I did not want to make any announcements about the arrival of electricity in my rural village in Lesotho, until I could switch on a light in my rondavel. Other Peace Corps Volunteers told me not to get my hopes up when holes were being dug for the electric poles in February. “I’ve had poles in my village for more than a year, Continue Reading
Archives for May 2016
A Hardship I Did Not Expect
Shaka, the skinny mutt, looks at me with her kind, hazel eyes. She’s starving, but she never begs. She sleeps on the step in front of my rondavel, trying to grab some warmth from the gap under my door. When I’m ready for my sunrise walk, Shaka, clings to my heels. I don’t want her to follow me. I want to be alone, in my own thoughts as I Continue Reading
Is The Internet Preventing Community Integration?
One of the objectives of the Peace Corps is to have volunteers integrate into their communities, but I started to question whether the Internet is actually having an adverse effect on my ability to fully integrate within my community. I arrived in Lesotho in October 2015, and have tried to be flexible, share and learn new skills, but I admit Continue Reading
Lineo is one of the Vulnerable Children at My School
Lineo and Sonia On the first day back to school, after a public holiday, Sister B. decides to send the vulnerable children home to collect money for a field trip to Katse Dam next month. Many students have a one and a half hour trek over the mountains to school, and now she orders them to go back home and collect the money. They’ve Continue Reading
