As ‘Me Mapalesa and I waited for the rest of the group to arrive we sat in a still room and discussed the ways in which to strengthen the empowerment and collaboration initiatives of The G.R.O. Foundation Lesotho’s programming. Outside the chaos and noise of children on the Mount Royal Integrated Primary School grounds continued uninterrupted. We had arrived early to see a traditional Basotho dance presentation by a number of troupes and a choir, which includes both the hearing impaired and children with learning disabilities. We were waiting for a number of OHAfrica as well as G.R.O. members to arrive. ‘Me Maboitabiso, a senior teacher at the school and a member of the Grandmother’s Poultry Project, had rushed to assemble all of the students to ensure that all of the ex-pats living in Hlotse at the moment had the opportunity to experience traditional Basotho culture. My stay of 10 weeks in Lesotho is longer than most volunteers have the opportunity to partake in and for most this would be their only chance to see any of the native dance or song.

As the others arrived we were greeted by a row of welcoming teachers and escorted into ‘Me Maboitabiso’s large white classroom filled with waiting students. For the next 45 minutes the group of Canadians were treated to a number of different incredible performances that saw the visitors smiling, clapping, and even joining in to circle around the dancers dropping coins to those that we thought to be the hardest workers. For arranging the event we are very thankful to ‘Me Maboitabiso, all of the students who work so hard to put on amazing performances, and the rest of the staff at Mount Royal Integrated School. In appreciation The G.R.O. Foundation Canada presented ‘Me Maboitabiso and the students of Mount Royal with a Canadian Flag. Kea leboaha bo abuti and ausi!

In other G.R.O. news there were a number of noteworthy events over the past week. After some in depth discussions on the necessary need to renovate their chicken coop The Grannies Poultry Project an initial site visit was conducted last week by a reputable local contractor. We hope to see work begin before the end of the month and the facility to be operational by mid-July. We are still looking for donors to support the funding of a rainwater catchments system for the poultry facility so please do not hesitate to contact us if you are interested in helping.

The Artisans, especially ‘Me Mathabang and ‘Me Mamabula, have had an incredibly productive quarter with jewellery sales already up over 200% from the last quarter of 2008! We are incredibly proud of the accomplishments of the G.R.O. Artisans Collective (GAC) and now that the catalogue is complete we hope to have a few orders for the holiday season from North American distributors in shortly.

Finally, I want to thank Jane Thandi, Pinkie, Donna and Jillian at Help Lesotho Hlotse, Tyler and Beckie at Help Lesotho Pitseng, and Basotho Media for presenting a powerful documentary entitled Mother to Child (2001) in Pitseng last Thursday. The film covers the story of two pregnant HIV positive women, Pinkie being one of the two, as they traveled the road to motherhood hoping not to transmit the disease to their newborns. A large G.R.O. contingent made up of the GAC, the Grannies, and Marosa from the Family Scholarship Program, were in attendance for the film and provided strong feedback during the conversation period following the film. I would be remiss if I did not express my pride of ‘Me Mathabang who had the courage to share her story with the audience which can often be an incredibly stigmatizing and dangerous event. Again, thank you to all involved who made the event possible.

Tonight we bid farewell to two staff from OHAfrica who will shortly be returning to Canada. Thank you to Jessica Burry and G.R.O. Canada All-star Megan Landes for the work they have done here in Hlotse over the past few weeks. We will send them off with a proper Basotho meal prepared by ‘Me Mathabang. We will miss you at yoga and around the LHDA Compound! Khotso bo ‘me.

Sallang hantle.

Jason.

Posted under Notes from Lesotho

The temperature is dropping here in Leribe as we have peaked into the late days of Autumn. With the change of seasons The G.R.O. Foundation, along with all of our current projects on the ground, have closed out the summer months with strong results. As the newest volunteer member of the G.R.O. team I have recently arrived from Whistler, British Columbia, to assist in project and capacity development here in Leribe until the end of June. During my stay my main objectives are to enhance the current business model for the G.R.O. Artisans Collective to ensure continued stable growth through increased cooperation with the Lesotho government and to establish international ties to create market opportunities for the HIV positive mothers; to provide complimentary support to the Grannie’s Poultry Project in hopes of completing the construction on their first chicken coop with the addition of electrical wiring, heating, ventilation, pest deterrents, and a catchments system for rain water; as well as to assist in daily operations of the organization – such as maintaining this blog posting.
After arriving on 24 May I have been going nonstop to get up to speed on all of the current operations here and meet all of the community members that are involved and affected, directly and indirectly, by the support of our donors and volunteers. Already, I can say with confidence that there are real positive changes to individual daily lives happening in and around Leribe thanks to the assistance provided to G.R.O. for food, education, health care, and shelter. Two of the many introductions I have had that struck a chord with me were the G.R.O. Artisans’ ‘Me Mamabula, along her daughter Joyce, and Family Scholarship recipient Kopano Phokoe. When we first traveled just outside of Leribe to meet ‘Me Mamabula and her daughter Joyce at their one room home, where she currently designs and produces all of her jewellery I found a beautiful healthy three year old who, although a bit shy, was smiling interested to know who this new visitor was. As part of the Artisans Collective ‘Me Mamabula receives far greater than fair trade wages for her jewellery as well as business training that will allow her to become a leader within the Collective. On the second occasion I met Kopano at Molapo High School where despite having lost his entire family to HIV/AIDS and needing to travel for almost two hours to and from Leribe to attend school he maintains some of the highest marks in his class. Kopano receives funding through the Scholarship Crisis Fund to ensure his basic needs are met at home and that he can afford regular transportation to school. These are just two of the dozens of people I have already had the fortune and opportunity to meet in my short stay thus far. Both are examples of ways in which we are trying to give the people of Leribe a helping hand to realize their dreams and become leaders of their community.
This past Friday we celebrated National Worker’s Day with a large festival bringing together over a thousand people for traditional Northern Basotho music and local cuisine. The Artisans Collective was in attendance where ‘Me Mathabang and ‘Me Mamabula displayed and sold their fashion jewellery. This experience gave us the chance to experience the natural retail skills that ‘Me Mathabang possesses! The festival also gave all of the NGO newcomers a chance to experience some of the flare the locals have to offer. While the ex-pats received sunburns and basked in the warmth everyone else in attendance was wrapped in traditional Basotho blankets and seshoeshoe dresses to keep warm as they cheered and danced to the music. Thank you to all the members of the community, Lesotho Boston Health Alliance, and OHAfrica for coming out and supporting the Artisans Collective. Please check out the photos from the event.

Again, thank you for your support and sign up for our newsletter to keep infomrmed about project updates and ways to get involved in North America. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns, or for information on how you can assist the G.R.O. Foundation and its initiatives in Lesotho!

Salang Hantle!
(Stay Well!)

Jason Clark.
artisans@grofoundation.org

Posted under Notes from Lesotho, Uncategorized