The Mountain Kingdom...Lesotho

The country of Lesotho (pronounced Lesootoo) is actually a country within the Republic of South Africa and is in fact a Kingdom. It was once much, much larger, but as European colonialists and settlers were want to do in the 19th century, they took all the fertile farming land on the western side, (now known as Kroonstaad, Ventersburg and Bloemfontein), and gave the indigenous people all that was east of the Orange River (rocks and mountains). The existing country is about the size of Pennsylvania and as a result, Lesotho has had little to sustain itself and is quite poor. They share similar ills as much of Africa does in the form of poverty, HIV, poor education, lack of opportunity for the masses and leadership that pretends to care but there is precious little evidence to show that they do. There is one city only, Maseru, and that is the capital. It is crowded, tired and not very clean. Once again we stayed at the casino because it is the cleanest, safest and moderately priced. The people in this kingdom are different in that they really seem to be trying against the odds. I must say the young folks we met with did truly tug at our heart strings in search of a break and opportunity.

A bit of humor if I may, before we show this land of mountains. My dear wife needed some hair products on Saturday morning and we were running a bit late for our appointment, but, since it was Valentine's Day and she is a special lady, I agreed to drive into the downtown of Maseru where we spotted a Shop-rite market that looked as though it had been there since the 50's. We made our purchase after a rather long que, but now we were running late and I really don't like being late...anyone surprised by that? So, instead of going all the way to the end of the block that was quite congested, I checked my mirrors and pulled a U-turn in the middle of the block. I had no sooner accomplished this coy vehicular maneuver, than a policeman stepped in front of my car and waved me over. Remember...I am an American, with a South African licence plate in Lesotho. He showed me his badge-pointed to his logo of Lesotho Mounted Police Service and said to me,"you have offended the laws of this land, I am officer Semlabaka and you have offended the laws of this land which makes you subject to arrest and fine". He then said 'I will get into your car and you will drive me to the police station" He had no gun, no bike and no car. Not even a horse. I said, No you can't ride in my car-church rules, so he said I will ride with these men (another SA car they had pulled over) and you will follow us to the police station for you have offended the laws of this land. We did so and drove to a very old police station where we stood at the counter while the officer walked around to the back of what looked like a bank teller window and then he asked,"Can I help you?" We tried not to laugh and he then said "ID please". We produced the copies of our passports that we carry and he took out a piece of plain white lined notebook paper and wrote me up. He charged us 30 Mulati ($3) for offending the laws of their land and gave us the only copy of the citation as our receipt. Un-believable. When he said we could go, I asked him if he could come outside so we could take his photo and he practically ran outside ahead of us...he then asked where he should stand and how he should pose... and when we showed him the picture in the camera, he gave us his address so we could send him a copy. A friend for life! God is truly with us.

Jim with Officer Semlabaka. Do I look like a guy who might have spent the weekend in jail until the judge returned on Monday? Whew! Happy Valentine's Day to me!

Here is the only record of my "offence to the laws of the land" Wonder where the 30 Maluti went?? A classic keepsake for sure.

This is a very typical home in the city of Maseru. Each family of 4-7 in a separate unit with no inside water or power.

As you begin to leave the city, you see more settlements on the hillsides. Everyone but a few, walk everywhere they go. Jobs are scarce but poverty is not.

As we left the city of Maseru, we began climbing into the mountains and saw houses that were part new design (concrete block) and part old native Maloti style home with thatched roof.

We spent the day in the car driving through the mountains and had packed a few light snacks and fruit since we did not know what we might find for lunch, but fortunately we came upon this lovely little roadside cafe in which to dine.

...just kidding Mom.

We did end up giving all our snacks, sweets and fruit away however, to village children who asked for it as we drove through.

This is a Lesotho duplex. Two families, one fruit tree, one clothes line. Reenie commented several times that in spite of their poverty, the people were clean and their clothes were always clean as well.

Up in the mountains you will find the Maloti people who are mostly shepherds. They wear a blanket in all weather and almost always a hat of some sort. This day it was about 18 degrees (about 65F) and still they wore blankets and hats.

This young man was riding his donkey toward his herd, but when he saw that we wanted his picture, he stopped and posed and asked if we had anything to give him. Before he asked us however, he crossed his left arm over his right forarm (see photo closely) which is a sign of respect for his elders. He got off his steed and we gave him several coins and a pear.

He was pleased and said "thank you vedy vedy much sa"

Here is a large settlement of traditional houses that are made of stone and thatch. All are round with one door and two windows. The winters are severe up here in the high country and indoor fires are what keep them warm.

We went and visited a school in the mountain town of Makoallong. This was a Saturday, but the kids were there, having walked 3k-7k to get there. Here is the primary level school house-no lights-no indoor plumbing-no cafeteria, no gym or swimming pool. Just a room with few supplies.

Here is a class with 48 students-2 and 3 to a desk-some in uniform, some not, but they are there on Saturday to get as many days in as possible before winter sets in during June-Aug and the snow is too deep to walk to school. The class has ages 6-11 and is reminiscent of what education must have been like in the US in the 1800's. School is free up to age 13, and then each student is charged for lessons and books. As a result, many drop out at that point because of lack of funding. We are working with several young adults, even at the ages of 20-26, to go back and get their basics and we will provide the funding through PEF. It's good to see their faces when they realize they get a second chance.

Here is the main component. A happy and determined teacher, willing to endure lousy conditions and little in the way of supplies, but who is there for those that are anxious to come and learn.

We both commented as we pulled away from the school how we wished that we had just a portion of the money that has been squandered away by the greed in the U.S. recently, and that we could use it to help these children along lifes road a bit. I have always been a grateful sort, and I lived pretty close to the vest, but this experience is teaching me imeasuably about the terms 'poor and the afflicted. About reaching down to lift up, about orphans at young ages, about grandparents giving the little they have to help with the orphan grandchild. About gathering wood for winter in a land virtually void of trees. About a few families pulling together to see to the secuity and survival of all. Memories of Christmas cards from the 1950's. Much changes-much stays the same, it just depends on who you are and where and when you were born.

We passed this woman high up in the mountains. She was reluctant to stop to talk to us, but I gave her a 10 Rand note, which is eqivalent to $1 to me, but an entire day's work for her, and she agreed to let us photograph her. She is carrying a large bundle of thick, heavy,dead leaves from a plant that looked like a giant Yucca plant. These will be used to burn in her home during the winter. She had a saw on top of her load and miles and miles to go to the next possible dwelling. The walk was all up hill. She sang softly to herself as she walked...perhaps for herself or perhaps for the little one.

Much to my surprise, in addition to the load on her head, she was carrying her child on her back. It pains me to see how hard these people have to work just to sustain life and limb, but they do it because they have to. Life expectancy in Lesotho is 47 yrs.

Here are the large beautiful Lesotho mountains...

...and here is a child whose face we shall not soon forget.

Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.

Matthew 5:4-5

Stay well...

...of Birds and Babies

Those that know us, know that we love our feathered friends. Africa has a whole new world of birds and we have been enjoying them from afar as well as up close. Since we live in a flat with a very nice little courtyard, we decided to see if we could lure in some of the birds that wake us up every morming with their varieties of song. We went to a garden center and bought a small birdfeeder and it took about 5 minutes to attract our first visitor. The Afrikaaners call this one the Swartkeelgeelvink, the local Zulu's call it the ihlokohloko, Reenie calls him Al Jolson, but we looked it up and it's the Southern Masked Weaver. Much easier for the Americans to pronounce and to remember. Below are a few shots of the male at our feeder.

This is the handsome male. He is known as the casanova of the bird world. He can have up to ten broods in a season, all with different females, and he builds a nest for each lady. The red eyes are very haunting and his primary color is a Goldfinch yellow.


Here is the home that the Masked Weaver built in our courtyard (without hands!). You can see immediately why they are called 'weavers'. He builds the bag nest to attract the female and if she does not like it, she will snip it off at the branch and knock it down. She did it to this one and 5 days later he had built another one which I guess she liked, because she raised a brood in it and they have already fledged.


If you want to see the look of conceit he conveys regarding his good looks, double click this one and check out his face in closeup. I must admit, this was a lucky shot!

And as they say...'into every life a little rain must fall'. We are in the city, so of course- put out a free meal and here come the locals to cash in and make a mess. Reenie likes them however, because they talk to her, so I can't shoo them away. The pigeons tend to cast most of the seed out of the feeder and onto the ground, but that attracts the laughing doves, and they are quite nice. Sorry for not having a photo of them.

This charming fellow is the African Ibis, known fondly as the 'Hadedah'. The Hadedah is almost the size of a Canada Goose but much more sleek. They have a call something between a laughing gull and a crow, but twice as loud. They can give you quite the scare if you're not aware of their presence, but they keep the grub, roach and slug population down to a minimum...a very unique looking and sounding bird.




Blankets @ Baragwaneth





Last Tuesday, Reenie went with several of the lady missionaries to Soweto. Soweto is the huge township that was created for the black population to live in when South Africa was under Apartheid. Even though Apartheid was eliminated 15 years ago, that area remains the home of many (over 2,000,000) members of the native African population. There is a huge hospital, that has been there for many years, and is the primary medical facility for the people of Soweto. It is named the Baragwaneth Hospital and since it is the public hospital, most women from the township go there to have there babies. So many women go there each day in fact, that it is the largest birthing center on earth. They average 150 births a day! Each woman entering to have a baby there is charged 40 Rand, or $4.15.

Many of the ladies in our group of missionary wives, use their spare time to make baby blankets and caps for the newborns, and the mothers are very appreciative since they generally do not bring or get blankets to take their babes home in. When you hear the story of birthing at Baragwaneth, I believe you will be taken aback.


Here are Reenie and Denise Heap with armloads of blankets being handed out to new moms. Many of the women would immediately unwrap their babies from the orange institutional wraps and use the new colorful fleece blankies.


These women arrived at the hospital just a few hours ago, have already had their babies, and while awaiting their discharge from the facility, get to wait on hard wooden benches in the ward. Their babies are in bassinets to the side, and after three to four hours of post delivery 'observation', Mom and baby are sent home by public taxi.

Here is a proud new Mother with her 4 hour old infant wrapped in one of the carefully made, soft and colorful baby blankets. Notice the anything but soft seat that the woman is sitting on as she recovers from childbirth. Wow. The small cups on the bench are filled with formula for the newborn. Each baby gets one cup before being sent home.

Someone's 3 hour old bundle of sweetness.

Sad as it is, not all Mothers leave with their babies. Reenie mentioned that this woman had delivered already, but had no baby with her. She received a blanket for 'next time'. There were 5 babies that died during birth this day and one Mother who did not make it as well.

Here is the waiting area after a busy morning of delivering babies and all seem happy to have their gifts of blanket and cap. There is only one Dr available for C-sections and serious complications.

All other births are assisted by midwives.

Having had several children and many grandchildren, I am well familiar with what a woman goes through in the birthing process. These women are really amazing! All of these ladies delivered babies on this very day...are now smiling while sitting on that hard bench... and will be back at their humble homes before dinner.

All but 16 of the 150 blankets and caps were given out on this visit. There was another ward in the next wing, but not enough blankets for all so our gals did not go there. Here is Reenie giving out the last of the load to the most recent Moms.

From left to right are the satisfied missionaries. Sisters' Wright, Heap, Taylor, Mickelson, Noll, Godfrey and Von Stetten. Job well done ladies.

"Wherefore, be faithful,

...succor the weak,

lift up the hands which hang down,

and strenghthen the feeble knees."

Stay well

Things Africa...

The weather in Johannesburg is absolutey great. It is now Summer, and because we are at about 6000 ft above sea level, we have mainly dry and 80 degrees everyday. However, this is Summer, and this is also the time of year for this area to gather its rainfall, for once April arrives, it will stop raining, and no rain will fall for six months. The GauTeng Province (Johannesburg and Pretoria) is famous worldwide for their vivid and dramatic thunderstorms. These are not regular thunderstorms. These are meteorological wonders! Two factors come into play in this part of Africa. One is the effect in the upper atmosphere where the hot, hot winds coming down out of the Kalahari Desert mixing it up with the moist air aloft from the Atlantic and Indian Oceans which surround South Africa, and the other factor is that the earth is loaded with minerals here. Gold, Silver, Copper, Platinum and Iron are what this area consists of under its outerskin, and as a result the lightning strikes are incredible. The charges from the earth to the heavens are really something to witness. The thunder does not just clap or rumble a bit like it does back in PA, but instead is an enormous roar that crescendos to 3 times the volume I have ever heard and will last for minutes with out stopping. It will rain inches at a time and then the storm will be gone in 30 minutes. I do hope we can get to see one of these whoppers when we are out of the city, so I can capture this incredible display of nature on 'film'.

Here is a storm that charged in the other day. It went from beautiful to scary in less than 20 minutes and just exploded with fury...

...and then was gone, but not before flooding out most major streets and intersections, causing power outages that knock out the robots (stop-lights) and scaring men, women, children and pets. No one here complains though, because they know that they will need the water next winter when it does not rain at all.

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When it comes to recycling, no one can compete with the Africans. They use every part of every living thing. They make art out of every available piece of wood, they make clothing out of plants and skins. They make jewelry out of teeth, bones, skeletons, toys and purses are made out of recycled cans, nick-naks out of discarded wire and telephone line that Telcom has junked, decorations out of horns, antlers, leaves and eggs. They really waste nothing. Wood is most prevalent for carving and making things for the home, but anything else that can be used...is.

We yankees could really learn a lot from these people's ingenuity and creativity.

Here are a very few examples:

This is a necklace that Reenie bought at the market,



...upon closer inspection you will see that it is an entire skeleton of a snake that has been strung on a string. Every vertabrae connected together as it was on the snake. Simply amazing and quite a conversation piece at the office.



The carvers in Zimbabwe are masterful. Here is a mother elephant with her newborn, carved completely out of one piece of ironwood. The tusks are carved out of cow bone. The piece is 13" high, 17" long and the detail is superb. (click to enlarge and view the detail) It took the carver (artist) about two weeks to do, he got about $25, for his work, then someone brought it down to ZA, sold it to the folks at the African Market who sold it to me for $65. If a carver in the US did this, the piece would easily sell for $1000.



Not a great photo, but here are a pair of earings made out of coconut shell and silver wire. All hand made of course. They sold for $2



The background, houses, and all detail in this art are made from the leaves of the banana tree.




These decorative balls are each about the size of a major league baseball. They are formed by Kenyans, who heat the horns from animals such as the Springbuck, Blesbuck or Gemsbok and reshape them into these balls, which they then carve with a detail knife.



These baskets come in all sizes from about 4" to 24" in diameter. They are woven using discarded telephone line. They have become so popular that Telcom (the ZA phone company) now sells the wire in large spools to the women who make these baskets.

An example of African scrimshaw, using the jawbone of a wildebeest.

It is marvelous to see the skill and determination of these people to use anything they can find to create a way to express their art and support themselves. It is a shame however, that their talents will not bring more revenue than the current pricing, but I guess it just is what it is.

"A vision without a task is but a dream,

A task without a vision is drudgery,

A vision and a task is the hope of the world"

English proverb

Stay well...

First Border Crossing

As we drove the 400km North to Botswana and crossed the border, several things became apparent to us right away. First, we noticed that there were animals everywhere. I wish that I would have been able to photograph some, but I was too busy driving around them and trying my best not to create any fresh roadkill, and Reenie was too busy telling me to stop!-slow down!-watch out! Other than the Baboons, these are not exotic animals generally. They are Brahma bulls, horses, donkeys, and large herds of goats and cows. They were just everywhere. Another stark contrast to South Africa was the total absence of street hawkers and beggers in the towns and cities. They are on every corner in ZA, but not to be found at all in Botswana. The towns and city we visited were very poor, but also were very clean.

The temperature was another big difference. Once we left the high elevation (almost 6,000ft) of Johannesburg and drove North but down in elevation, the temperature rose significantly. Gaberone and Lobatsi are on the edge of the Kalahari Desert. It is very dry and very hot..Phoenix kind of hot...like putting your head in an oven type of hot.

White Egrets enjoying the bugs in the trees...

Games of chance are not unique to the US of A. There are many Casinos in ZA and this is the one in Botswana. What are we doing at this one?...well, this is where we are recommended to stay when we travel to other countries. We avoid the Casinos themselves of course, but the hotels on the grounds of the Casinos are considered the safest places to stay, with lots of security, clean rooms and good prices. Our room here cost 377 Pula/ night, which is less than $50, and the room was clean, very small, but it had AC! Whew!!

Here is the Lobatsi Branch building. The church bought property here that was a residential home, where they could use the existing house for Primary, other classrooms and offices and it had a kitchen and a bathroom, and then they brought in a portable building for having Sacrament Mtg.


Here are the members going to their classes in the house after Sacrament meeting. Thank goodness for the two big trees on the property that really helped to shield out the sun.

These are the first two students to have the opportunity to receive PEF loans for schooling in the Lobatsi, Botswana area. It was our visit there last week that launched the program in this area and as you can see, they are really happy. Cedric, who just returned from a mission in Kenya, will study construction and Lucy is going to become a nurse's assistant (like an LPN in America, I believe). They are looking forward to beginning school in March.



As I mentioned, this area is on the edge of the Kalahari Desert, so water is a premium. There are no lakes or ponds in the area, and the few creeks that exist dry up except for a short rainy season each year. Here you see a large agricultural water barrel that will catch water from any available rainstorms and store it for when they have baptisms...which are held.....(see below)


Here! This is another rain barrel, but this one has had the top removed to be used as their font. They bring two desks from inside the building, climb onto one while placing the other into the font, then hand the desk that is in the font, to someone outside the font while they perform the baptism, then someone hands them the desk back into the font and they climb out from the desk in the font onto the desk that is outside the font! Seeing this really made me feel like quite an ingrate when I remember how we used to complain about the temperature in our building being a bit too hot or too cold back in the US. It was 41 C degrees here on Sunday(about 103F) and the buildings are not cooled at all. These folks were happy to walk to church in their only set of church clothes and then sing the hymns accapella.

'After church' with the two Elders who serve this area. One from Zambia and the other from ZA.

...the future...

Incidentally, we are told that many of the clothes that are given to DI or Good Will in the US, end up coming to countries in Africa and other similar developing nations, so I have a hunch that this is where many of these children here get their clothing. These two just loved having their pictures taken and wanted to see the pics again and again, and I of course, complied. More on Botswana after our next trip there.



Below are some more of the South African nature shots that were not included in the prior post. Hope you enjoy.

Mom and the kids

Stay out of this grassland!

Reenie's favorite

African White Stork, standing about 5' tall.

Family of Blue Wildebeests

"I don't get it! I have wings...I should be able to fly!"

Angry dog!

...just because you can't see me, doesn't mean I'm not here...

...oh I know you're there! (male Blesbuck)

"I am only one,

But still I am one.

I cannot do everthing,

But still I can do something;

And because I cannot do everything

I will not refuse to do the something

that I can do."

Edward E. Hale (1822-1909)

Stay well