We are very excited to bring you a Feature Q&A with an integral and inspirational figure in both the development and the future of The G.R.O. Foundation Lesotho. ‘Me Mapalesa Selialia is a founding member of the Grannies Poultry Association of Lisemeng II and an elected member of the G.R.O. Lesotho Executive Committee currently serving her second term as the Treasurer. We are very grateful to have ‘Me Mapalesa with us for this very special Q&A!

Why did you start the Grannies Poultry Project?

The project was started to raise chicks for sale, and the profits of which are reinvested into the project for the provision of social support to Beneficiaries.

How do the grannies help the community?

The Grannies help improve nutrition to vulnerable children, elderly and chronically ill. They also provide the home based care to chronically ill and for minor ailments:

• Supply food packages to the needy
• Treat minor aliments
• Sell fresh and tasty meat to the community at the affordable price.

Can you please explain what activities it takes to run the chicken coop each day?

• Check the chicks’ condition each time we enter the coop and record the findings when necessary. For example, check if the chicks are not ill.
• Clean the coop and change litters when the need arise.
• Clean troughs and give food and water to the chicks’ three times a day.

What does it mean to you yourself to be a strong part of G.R.O. Foundation?

It means that G.R.O. Foundation will never fail to support its projects; it will grow and spread to other districts or even countries. There are much of possibilities to achieve greater goals.

Why do you think it is important for people in Canada and the USA to support G.R.O. Foundation?

It is important so that G.R.O. Foundation will in turn continue to support, strengthen and empower social support systems under its care.

Posted under Notes from Lesotho

Up to a few months ago Jean Margaritis was likely to be one of the first faces you would encounter upon entering the G.R.O. Lesotho office or contacting the organization in country.  As Co-founder and Programs Manager Jean has worked tirelessly to support project partners, staff, and families within Lesotho. Her work ethic is matched only by her compassion for those that surround her. Recently, Jean has returned to Minnesota to be with her family but has maintained close ties to G.R.O. Lesotho staff and continued to support the in country board of directors.

After having spent the better part of 6 years either living or directly engaged in Lesotho you have had to take a step back with your return to the United States. How do you stay connected to all of your friends and G.R.O. project partners on a daily basis?

When I first returned to North America in 2006 after spending two years in Lesotho with the US Peace Corps, it was very hard to stay connected to Lesotho.  Few people in Lesotho had access to internet, phone calls were incredibly expensive at over 30 cents a minute, and letters took ages to arrive.  Technology has advanced so much in the last four years that staying connected to the G.R.O. projects, friends, and partners is easier and quicker.  Our Lesotho team has access to email and internet daily, and I speak with the team regularly by Skype.   We get updates and photos regularly from Lesotho, through Q&As and from our team.  It’s very exciting because it helps us remain connected and focused on our priorities ahead, and definitely helps us stay productive as a team, even though we are thousands of miles away.

What do you miss the most about your average day in Lesotho?

To be honest, no day was the same which is probably what I loved about it the most.  Every day presented a new challenge, a new project idea, a new accomplishment.   I miss walking into the Artisan’s workshop, always noisy and alive with women’s laughter and baby cries.  I miss the morning team briefings with the staff, charting out our day, the camaraderie and team work. The afternoon meetings with the grannies where we spoke about chickens and business over tea and biscuits are unforgettable.  I definitely miss the amazing and powerful energy within G.R.O. Lesotho that is created when everyone is working for a collective vision.

What is your current G.R.O. role now and what are you hoping to accomplish over the coming months?

My current role with G.R.O. is still that of Director of Programs, but has shaped and morphed with the fact that I now live thousands of miles away.  This is very exciting for me, because it has allowed our Lesotho team to grow, change and adapt in positive ways to accomplish our shared vision under local leadership.  I work daily with Rethabile, the G.R.O. Lesotho Programs Manager, as she continues to implement our plans for growth and development and lead the growing team.   Our primary goals for the next few months are to scale-up the LEAP program with the distribution of 4,000 career resource books and opening of the Career Center for high school students.  The Artisans Collective will be attending the Morija Arts and Cultural festival in October, and then will work to expand their retail locations throughout South Africa with assistance from our new Peace Corps volunteer, Adam.   The Grannies are looking to scale-up production now that the winter months have passed, and will also be distributing first aid kits to the local high schools.

I am also working in North America to help the artisans establish retail outlet and an online store as well as to strengthen our USA networks and partners.  I will also be focused on grant-writing for G.R.O. Canada and G.R.O. Lesotho.  It is a very exciting time for G.R.O. and I would like to thank everyone for being part of it!

We spoke to Jean Margaritis from her home in Minnesota.

Posted under Notes from Lesotho

The G.R.O. Foundation has again increased in size as we excitedly welcomed Adam Peel,  a US Peace Corps Volunteer, to the team. Adam has dedicated himself to a two year placement in Lesotho where he will be working closely with the Bo ‘Me of the G.R.O. Artisans Collective, as well as assisting G.R.O. Lesotho to continue to better achieve its goal of community poverty reduction.

To begin, Welcome to the team Adam - we are really excited to have you! Why don’t we start by telling all of our G.R.O. supporters a bit about yourself?

1) Sure,  I was raised in the great state of South Florida (yes it is its own state).  I  am an alumni of The Florida State University where I received a Bachelors as well as an Applied  Masters  Degree in Economics.  This is my first time travelling abroad , well I went to the Bahamas, but that doesn’t count.  I love to meet new people, try new things,  and see new places.

As far as my overall work with G.R.O. Lesotho I am helping to build the capacity of the organization.   More specifically I will be helping to assist ‘Me Motse’oa in making the Artisans a more profitable and stronger collective. I will also help in providing support where necessary to the LEAP program where my main role will be to act as a facilitator to ‘Ntate Katiso LEAP coordinator.

And as an incoming volunteer how were you received by the staff and project partners of G.R.O. Lesotho?

For my arrival, the G.R.O team held a braii for me this has been my  most exciting experience so far. It is very interesting to take part in a  celebration with a different culture.   The Basotho people love to dance and have lively celebrations.  It was a very welcoming experience.  They cooked traditional food including papa (a staple carb), chakalaka (a delicious spicy bean dish often expertly prepared by ‘Me Rethabile),  moroho (cold salted cabbage salad), and even mothoho (a warm heavy porridge that you add sugar to) - I wouldn’t recommend that one. We danced to the local music where I learned a new dance move whereby you pretend to chop yourself with your hand on your arm and leg.

You are walking into a foreign country and a different work environment but you do have a very supportive team - with this in mind what do you hope to accomplish in the first 6 months of your stay in Lesotho?

In the first six months as a volunteer I hope to make a positive impact with the G.R.O Artisans. I would like to help in facilitating a sales plan in which we will have a better approach to increasing sales in the region. I would also like to help in developing a system to accept credit card payments.  In the first six months I will also help Ntate Katsio in planning and implementing the distribution of the LEAP Career Guide books that the G.R.O team has made. In addition, I will be working on the LEAP Resource Centre here in Hlotse, Leribe. I will be cataloging books and helping to build a promising place to learn and receive information.

Posted under Notes from Lesotho

The Lesotho winter has pushed us toward the heaters and taken the students out of school for winter break. This has given ‘Ntate Katiso ‘Mota some more time in the office as he continues to strengthen the Family Scholarship Fund and the LEAP (Lesotho Educational Advancement Program) education initiatives. We had a chance to sit down with him to discuss what has been a busy month.

After only a few short months you recently received a promotion - can you tell us about your new position?

The new position I have just accepted is the LEAP Program Coordinator. This position means taking over the general role and direction of LEAP and being responsible in developing the work plan and ensure that it is being implemented. The new job still contains my work with the Family Scholarship Fund (FSF) as they are interconnected and both deal with students. We still have the FSF Leadership Club that we use as a model for the LEAP workshops. So I have more of a chance to expand my working activities to more students throughout the whole district.

You and and I have worked closely since you first started with G.R.O. Lesotho - as you continue to manage the Family Scholarship Fund and take on the LEAP initiative what are some of the trainings you have been engaged in and what are you hoping to learn from them?

I have been engaging with a number of professional skills training sessions. These include how to effectively lead and properly attend a meeting - overall professional meeting skills. I have also been invovled in learning how to respond to important messages, e-mails, and letters.

Those are the trainings I have been working with and I am hoping to learn better ways of communicating and conducting myself in professional situations. This has become especially important as I am the face of the programs so it is important to ensure we appear professional and am able to work well with all the attendees.  Also, I am looking to expand my abilities to respond professionally to different situations with our project associates and colleagues. Now that the LEAP program deals specifically with a number of government departments and larger players throughout the Lesotho education sector these things are important.

What successes are you working towards and where do you hope to see the FSF and LEAP programs in the next few months?

Right now, I am working on a comprehensive work plan which will assist in implementing these programs. In the next few months, I want to see LEAP as the most well known and successful G.R.O. Lesotho program in terms of its coverage and impact on educational stakeholders throughout the country. With the FSF I would like to see it increase its benefit for the students. This mean fine tuning the FSF Leadership Club and being able to provide interactive sessions to teach the students more skills giving the students a chance to become better leaders. I want to see students leaving the program and their high school time with the chance for brighter futures. They can pass and go to tertiary.  So, that’s what I can say about the two programs in the months to come.

Posted under Notes from Lesotho

Jean is well known to our supporting community as Co-founder of G.R.O. Lesotho and the outgoing Programs Manager. She is adamant about putting the focus at all times on individuals and projects here in Lesotho but we’ve tracked here down for her first G.R.O. Q&A.

The LEAP Career Fair is the largest event G.R.O. Lesotho has put on to date and potentially the largest Career Fair ever to be organized in Lesotho - how do you feel the event went?

I think the event was an overall success and it really demonstrated the G.R.O. philosphy of low cost high impact programming. We were able to provide 2,400 students with information and encouraged them to search outside of the careers and schools they may have been considering. All the feedback we received was positive and, more than anything, I was proud of how we presented a top of the line program to the students, high schools, tertiary schools, and the rest of the district.

In the days leading up to the event you mentioned a few times that you might have a mini-break down if things became seriously chaotic but I never saw you come close - were there many problems throughout the event and how do you think everyone dealt with them?

Logistically speaking, I think with any larger event there will be things you didn’t or couldn’t have planned for and, of course, we ran into a few barriers. However, I think the team was able to navigate the small challenges that came up and were able to easily accommodate the issues. Going into the event I wasn’t sure if we would have any serious challenges but no, I didn’t cry and spent most of the day thoroughly composed. Overall, I think we were all quite surprised how smoothly the whole thing went.

Over the past year the organization has seen tremendous growth and you have been at the centre to deal with the growing pains - where do you think G.R.O. Lesotho is in terms of potential and actualization at the moment?

You know, as a locally registered charity run by an exceptional team of basotho nationals with support from G.R.O. Canada and our current partners, including the Canada Fund, I think we have built a solid foundation of support.

In terms of potential, well, I think the potential for our Lesotho programming is mind boggling. Strong staff, strong partners, low cost - high impact programming, and an increasing recognition throughout the country - these are all great developments that are really the beginning of our vision. In terms of actualizing its potential I am completely confident that the team we have on the ground is able to recognize what the organization is capable of and use their tools and available resources to really follow through and continue to come up with ways forward in strengthening local communities.

I know that you had been dreading and avoiding this Q&A but thanks for taking the time to sit down and speak a little bit about the current G.R.O. Lesotho programming.

Posted under Notes from Lesotho

This past Saturday, 6 March, the G.R.O. Artisans Collective held their Opening Day ribbon-cutting ceremony. Along with a large crowd and many of the G.R.O. members from other projects in attendance the day was a great success!

Congratulations to ‘Me Majoyce, ‘Me Makhotalong, ‘Me Mathabang, ‘Me Mamosebetsi and their families for their successes as members of the G.R.O. Artisans Collective!

Special thanks to the G.R.O. Scholars of Molapo High School and the Grannies Poultry Association of Lisemeng II as well as Jean Margaritis, ‘Ntate Katiso ‘Mota, and ‘Me Rethabile Skundla for assisting in organizing and lending their helping hands all day long!

Posted under Notes from Lesotho