The last two months and saying goodbye
Lumelang,
You have had to wait a very long time for this blog post, and we would like to apologise for that first of all. Unfortunately we have not been able to tell you about our experiences until today. But now we want to do so one last time, in full detail.
First of all, May.
In the middle of the month our parents came to visit us. They stayed with us for ten days and we had a wonderful time. On the one hand they were able to share our everyday life and meet our friends; on the other hand we also travelled together through Lesotho and South Africa. On our travels around the country we visited the Royal Natal National Park, Malealea, Thaba Bosiu and the Semonkong waterfall (one of the most beautiful in southern Africa). For us the travelling was a lovely change and showed us once again what beautiful countries Lesotho and South Africa are.
Our parents had the chance to get to know the school, the children, the teachers and many of our acquaintances. They got a great insight into the clubs we offer, the subjects we teach and of course what it means to live in Lesotho. It was also reassuring for them to see that we are doing well in Lesotho and having a great time.
After ten days the visit was over far too quickly, and we all returned to our everyday lives. Beforehand our parents had collected donations from friends and colleagues so that the playgrounds at Kingsgate Primary School could be renovated. With the help of these donations a new climbing frame was built and many swings were replaced.
Projects
Otherwise the last two months were fully booked with activities. There was a great deal to organise and finish.
First of all, at the beginning of June we held a final tournament for our girls’ football team. We invited several other football teams from the region. It turned into a really lovely tournament, where you could see how much potential the girls have and how much fun they have in the team. There were exciting matches, hard-fought tackles and lots of great goals. Especially since there had never been a girls’ tournament of this kind in Mafeteng before, we were very happy and proud at the end of the day to hand out the sweets, certificates and of course the trophy. Unfortunately our girls did not win but took a respectable 5th and 6th place. That did not dampen their good mood, though, because they knew they could be proud of what they had learned in only four months, and the others had been playing football for much longer. The main aim of the tournament was to give the girls of Kingsgate Primary School the opportunity to continue their newly discovered passion for football after we left. We also wanted to give the girls’ parents, friends and acquaintances the chance to see the progress the girls have made – on the ball, but also in their self-confidence. Many are now thinking about joining another team with which they can train several times a week or play in regional tournaments. The coaches of the other teams are now also very interested in cooperation between all the girls’ teams and are planning more tournaments.
Of course it was also time to say goodbye to our other projects. The library proved the most difficult. Two weeks before the last day of school we stopped lending books and only collected them in. Even so, after the deadline more than 200 books were still missing. So we sent letters to parents and gave friendly reminders. As a result, many children trickled in with books during the last week. Sadly, we still have to report a loss of 36 books over the five months. To keep the damage as small as possible and to encourage care, the parents of these children now have to pay a symbolic contribution of €2 to make it possible to buy new books. All in all, though, you have to admit that 35 lost books no longer seem so many when you consider that we lent out more than 12,000 books. Looking back, the library was our most spontaneous but probably most far-reaching project. So many children took good care of the books and over time turned into real bookworms who could hardly wait for Thursday or Friday to come round again. It was lovely to see that the pupils could switch off from their textbooks for a while and instead dive into the world of “Whales and Dolphins” or set off on journeys through the world and through time with the “Magic Tree House”. The pupils’ shining eyes when they got a book made up for the chaos they always left behind in the library and for the very stressful library days.
Of course we also had to bring the sports club to an end. As we were unfortunately unable to take part in an athletics competition between the schools in Mafeteng during the five months, we simply held our own on the last Monday of the half-year. First there was a class competition in the relay race, which we had practised again and again at the start of the school year. This was followed by the 80 m sprint, held separately for Grades 5 and 6 and for girls and boys. The highlight, though, was the long jump. Three weeks earlier we had built a long-jump pit together. In Germany this project would be very complicated; in Lesotho, on the other hand, it is very simple. An area was marked out, dug over and loosened again and again, a run-up track was marked with cones and a skipping rope was placed as the take-off line. The result was a surprisingly usable facility, which also proved good and safe after a critical test jump by me. In the three weeks of training the pupils made considerable progress in their technique, which then showed in the competition. When all the participants had completed every station, there was an award ceremony with sweets as prizes for the winners of each event. In summary, the sports day was very straightforward, about half of the Grade 5 and 6 pupils took part, and everyone had a lot of fun.
The first jumps
On the second-to-last day of school we had our last German club. We held a small quiz on everything we had taught, and a round of “What is __________ in German?”. That way everyone could learn their favourite word in German or translate their name into German. It still impresses us how much the pupils learned in this short time: everyday greetings, days, months, seasons, numbers, colours, facts about Germany and Europe, introducing yourself and lots of other vocabulary. German is the first real foreign language the children encounter in their lives, since English is an official language. It was wonderful how eager and hard-working everyone was to learn a little about far-away Germany and Europe.
So much for our projects.
Little stories
One shocking but also funny story happened during these two months. It all began when we saw a teacher sprinting across the school yard. Then my class teacher also stormed out of the room, saying: “Apparently a baby has fallen into the toilet.” Clara and I could not make much of this statement, so we also headed towards the toilets. The whole school was in uproar. Many teachers and the principal were running around and discussing. The mood was a mixture of disbelief and fear, because nobody knew what happens when a child falls into such a deep pit latrine. After a few minutes, however, it turned out that nothing had happened. A Grade 1 pupil had simply told a teacher in a panic that a “baby” (a kindergarten child) was no longer there and had probably fallen into the toilet. Even though children have vivid imaginations, of course someone had to check whether anything had happened. When relief set in, everyone laughed heartily, and they tested whether the smallest kindergarten child might fit through the toilet seat after all – which it did not.
Another cliché that we really want to debunk is that Lesotho is hot and dry all year round. Of course, when you think of Africa you immediately think of desert, steppe and drought. But Lesotho is a high plateau, which means that in winter – that is, the last few months – it became bitterly cold and dry. We went to the unheated school in thermal underwear almost every day and had a small paraffin heater for our flat. In summer, on the other hand, it is hot and rains almost every afternoon.
Saying goodbye
Then the last day of school before the winter holidays arrived, and with it our farewell. Of course you prepare for this day for a long time – even dread it a little. We had had traditional dresses made in a modern style, and everyone was delighted, as we now looked 100% like Basotho women. We brought cake and snacks for our classes and held a small farewell party in the classroom. Then, at the joint assembly, the whole school said goodbye to us before the children stormed off the school grounds and into the holidays. The principal and individual pupils from our classes and clubs had prepared short thank-you speeches and gave them on behalf of their classmates. They talked about everything they had experienced with us and how lovely it was that we had been there. Even at these kind words tears came to our eyes, and it took great self-control to get through our own thank-you speech before the first tears began to roll – not only ours, but also those of many pupils. It got really bad when we said goodbye personally to the children in our classes. Many girls, and even the oh-so-cool boys, cried as if it were goodbye for ever.
Saying goodbye to the pupils was very sad, but in the end we all managed a smile and were glad that we had got to know each other.
Then came the official farewell party with the teachers, at which we thanked them for the wonderful time and the opportunity to work at Kingsgate Primary School. Together we ate a traditional Lesotho dish with the typically German pasta salad we had brought along. As a wonderful farewell present we received the traditional Basotho blanket and the Basotho hat. Combined with our dresses, our outfits were then complete.
But that was not the end yet, because on Saturday we still had our final training session with the football girls. It had actually been planned as a little party, but the girls were terribly sad that it was now over. In the end, though, we celebrated our time together with music and cake.
During the following week we still had a lot to organise and had to say goodbye to many people outside school whom we had grown fond of. We also went to church one last time in our traditional outfits – this time with a good friend to the “Calvary” church. This church was very young and modern. There were drums and keyboards, solo and group singing and fervent preaching by the pastor. We were also welcomed personally, and the pastor thanked us for our work for at least five minutes and praised the step of coming to Lesotho to help. A prayer circle was also formed around us, people prayed for a healthy and good life for us, and they sang and danced for us. This church experience was very impressive and we will probably never forget it.
Now we have left Lesotho, and what we experienced and are taking with us is hard to put into words.
Our conclusion
It was a wonderful and unique experience to get to know Lesotho so closely and so authentically – to experience what it means to be a Mosotho.
What remains to be said is that the Basotho are the friendliest and most contented people we have ever met. The sincere gratitude and love the children showed us in particular are feelings we will carry with us all our lives. Coming back to Germany from Lesotho makes you aware of the luxury we are able to live in and what huge opportunities every child in Germany has. It is worth going to a materially poor country to realise this, but also to notice how rich the world is in culture and diversity.
Of course, like everything in life, our service also had its ups and downs – wonderful moments and also sad or doubtful ones. Nevertheless, we would always choose again to work and live in unknown but beautiful Lesotho. It will always be our second home and we will definitely come back.
Finally, we would like to thank the companies Wandres, Testo and Halstrup Walcher, who paid for our flights and thus made our stay possible in the first place. Special thanks also go to our sending organisation, “Children of Lesotho e.V.” from Stegen, whose people supported us a great deal. And of course to Kingsgate Primary School, which welcomed us so wonderfully. Last but not least, a huge thank you to our parents and friends, who encouraged and supported us again and again, both beforehand and during our time there.
Thank you also to all of you for reading the blog. It was lovely to see how many people were interested in our project. Our blog was read in more than 16 countries, which makes us realise once again how small the world really is.
If you have not had enough of us yet, we warmly invite you all to our talks in St. Peter and Stegen. (The dates are expected to be 30 September 2018 at 5 pm in St. Peter and 26 September 2018 at 7:30 pm in Stegen.)
Sala hantle, Clara and Hannah