February 2, 2007
(Written by Jason)
Hello all once again! It has been a really long week here in Lesotho! We have had intermittent rainstorms all week but still not enough for the crops that are fed only by the rain. The people here are very scared to talk about it as you can probably imagine. It is a not a great situation as things here may get really bad if there is not enough food this next years harvest. However it is not that bleak as there is still 2 months left in the rainy season. Yet if you think about it throw a shout up to the big man and tell him to let it pour here in little ol’ Lesotho!
We had a friend come stay with us the last few days. Nichol, who is from Colorado, came to hang out with us and bring us our mail that she got from a volunteer who went to Maseru (Yeah it is that confusing right now for us to get our mail. Sorry if you wrote a while ago and we haven’t responded. We really will write you!). That is not the only reason she came though. She is a Resource Teacher like me, but she is working with the ECCD (Early Childhood Care and Development) sector of education. This is a very new program here in Lesotho and needs constant care and support. The ECCD teachers are all volunteers that get paid like M 400 a month. That is less than 100 dollars (to be exact it is close to $50) a month! The pay is so low that these teachers really do it for the love of the students and to see them develop into good students. I will tell you too that in my observations, you can see the difference in those that have been to the schools and those who have not!
My job is going well if not very fast. I have so many ideas for improving the schools and the teaching practices but I know that patient diligence is the only way that I will be able to make a sustainable impact. I know that I have harped on the point that I need ideas from you all out there in cyberspace to look for ideas and possibilities for grants and cooperatives that I can apply for. I have yet to really receive any ideas. I know that you out there are busy, but you have easy access to the internet and that you could spend 10 to 15 minutes surfing for technology or education grants. Some of the places I was thinking that might have them are the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Kellogg Foundation, The Ford Foundation, etc. IF you could do some small bits of research for technology or education grants and send me a link or info. to jason.samuelian@gmail.com that would help me out so much.
I want to leave you with one story on why this is so important for the country and its many students. This morning as I was walking home from taking Nichol to the taxi stand, a woman I have talked to before invited me to her house for peaches. On the way to her house, she told me about her husband who died in 2003 and how she now has no way to make an income or even to plow her plot of land and grow food for her self. She showed me the dry and grown over fields that at one time provided enough food for her, her husband and her 4 children.
She then took me to her house that was barren except for a small wood burning stove and a table. There were no chairs or visible food in the room. In the small bedroom off to the side, there were 2 bags of WFP (World Food Program) maize meal that had been given to her by the chief so that she would not starve. However in order to cook this she had to spend all day collecting enough fuel for her stove in order to boil water so that she can make Papa (corn maize mush). That is basically all she will eat other than the few peaches that she has on her trees.
Her story is all too common. She had no training on anything so that after the death of her husband she was left with no skills except those to get by with. She has no way of advancing her self or moving beyond her desolate situation. This is why I need your help out there. We must train the next generation with the tools and skills that will make them able to compete in the modern world.
So off my soap box again. I love and miss you all! I desperately wish I could see all of you and just hug you for a few minutes. With all my heart,
Jason