Two Years and Sixteen Volunteers

Fresh off the plane: June 5, 2014

Last week I highlighted the accomplishments of my Peace Corps training group in light of our work as defined by and reported to Peace Corps. Numbers of people reached in specific topics, however, only shares a small portion of our story.

One of my favorite things about the Healthy Youth program in Lesotho, is that each volunteer’s job responsibilities and activities are unique to their site. As a result, we worked in a number of areas, some overlapping and some unique to only one or two of us. Here is a sampling of the work that filled our days:

Health

• Worked in a clinic to increase ARV adherence and infant wellness checks 
• Weighed infants and worked with Village Health Workers in an outreach clinic
• Started a growth monitoring and intervention program at an orphanage
• Worked with three HIV+ Teen Clubs

Youth Development

• Directed 6 overnight camps serving more than 425 girls and boys in six of Lesotho’s ten districts
• Completed more than 20 Grassroot Soccer Interventions to educate on HIV prevention
• Tutored herdboys in computer skills
• Started and led Youth Clubs in Athletics, Gender Empowerment, Drawing, Games, English, and English Reading

PCV Stephanie and colleagues show off the produce at
the orphanage she worked with.
Photo provided by Stephanie Sales.

Income Generation to Support Families and OVCs

• Two community-based sewing businesses
• A farm including water accessibility for an orphanage
• Started three chicken projects
• An achaar project
• Fenced a farm and orchard to protect product from cattle
• Advised five agricultural co-operatives
• Helped a women’s and girl’s weaving group with marketing and market development

Community Engagement

• Planned  and led four World AIDS Day events including talent shows, voluntary HIV testing, 
• Built a multi-purpose athletic court for one of Lesotho’s largest towns
• Planned and led a Spread the Love, Not the Disease Valentine’s Day event with over 100 youth participants enjoying face painting, nutrition and fitness info, yoga, HIV testing, and Planned Parenthood
• Hosted a large HIV awareness, testing, and education day for youth
• Built a Community Building with a children’s library
• Worked with Caregiver and OVC Support groups in four communities; building the capacity of caregivers 
• Led a father’s support group through the Red Cross
• Built small greenhouses with families and provided nutrition and gardening lessons to build food security

Education

PCV Eloise's students at the Khotsong Skills Training
Center, a tertiary school.
Photo provided by Eloise Williams

• Started computer labs at 2 tertiary schools
• Worked with a school to help it get internet access for students and teachers
• Taught primary school classes in Life Skills, English & Creative Writing, and Dance
• Taught Life Skills in secondary schools
• Taught at 3 tertiary institutions

Lesotho 82 Peace Corps Volunteers and their counterparts at a workshop.

Five Actual Facts About Lesotho

Yesterday I posted an April Fools post listing five “facts” about Lesotho. Here are five real facts to counter those posts.

I realized recently I have been remiss in sharing some basic realities about Lesotho. So, here are some things that I have not mentioned but you probably assumed just because Lesotho is, in fact, in Africa. Enjoy!

5. We grow a lot of coffee. Lesotho’s Biggest Exports are Diamonds and Clothing:  Coffee is actually not grown in the country at all. Clothing makes up 40% of Lesotho's exported economy and Diamonds comprise another 22%. Thanks to the African Growth and Opportunity Act [AGOA]in the United States, Lesotho is able to export clothing to the United States duty free. As a result, it is the largest exporter of clothing to America in all of sub-Saharan Africa. In a country with few jobs, the manufacturing jobs created thanks to AGOA

A dusting of snow in August.

4. It is really hot, all the time. Winter is Cold and Sometimes Snowy. Now that fall has officially begun, evenings and mornings are startlingly chilly. As we move into winter, dustings of snow will happen up to once a month and frost in the week following each snow. The highlands see more regular and more significant snowfall. Last year Mokhotlong actually became unreachable for a few days thanks to the mountain passes being completely snowed in. 

3. As a colony of Britain, Lesotho was heavily exploited. As a colony of Britain, Lesotho was not developed or exploited. Britain was not heavily involved as a colonial power in Lesotho. As water and diamonds are the only notable natural resources (aside from beauty, which is not easily exported) and the diamond mines are fairly new, there were not natural resources to export at the time. Today, water is exported to South Africa through the Highlands Water Project and as I noted above, diamonds are the second largest export. 

2. Following the end of colonization, we have seen bloody upheaval as the country tries to find its own way. Lesotho is a Peaceful Nation. Lesotho has had no civil wars or  significant bloodshed in the nearly fifty years following its independence. While there has been some political upheaval from time to time, including the attempted coup in August 2014 and consequent elections, the issues have remained in the political sphere. The Basotho pride themselves on being peaceful. 

1. Girls are discouraged from education. Girls are more likely than boys to finish higher education.  In Lesotho, women are far more likely to complete higher education. Boys often leave school in order to find paying jobs in their teens, leaving more females in attendance from late primary school through university. Because of this, I was pleasantly surprised when Lesotho was included in the second year of the Let Girls Learn. The primary reason I have heard for its inclusion is because women in Lesotho ages 15-24 are at an highest risk of contracting HIV and increasing education can help women reduce their risk. 

Greater Than Average

Thirty-three did not feel old until I cam to Peace Corps. I was a week into training when I mentioned  my age in a conversation with our Director of Programming and Training [DPT]. He immediately became empathetic, noting that people in their thirties and forties are incredibly rare in Peace Corps and that I should be sure to reach out if I end up struggling with generational isolation.

I was touched by Eric's concern, but not worried. I had worked summer camp as an adult amidst a sea of college and high school aged counselors. I returned to sailing and was frequently older than more than half of the crew. At Oliverian School, I was one of few unmarried staff firmly in my thirties. At AMC's Three Mile Island, I was the only employee in my generation. I was well equipped to handle this...

...but...

...as the ten weeks of training continued and again as all of the Lesotho PCVs stayed at a hotel in South Africa for three weeks, I understood his concerns. Happily entrenched in my thirties, the ways I relax, blow of steam, and even bond with people are different than they were in my twenties.

32 - Taylor Swift Parody from Kirk Larsen on Vimeo.

Additionally, many of the cultural and political experiences of my formative years were not part of those of the younger PCVs. 

The average age of PCVs worldwide is 28. Volunteers range from around 21 to well into the 60s and even sometimes older. Consider then, the sheer number of volunteers between 21 and 28 to keep the average age so low with four additional decades in the mix. In 2010, 84% of volunteers were under 30. Today, 8% are over fifty. That leaves another 8% in their thirties and forties.

In September, I noted that of the 80-90 PCVs serving in Lesotho, 5 were in the 50+ category, 0 in their forties, and another 5 were in their thirties. Everyone else was 22-29. Additionally, of the four training groups represented, only two had volunteers over thirty as the older volunteers in the other two groups had ET'd or terminated their service early.

The three 50+ PCVs in my training group had been aware of this too and had approached our Country Director [CD] with the idea of intentionally unifying and supporting older volunteers. With our CD's support, the Greater Than Average Workshop was born. Last weekend we met at a lodge, joined by the five new trainees that qualify. Our purpose was to build camaraderie and discuss how age impacts service. These goals were well met in fun and positive ways. We also had the opportunity to conclude with feedback to our new DPT.

In addition to our sessions, we fit in a neat excursion to the nearby Ha Boroana Caves for a hike and chance to see cave paintings. The entire weekend was a wonderful experience that couldn't be marred even by my worst Lesotho taxi experience to date on my way home.

I feel incredibly blessed to be serving in this country, where we may start the new year with only three volunteers in our thirties, but we have an incredibly supportive Country Director and this new group. I hope that as more training groups arrive in the next few years, we can have additional workshops.

Disclaimer: In no way is this post meant to offend people in their twenties, particularly not those who are PCVs in their twenties. My closest PC friends are in their twenties and I hold them very dear. Instead, this post is meant to celebrate that there are those of us in Peace Corps with a few more years or even decades under our belts.