Members, Trade and a Guest

In addition to visits to our remaining districts these past several months to meet with our KKM members, ongoing meetings of the Economic Justice Network have continued on the topic of trade agreements awaiting approval by countries interfacing with the European Union, including Lesotho.

by TMS Letela, KKM Network Coordinator

Those agreements are to be signed by the end of December and, though it appears our neighbour South Africa will request time for further consultation, it seems Lesotho delegates are prepared to sign even though concern has been expressed from stakeholders that insufficient consultation and evaluation has taken place.

Otherwise we have been blessed in many ways by the visit of Pam Roeth from our partner presbytery in Los Angeles, California. Pam arrived in early October and has not only accompanied us on a number of our travels but also came prepared to teach us and work with us on developing a brochure for the Network. She has also helped put together ideas for a logo which will be presented at our upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM), along with the new brochure.

The value of Companionship

Though her skills and ideas have been such an asset to us, what has touched us even more is her interest in coming to Lesotho to learn more about us and to share in our work and our lives. That, and knowing that our presbytery partners pray for us and show their concern for us during difficult times, is of great value to us and we are grateful for them.

Celebrating with other JH Partners

Another highlight was joining with our neighbouring South African Network members to celebrate their official Network Launch in October. With two representatives from their partner presbytery and Pam from ours, the PC(USA) was well represented. It was also good to meet others from Joining Hands which helps broaden our own exposure and provides opportunity for sharing between us.

Upcoming Network Assembly

The second weekend of December is our AGM, a time when member representatives from each active district come together to be informed about the events and activities of this past year, to consider and plan the direction and involvements in the year to come, and elect new Executive Committee members to represent them for this term. We would welcome your prayers as we continue to refocus our efforts and draw together in unity and strength, seeking God’s wisdom and guidance along the way.

Christmas Blessings

Finally, on behalf of our office and Network members, may the coming Christmas season be a blessed one for you and your families as we welcome and remember the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ into this world and His great love for all people. We pray as well for the year to come, that our God will lead each of us in His way as we long, like Him, for a world reflecting His justice, grace, mercy and peace.

As a member of Joining Hands partner presbytery, Los Ranchos, in California Pamela Roeth went on a first visit to Lesotho with the delegation from her presbytery in April 2006. Wanting a more in-depth exposure, she returned this year for a two month stay which she has just completed. In this Newsletter she shares about her experiences.

Lumela bo 'M'e, bo Ntate! (Greetings Ladies, Gentlemen!)

I would like to begin by saying that the most valuable thing I learned from this experience is the importance of sharing ourselves, our time, with each other. I came because, after the brief visit in 2006, something was pulling me to come back for a more meaning-filled connection.

Farm rehab Center

A few days after my arrival, we went to visit a person familiar to me from our previous visit. ‘M’e Mali has semi-retired from the Ministry of Local Government and is building a home and rehab center up on the Berea Plateau, near Maseru.

The center is being designed for a person to stay for up to 48 hours and will offer reflexology, massage, nutrition education, some blood testing, etc. She is also growing herbs, fruit trees and vegetables for the use of the patients. Her dreams becoming reality are really inspiring.

Fuel from waste

The next day Cindy and I visited an HIV/Aids clinic and care center near ‘M’e Mali’s where one of the Joining Hands members, Ntate Ramatsella, is the head agriculturalist, using strictly organic methods.They even gather human and animal waste to create methane gas, then used for

cooking and to provide nutrient-rich water for the plants. They grow enough food and raise enough animals to provide the food (everything except salt, sugar and oil) for 25 patients plus staff, and still have extra left over to sell.

The best part is that the patients are trained to work the farm and several, whose families expected them to die there, have returned home strong and productive. The farm will also send home seedlings, vegetables and chicks with the patients so they can start up their own farm. Ramatsella will provide follow-up visits at their home to ensure they are following the methods correctly.

Reliance on utilities

The practicalities of life here can be a challenge. Doing laundry is not an easy task in the best of circumstances. The washing machine must be pulled over to the sink, the water hose fastened tightly with a clamp to the faucet and the drain hose placed in the sink. Somehow still water seems to end up going everywhere. On one Sunday, the water was shut off without warning. The electricity also went off for a period of time. Since our laundry plans had been thwarted, we were deciding what to do with our day when a neighbor called to invite us to lunch at a restaurant in Maseru. We ended up stuffing ourselves from the buffet, came home and went for a long walk, stopping in to see a couple of Cindy’s friends along the way. So, while the laundry did not get done, it was a beautiful day spent with good friends. And on Monday, watching a neighbor outside washing her family’s clothes by hand, we were thankful to have a washing machine, leaky hoses and all.

EU Trade Agreement

The third week in October was the UN’s World Food Week and I attended a couple of meetings related to the issues of food in Lesotho. One was a meeting of local organizations addressing Economic Justice, specifically a trade agreement with the EU that is due to be signed December 31. The people who will be affected the most here did not learn about this agreement until recently. They are struggling to discover the exact terms of the agreement, how it will affect them, and how to communicate their concerns to the Lesotho government. At these meetings I also saw how the Basotho are trying to change their own attitudes. It is very easy to blame the government for making decisions without regard to local opinion. But they are trying to stress that it is also the responsibility of the people to make their opinions and concerns known to the government.

A Visit to Joining Hands Partners of SMI, South Africa

The end of October, Cindy and I traveled with Letela, the Lesotho Kopano ke Matla Network Coordinator, to the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.

As Cindy is the South Africa temporary Companion Facilitator, we were there to meet with the South Africa network and attend their launching ceremony.

It was very interesting to see how another Joining Hands network is working and also to visit a bit with two members of their partner presbytery from Cleveland.

Conservation Agriculture

The day after we got back from South Africa, we headed off to the highlands of Lesotho to meet with a man who is teaching and doing Conservation Agriculture (CA). A South African, he has been a missionary in Tebellong (elev. 5600’) for about 15 years and has a church there. About six years ago, inspired by the Bible, he began conservation farming as a solution to help alleviate hunger in that area.

The thought is essentially that you do not gouge up the earth by plowing, etc., but treat it gently and allow God’s nature to do its job. The roots of plants (and weeds) prevent erosion, provide channels for moisture to get down into the earth and promote worms that make more channels. After several years of this method, weeding is not even necessary because the earth is so healthy and fertile. When a crop is harvested, the part not taken is left on and in the ground, not pulled up or turned under. The next crop is planted on the rows in between the previous one.

One of his trained farmers (a woman!) has been using his method for six years and has sold part of her maize crop, grown during last season’s drought, to the World Food Program. His belief is that, if all farmers would use this method, there is plenty of land available to grow enough food to feed the people of Lesotho and then some. But the farmers must stand up to ridicule by their neighbors for the first few years and it is very hard work at first.

Meeting with Network Members

In November, I went with Letela and Hopolang (the administrative assistant) to Thaba Tseka (elev. 7550’) for a meeting with network members from that area. The seven hour drive up there was absolutely stunning. There is no possible way for my camera to capture the beauty of Lesotho.It was really informative to be able to sit in on one of these meetings. It was conducted in Sesotho, but Hopolang was a good translator for me. The questions asked by the members, and Letela’s responses, helped me to understand the Joining Hands program better and how it is perceived by the members here. We took a different road home, spending the first three hours traversing only 50 miles of very bumpy dirt road. Not a good route for people who are fearful of mountain roads without guardrails, and one I would definitely not want to be on in the rain.

So, the beginning weeks of my stay in Lesotho were very filled. I saw projects and met people who bring hope to Lesotho. And I heard and saw some pretty sad things. Children who are not wanted by anyone, even by their own mothers. Animals dying because last year’s drought has not provided them enough food and water. It is also Spring here so I’ve seen newborn lambs, colts, calves, and ducklings. And there is not a baby animal on earth that is not too cute. I am continually reminded of the gifts we are each given and that the little things some of us have to offer are just as important as the so-called major contributions some are able make. And that listening and establishing relationships is critical to the well-being of us all.

A Horseback Ride

Cindy and I also took a few days at the end of November to get away. We went up into the highlands of Lesotho to Semonkong Lodge, which is close to a 186-meter waterfall. Lesotho is known for its pony trekking, which is horseback riding into rural areas. So onto the horses we hopped, for a five-hour ride into the mountains and to see the waterfall. It was wonderful! We passed through small communities inaccessible by car, rode alongside the donkeys carrying loads of grain home, saw farmers plowing fields with oxen, and had lunch on the side of a mountain. While we sat there, we enjoyed watching the lightening and claps of thunder all around us – until the rains came. We found shelter for a bit in a sheep shearing shed and watched the sheep being shorn with non-electric shears (like yard shears). The rain let up and we headed back to the lodge, pretty well soaked and chilled. Although our rooms sometimes lost electricity, the sheets were clean and the blankets were warm – all I cared about at that point – and they provide candles. It was a beautiful drive up and back and, luckily for us, the saddle soreness and stiff joints didn’t set in ‘til we were home.

Farewell

On my final day in Lesotho, the Kopano ke Matla staff took me to lunch and presented me with a traditional Lesotho blanket. I was stunned. Letela informed me that I have now been “Mosothofied.” I was having trouble understanding what I had done to deserve such an extravagant and thought-filled gift, but Cindy is helping me to know that all I have done to “deserve” it is to be here. To be present. To care enough to come.

It will take a while for me to process all that I’ve observed and experienced in Lesotho. I am just extremely grateful to God for calling me to do this, and to my church for providing me with the means and opportunity to come here.

I look forward to sharing lots of stories and pictures. And I hope that others will be encouraged to try a similar mission themselves. Giving of our time is such an easy gift to give and one of the most precious gifts we have to share.

Salang hantle (stay well),

An update from Los Ranchos JH

by Betty Thompson,

In its November meeting, the Los Ranchos Joining Hands Committee approved the “Publish What You Pay” (PWYP) overture which was initiated out of the Chicago presbytery and is now to go to the General Assembly. This is as a result of the active participation in PWYP of their partner network Relufa (Cameroon), which is involved in advocacy on behalf of Cameroonian communities negatively impacted by an oil pipeline which runs through Cameroon. A partner of the Lesotho Network involved in dams and water projects has taken an interest in joining this movement which seeks open and honest disclosure for the well being of the people of the country of Lesotho.

As Valery Nodem, Relufa’s Coordinator explains, PWYP currently focuses on extractive industries, i.e. oil, mining and gas, though dams are included at the global level. While forestry and fisheries are being considered, there has been no consensus to include these for now.

In addition to the decision to endorse the PWYP overture, the Los Ranchos JH Team has in recent meetings discussed concepts of “accompaniment” and “advocacy” to begin to get a common understanding of what they mean and how they can be lived out on both the Lesotho and USA sides. This is something to be further explored with the Lesotho representatives when they are here for the Conference in July 2008.