Monday and Tuesday, so the bricks never materialized. Throughout the week, we kept an eye out for them. Finally, on Saturday afternoon, they arrived.

Week Four:

Although I was at (another) Peace Corps workshop in anticipation of the upcoming Pre-Service Training, the team got to work after the bricks arrived. When I returned home on Friday, I hopped out at the building site to check in and see their progress.

Surprisingly, the fifty bricks I bought two weeks earlier were not actually enough to finish things up. I learned that we would need 32 more bricks! Anticipating another long walk to the brickyard and a lengthy delay waiting for delivery, I was a disappointed.

Our need for only these 35 bricks had the potential to slow
the project down by another week or two!

I stopped by my supervisor’s house and spoke with the MCCC members there. We started brainstorming people in the village who might have some extra bricks we could buy instead. By the time I left, my supervisor had agreed to ask her son if we could buy his. Saturday morning, I headed over to learn if I needed to hoof it to the brickyard before they closed at one.

Thankfully, my supervisor’s son was thrilled to sell us 35 bricks he had leftover from a previous project. He kept telling me that I was actually helping him more than he was helping us (lies!). As a result, Week Five will dawn with a Sunday workday and the guys anticipate being done by Tuesday afternoon. 

MCCC’s Egg Laying Chicken Project has been in development since March 2015. After many delays, MCCC and I were able to write a successful grant proposal for a VAST grant through Peace Corps. VAST grants are funded by PEPFAR to help with HIV-related work and OVC (Orphan and Vulnerable Children) care. It is due to MCCC’s work with OCVs that qualified us for the VAST grant. Otherwise, we would have applied for a PCPP [Peace Corps Partnership Program] grant and would have been asking for assistance in funding this grant proposal. I encourage you to consider supporting other PCPP projects.

Posts about this project include:

Workshop Woe, Busiest of Birthdays, Checking Out Chickens, A Day with Bo-’M’e, Chicken Coop Construction Day One, Day Two, Day, Three, Day Four, Day Five

Chicken Coop Construction Day Five

The written plan for the chicken house.

The walls are done. The guys finished the third wall in only two hours, before tackling the windows on the back wall.

They decided not to use the lintels we bought to go above the door as the steel doorframe will provide enough support for the bricks above the door. They then humored me into adapting the plan for the back windows. Instead of three equally sized 0.7 meter wide windows, we now have two 0.7m windows framing a 1.3m window.

Give than chickens need ample sunlight in order to lay well, I am excited by the new plan. We will end up two 0.9m lintels leftover, but at least that is less wasted money than if we did not use the larger ones.

Since I will be working my PCVL role with Peace Corps while the guys finish the roof and floor, Abuti Sama and I took a few minutes to go over the location of the supplies. When I return from facilitating an In Service Training for other volunteers and their counterparts, construction will actually be done!

From there, we will arrange for someone to burglar proof the windows and door. The cage builder will return to finish things. Then, we go to the Ministry of Agriculture to order our 200 chickens.

Before the chickens arrive, which can take up to two months, we have a few other things to do. Although we have already done initial business and accounting trainings, we are going to do more specific budgeting training. It is vital that the women in MCCC budget and save to buy feed and medicine every three months as well as new chickens annually.

Goofing off with my brother Thabo on the job site.

I would like to see them plan ahead as to how they intend to use their income in helping the OVCs [Orphans and Vulnerable Children] in our community. Ideally they will do so proactively instead of reactively. I am relieved to be staying at this site for the first quarter of my third year to help make these things happen!

MCCC’s Egg Laying Chicken Project has been in development since March 2015. After many delays, MCCC and I were able to write a successful grant proposal for a VAST grant through Peace Corps. VAST grants are funded by PEPFAR to help with HIV-related work and OVC (Orphan and Vulnerable Children) care. It is due to MCCC’s work with OCVs that qualified us for the VAST grant. Otherwise, we would have applied for a PCPP [Peace Corps Partnership Program] grant and would have been asking for assistance in funding this grant proposal. I encourage you to consider supporting other PCPP projects.

Posts about this project include:

 Workshop Woe, Busiest of Birthdays, Checking Out Chickens, A Day with Bo-’M’e, Chicken Coop Construction Day One, Day Two, Day, Three, Day Four, Day Five

Chicken Coop Construction: Day Four

“E felile” (aye fay-dee-lay) the grandfather of half the work crew says after lunch. Throughout the afternoon, as building continues, various people walk by repeating that same statement: “E felile,” or “It is finished.”

As Day Four closes, two sides and all four corners are completed. The walls will be done on Day 5. It is nearing completion, but it is not finished.

The morning and early afternoon were centered on the front face of the building. The guys’ fast pacing slowed due to the transitions to scaffolding and windows.

With only two men able to build at a time, the guys on the ground had more idle time to distract themselves. This gave me even more opportunity to jump in; lifting bricks above my head to my friend on the scaffolding.

The laid back attitude of the builders surprised me. Just as they finished the brick layer before the windows began, I asked how many bricks high the window openings would be.

Apparently in all our planning discussions, this never came up. I had been assuming they would be three bricks high while my friend was envisioning them as two bricks tall. He promptly removed bricks he had just cemented with no sarcasm or irritation. I expected at least a trace of annoyance but there was none to be had, reminding me how Basotho culture is incredibly accepting of things happening differently than planned or expected, especially compared to American culture.

The windows really slowed things down as nearly every brick surrounding them had to be cut just so in order to fit. While Abuti Sama trusted the other guys to split the half bricks by the door, he clearly did not have the same level of faith for the specific ones needed by the windows. He carefully measured and split bricks in half horizontally and took out perfect corners, all without wasting a single brick. His experience is obvious in all his efforts, as is that of his cousin (the other primary builder).

I cannot help but laugh at the expectations I awoke with on Monday. Day Four is done and we still need one more full day to do the walls, another two for the roof and floor. My expectations were not of my own making. I was told a week at most including the roof and floor. But, when Abuti Sama built his house, which is larger, they had the walls done in 1.5 days. Why did this “simpler” house take longer?

                1) It is winter. Abuti Sama built his house six months ago when the community and sun are awake at four am and dusk is at nine. Right now, the sun rises at seven and sets at six; making the workday five to six hours shorter.

The guys bring bricks uphill from the community building
to the building site, 5-7 at a time.

                2) The team…It was a team of five to seven experienced friends who were all home for the holidays who helped with his house. The process, with such experiences guys who are used to working together, is understandable faster than two experienced guys with five helpers to assist with moving bricks and mixing cement. Our team has been great, willing to work long and hard for their breakfast and lunch, but they are slower than the well-greased team he built his own house with.

Bo-'M'e watch the men working, thrilled to see the chicken house "finished".

MCCC’s Egg Laying Chicken Project has been in development since March 2015. After many delays, MCCC and I were able to write a successful grant proposal for a VAST grant through Peace Corps. VAST grants are funded by PEPFAR to help with HIV-related work and OVC (Orphan and Vulnerable Children) care. It is due to MCCC’s work with OCVs that qualified us for the VAST grant. Otherwise, we would have applied for a PCPP [Peace Corps Partnership Program] grant and would have been asking for assistance in funding this grant proposal. I encourage you to consider supporting other PCPP projects.

Posts about this project include:

 Workshop Woe, Busiest of Birthdays, Checking Out Chickens, A Day with Bo-’M’e, Chicken Coop Construction Day One, Day Two, Day, Three, Day Four, Day Five

Chicken Coop Construction: Day Three

As work began, I found myself pumping 200L of water with two of the women in MCCC. Yesterday, the youth club pumped and carried 250L to the building site before they begged off to finish practicing for their upcoming dance performance.

When we finish, I help unload bricks from the wheelbarrows. Each brick being used is being loaded in front of the community building and pushed uphill to the future chicken house. I am not sure why the bricks were delivered at the community building, instead of the construction site, but it has not been that awful to move them five or six at a time. Then again, I am not pushing the wheelbarrows…

A highlight of the morning was seeing the door put into place. The height of the door provides a great sense of perspective that the walls alone did not.

The door is in place and propped up with trees until
it becomes cemented in place.

Work proceeds at an even pace. The only interruptions come when various villagers approach. One man pesters me for a job. I try to explain that we do not have any money, which he refutes with the physical evidence of our building supplies. We are halfway through construction, the team does not seem to want more help, and in all honesty, we do not have any extra money. Although he has a beer belly, I still feel a mixture of guilt and annoyance repeatedly refusing while remembering ‘M’e ‘Majustice’s comment about the hungry man the day we bought our building supplies. After over an hour, he leaves with a smile and I feel less awkward.

The women carrying 20L of water each from the water pump
marked by the big square tower in the down the hill.

My “soft hands” are less of a hindrance today, most likely due to the guys getting tired of moving the bricks. They still comment on and marvel at them, but they allow me to help significantly more.

MCCC’s Egg Laying Chicken Project has been in development since March 2015. After many delays, MCCC and I were able to write a successful grant proposal for a VAST grant through Peace Corps. VAST grants are funded by PEPFAR to help with HIV-related work and OVC (Orphan and Vulnerable Children) care. It is due to MCCC’s work with OCVs that qualified us for the VAST grant. Otherwise, we would have applied for a PCPP [Peace Corps Partnership Program] grant and would have been asking for assistance in funding this grant proposal. I encourage you to consider supporting other PCPP projects.

Posts about this project include:

 Workshop Woe, Busiest of Birthdays, Checking Out Chickens, A Day with Bo-’M’e, Chicken Coop Construction Day One, Day Two, Day, Three, Day Four, Day Five

Chicken Coop Construction: Day Two

The walls are growing, albeit more slowly than any of us anticipated. Building started “on time” at nine, but the first few hours were a methodical exercise in precision as the two lead builders checked angles and levels repeatedly.

Once the base layer was in place, the pace picked up dramatically. The next three layers of bricks taking the same amount of time as the first one.

Abuti Sama cuts the plastic to
the correct size.

The glitch of the day was minor. I was asked for the roll of black plastic that acts as a moisture barrier. I proudly pulled out the giant 3m by 30m plastic we bought…only to learn the hundreds I spent was for naught; I should have purchased a roll of 15cm-wide black plastic for less than fifty Maloti.

The miscommunication showed itself as my friend and I discussed what he told me before I went to the supply store. When he described the plastic, he said it was “for the floor” so I bought enough to cover the entire floor. What was actually needed was to go around the edge of the floor. Out came a hacksaw and we cut the edge of my giant roll to achieve the needed dimensions. Internally I lamented the waste of money until my friend told me we would use the plastic on the floor too, since we have it.

At lunch time, the man building out chicken cages delivered. They do not look like much yet, but he will return in a few weeks to install them with feeders, drinkers, and tubing to fill the drinkers.

Watching the precision and craft that went into making everything level and strong, I feel much better about paying the builders today.

I spent the day trying to help. Women do not typically help in construction, so my efforts were not always encouraged. The guys, most of whom are my friends and one is my brother, would tease me until I jumped in to load, unload, or carry the bricks. Then, they would stop me, telling me I am strong my hands are too soft.

Sometimes I wish these guys could have seen me sail. 

The chicken coop at the end of day two.

MCCC’s Egg Laying Chicken Project has been in development since March 2015. After many delays, MCCC and I were able to write a successful grant proposal for a VAST grant through Peace Corps. VAST grants are funded by PEPFAR to help with HIV-related work and OVC (Orphan and Vulnerable Children) care. It is due to MCCC’s work with OCVs that qualified us for the VAST grant. Otherwise, we would have applied for a PCPP [Peace Corps Partnership Program] grant and would have been asking for assistance in funding this grant proposal. I encourage you to consider supporting other PCPP projects.

Posts about this project include:

Workshop Woe, Busiest of Birthdays, Checking Out Chickens, A Day with Bo-’M’e, Chicken Coop Construction Day One, Day Two, Day, Three, Day Four, Day Five

Chicken Coop Construction: Day One

After over a year of planning, Construction Week has arrived. Although I have been out of site for the last week, Bo-‘M’e and I planned everything before I left. Yesterday a youth club was scheduled to gather the first 400L of water for us. Everything should be ready to go this morning…

In our prior conversations, my friend-and lead on design and construction-has assured me that it will take only three to four days to complete the simple 4m by 8m cement brick structure. We could be done as early as Wednesday…

I arrive anticipating a day full of people and construction, children pouring out to help fetch water and bricks. In my head, the sides will be nearing completion by sunset.

With over two years adapting to Basotho culture, I should know better than to create such visions. I should know there are normal aspects of culture I have not yet encountered. I should anticipate that my careful planning and exhaustive questions have not made me an expert in local construction.

Instead, my arrival is welcomed with the news that our volunteer labor insists on being paid half the going rate for a building this size. The price seems astronomical to me, but in my absence, Bo-‘M’e have already agreed to pay it out of their income from Achaar and our future egg earnings.

My friend hears the frustration in my voice and gently reminds me that paying for labor is culturally normal here. He was the exception in January when his friends joined him in building for free. Although I have been blindsided, I gradually accept the news and move on.

Although Bo-‘M’e, who are almost never on time, and I arrive between 9 and 10, work does not actually begin until nearly noon.

The guys begin by measuring and marking the corners of the foundation. Measuring and marking again, measuring and correcting marks again. As time moves and they continue measuring and re-measuring, I realize how foolish my visualizations for the day were. Walls simply cannot go up today. While I stewed through the morning awaiting the onset of work, the builders all knew that their only labor for today would be the foundation. A well measured and precise foundation is far more important than my off-base dreams.

Abuti Sama and Abuti Thabo measuring for
the foundation.

By lunch, the guys have finished digging the foundation. Immediately following our meal, six bags of cement are mixed and poured. Despite my very American impatience at starting so late, clean-up is completed by 3:30 and the foundation is left to set overnight.

The guys digging the foundation.

It was a stressful morning with more internal frustration than was warranted. At the same time, it serves as an important reminder that two years in a culture does not erase thirty-three years learning and living in a different one. Every one of my irritations stemmed from an American mindset in a place dramatically different from America.

Mixing and loading cement

Pouring the foundation

A Day with Bo-'M'e*

The chicken project is finally starting. In reality, the project started over a year ago, as mentioned in Workshop Woe and CheckingOut Chickens. But, as of this week, there is visible and financial proof that things are happening.

Coming soon to this spot: MCCC's Egg-Laying Chicken House!
Construction begins July 2016!

Monday, we met with two representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, who simply wanted to make sure that we had everything lined up. Then, on Tuesday morning, I trotted off to town with my counterpart, Ausi Mareisi, and two of the leaders in our group, ‘M’e ‘Matokelo and ‘M’e ‘Majustice.

Our first stop was the bank, where I withdrew half of the fund from our Peace Corps grant. Then, we headed to the store. Although we had our original quote, we had a few things to add to the shopping list so it took a few hours to complete our purchase. During the many long waiting times, we joked and laughed together while sitting on comfortable couches in the cold store.

Once we had paid and had the smaller items, we headed down to the loading area. Boloka was nice enough to give us free transport of our goods, but as we sat there half a dozen men with trucks approached us asking for the opportunity to transport our goods. Normally I get frustrated when people ask me for jobs as it is simply because they see my translucently white skin and assume that I have jobs to share. In this case, however, it made perfect sense as I obviously had not vehicle and had purchased large goods.

Watching them load 30 bags of cement.

While we waited…and waited..and waited for our goods to get loaded up, Bo-‘M’e grabbed the four of us lunch from a roadside vendor. We sat in the sun to stay warm while eating our meals amidst cement dust and a dozen men walking back and forth with building supplies.

Finally they began loading a truck with our goods. While three of us observed, a man came by and asked us for the job of unloading the thirty bags of cement he could see already loaded. ‘M’e ‘Majustice started by telling him that we did not have money to pay him. He tried bargaining with her, changing his offer from 80 Maloti to 70 to 60 and finally to only 50 Maloti. When she repeated that we did not have money to pay him, he transferred his attempts to me. I repeated the same things she said. He quieted for a bit before trying again. As frustration set in, I elaborated, explaining that the supplies were for a community project so we did not have money to pay people for labor. He immediately changed his tune and wished us luck. After he walked away, ‘M’e ‘Majustice quietly observed, “He must be very hungry, to do this much work for only 50. He is hungry.”

Still loading our supplies...almost done.

Throughout the loading process a number of younger men came up offering their strength to unload our supplies. None of them was willing to do it for less than 70. Each time I listened to ‘M’e ‘Majustice talking with them, I felt guilt over the hungry man. Although I remained polite externally, I had been frustrated by his persistence, not even reflecting on how disproportionate the work he was offering to complete was in comparison to the money he would accept. Days later, I wish I had simply accepted his offer and paid him out of my own pocket.

Finally our goods were ready. We learned the driver could only take one of us with him. After some discussion, it was agreed that ‘M’e ‘Majustice would go with him and that they would make a quick stop to purchase the trucks of sand we would need to mix with our cement. I gave her the money for the sand.

Ausi Mareisi, ‘M’e ‘Matukelo, and I then headed to the taxi rank, getting completely sidetracked. In front of one of the shops near the rank was a performer rapping and dancing. We stopped and watched the show, dancing and laughing together, until our taxi driver spotted us. He came over and told us there were only two spots in the taxi and he wanted to leave so we better get going.

Unloading the supplies

Thankfully, when we arrived, there were exactly three spots for us to take up and off we went. When we arrived at the community building, a handful of the women in MCCC were there. They had spent the day cleaning up the tall grass around the building while awaiting our delivery. Four men were unloading all our goods: three from Boloka Building Supply and one from the village. MCCC “tipped” the men from Boloka the same amount that we would have paid the man who begged us to hire him.

After the truck left, the women and I surveyed the goods in the hall. The women were thrilled that things are happening. They kept thanking me as I kept trying to say it was not me, but their efforts and work that made this happen. We finally agreed to disagree as we locked up the building.

As I walked away just before sunset, I marveled at what a productive day it had been. Other than the woman who worked with us at the building supply store and occasional conversations with Ausi Mareisi, I had completed an entire day in only Sesotho. We had bought our building supplies and sand. I had arranged to pay the deposit for our cages. While I had started the day thinking we would also buy the cement blocks for the house, time had not allowed it, so we had rescheduled that for later in the week. After a long day out and about, I was excited to head home and excited about our project taking shape.

*Bo-‘M’e:. ‘M’e means mother and is the title given to all married women. It is made plural by the “Bo” preceding it, so in this case it means more than one woman or mother.

MCCC’s Egg Laying Chicken Project has been in development since March 2015. After many delays, MCCC and I were able to write a successful grant proposal for a VAST grant through Peace Corps. VAST grants are funded by PEPFAR to help with HIV-related work and OVC (Orphan and Vulnerable Children) care. It is due to MCCC’s work with OCVs that qualified us for the VAST grant. Otherwise, we would have applied for a PCPP [Peace Corps Partnership Program] grant and would have been asking for assistance in funding this grant proposal. I encourage you to consider supporting other PCPP projects.

Posts about this project include:

Workshop Woe, Busiest of Birthdays, Checking Out Chickens, A Day with Bo-’M’e, Chicken Coop Construction Day One, Day Two, Day, Three, Day Four, Day Five

Checking Out Chickens

Over a year ago, I shared my struggles and successes in a project planning workshop with my host organization. Since then, I have had little to say about our egg-laying chicken project as it stagnated terribly. I thought that my birthday in January brought the much needed training on egg-layers with the local Ministry of Agriculture, but miscommunications led to us waiting another month.

I wrestled with my role as a PCV throughout this year of waiting.  While I consider myself to be patient, it was hard to put such a large and valuable project on hold for months on end while awaiting a training I had zero control over. Repeatedly, I considered doing my own research and training the organization on the care of laying chickens.  But, one of our most important roles is to build capacity in our communities and our organizations. Doing it on my own is not effectively building capacity. Ensuring that the volunteers in my organization can complete their own research in the future-however time consuming-is the more sustainable option.

Chickens in their cages at LASTC.

 Since our training session, I have visited two successful laying projects to check out their structures, program, and day to day function. The first was at my friend Nick’s school. Their chicken coop was partially funded by a small grant from the American Embassy last year. As the school teaches agriculture, it was the perfect opportunity for me to ask experts fluent in English the questions I had developed on the project. Despite working hard to understand Sesotho, especially Sesotho related to my work, when we do all of our trainings in only Sesotho, I always worry I am missing or mishearing important pieces of information.

A curious pig. 

For the second visit, I was joined by some of the leaders in my organization as we met with the agriculture teacher at a specialty school in Botha Bothe. We learned about milk cows, piggeries, and layers. The teacher shared with us the details about feeding, record keeping, and the challenges of keeping both pigs and layers. It was great to see successful projects and to see the adaptations they have developed to make it work for them. I was especially glad to have members of the organization there, as they will be the ones actually ensuring our project is successful well after my time in the village has ended.

The women in my organization discussing the business of
keeping chickens.

Our day of chicken exploration concluded with a long visit to a local building supply store, where we got a quote for the building supplies we would need.

And now, many meetings, trainings, conversations, and visits later, I am pleased to announce that we submitted our application for a Peace Corps grant to help fund the start up costs for this project. Within two weeks, I had an exciting email telling me that not only was my grant approved-which means funds should arrive in a month-but Peace Corps Lesotho would like to use my grant proposal in training future volunteers! 

Brand new piglets born the day before our visit.

MCCC’s Egg Laying Chicken Project has been in development since March 2015. After many delays, MCCC and I were able to write a successful grant proposal for a VAST grant through Peace Corps. VAST grants are funded by PEPFAR to help with HIV-related work and OVC (Orphan and Vulnerable Children) care. It is due to MCCC’s work with OCVs that qualified us for the VAST grant. Otherwise, we would have applied for a PCPP [Peace Corps Partnership Program] grant and would have been asking for assistance in funding this grant proposal. I encourage you to consider supporting other PCPP projects.

Posts about this project include:

 Workshop Woe, Busiest of Birthdays, Checking Out Chickens, A Day with Bo-’M’e, Chicken Coop Construction Day One, Day Two, Day, Three, Day Four, Day Five