Greg Felsen

Khotsong! Peace to All.  My name is Greg Felsen and I am a founding member of the G.R.O Foundation. From August 2005 through December of 2007, I was living and working at Molapo High School in Leribe, Lesotho. My primary focus at Molapo High School was on establishing a strong infrastructure for sustainable agriculture projects that could generate income to support orphaned and vulnerable children. During this time, seeing the great need for support of many Lesotho youth, I teamed up with James White (a pediatric HIV nurse) and Jean Margaritis (a community advocate) to form The GRO Foundation.  Our first project, The Family Scholarship Fund was created to assist high school level students at Molapo High School. We didn’t want to be another program that simply gave funds. We sought to create a student family that supported each other and learned together in a lifelong and meaningful way. We established a program that incorporates teacher mentoring and peer tutoring as a central aspect. The students meet on a regular basis to discuss educational issues but also personal issues that they are facing.

The greatest moments I saw of the program becoming a family were when the students themselves started organizing support for each other relating to tutoring support from older students to younger ones and peer support when gathering for funerals in support of a student’s personal loss at home. In addition, I was moved when we would have the end of the year BBQ (Braii) and see all the family come together to cook and clean and just plain dance and have fun.  It was truly inspirational. I took a great interest in helping the other G.R.O related projects get off the ground and am committed to making them a success.  I look forward to sharing more stories about the students and the work that The G.R.O Foundation is doing in Lesotho.  There is so much potential and we hope to make an impact in creating a healthier world. Until then much love.

Posted under The Mission

Jean Margaritis
My life path seemed to take me directly to the work of The G.R.O. Foundation.  During my undergraduate studies in anthropology, I focused heavily on the shape and transformation of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.  I found the situation so compelling that I signed up for the US Peace Corps in 2004 and requested to be sent to southern Africa.  When I received my assignment as an HIV/AIDS to Lesotho, I was ecstatic even though I knew very little about the small mountain kingdom.  I was fortunate enough to live with a Basotho family for two years and experience the beautiful culture of Lesotho.  In those two years, I was surrounded by the reality of HIV/AIDS and saw very intimately how devastating the disease is to community.  It was this experience that propelled me pursue my Masters degree in Social Development and Health from the Institute of International Health and Development at Queen Margaret University in the UK.  After completing my studies, I returned to Lesotho to complete my thesis in participatory project development.   I am returning in December 2008 for one to two years to work with our local counterparts to develop and expand The G.R.O. Foundation’s projects in Lesotho.

Something keeps calling me back to Lesotho.  Perhaps it’s because of the strong bonds I have with the community, the pace of life, the red sand between my toes, or the sounds children laughing and the smells of homemade bread cooking over the wood fire.  Ultimately I return because of the people - because of our mutual commitments to work towards a better life for all.

Posted under The Vision

The first couple of blog posts are meant as an introduction to the staff at GRO and those that will be writing for this blog. James White is the Director of Programs/Health and Social Manager and this is his story.

When I traveled to Baja Mexico as an orphanage volunteer in 1999 I had no idea that it would change my life forever. Having grown up in the Canadian prairies I must admit that my world view was fairly limited, I had never traveled outside of Canada and even trips to Edmonton or Calgary were big events in my life.  What I saw at the orphanage both inspired me but shook me.  I remember in particular a trip to the city dump in Vicente Guerrero where I saw whole families and young children rummaging through the massive piles of garbage looking for food.  It was at that moment that I asked a personal question that would change everything.  How can I live in a world where this is acceptable?

On my return to Canada I kept asking these questions, reading about international conflict, the still emerging gravity of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and crippling poverty throughout the developing world.  I found it increasingly difficult to find joy in my own life and developed a deep sense of the injustice plaguing our world.  Two more volunteer trips to Mexico followed and I soon transferred to Queens University where I completed a dual degree in Global Development Studies and Pediatric Nursing.  As a student I travelled to Durban South Africa as part of Queen’s Medical Outreach.  My experience there, teaching HIV education in township schools, confirmed my desire to devote my life to development and international advocacy.  In 2004 I was hired as a nurse at Tsepong Clinic (the place of Hope) in Leribe, Lesotho. With antiretroviral treatment finally becoming available to impoverished nations, I was one of five Canadian medical professionals sent to develop the first government clinic to address the AIDS pandemic in Lesotho.  My experience and learning throughout 2004-2005 in Lesotho cannot be put into words.  I experienced both the deepest and darkest aspects of the AIDS pandemic, a country dying by the thousands with no food, employment or apparent hope.  But I also experienced the other aspects of life, the resilience of a people bravely facing struggle, the demonstrations of courage and love that shake your soul when they are committed in the face of such overwhelming barriers. Miracles.

As my time at Tsepong drew to a close I knew that my commitment to Lesotho could not end there.  We initiated The G.R.O. Foundation as way to continue our support of that community and over the past two and a half years we have steadily grown, involving more students, projects and people…advocating in Canada and supporting families in Lesotho.  I am so excited about the future of The G.R.O. Foundation and the involvement of passionate students, advocates and individuals in Canada.  In November of 2008 I will return to Tsepong as an HIV Program Developer, seeking to continue the work I began as a nurse in expanding and strengthening the AIDS services available in the region.  We will also be focusing on supporting our local partners with The G.R.O. Foundation Lesotho, assisting them in strengthening the existing projects and doing more for the people of Leribe.

What began in Mexico nine years ago has never stopped changing me.  I still ask that question, ‘How can I live in world where this is acceptable?’ I finally know the answer.  I can’t.  I continue to fight struggle, speak out against injustice and although the road ahead is fraught with obstacles and overwhelming need I will continue to stand beside our global brothers and sisters that are facing death, violence and poverty. Standing together we will make a difference.

Posted under The Vision