Report 2005 - DLN monitoring visit to Lesotho
concerning the project of water tank building with RSDA

Date of visit: Nov. 21st to Dec. 6th 2005

Participants: Treasurer of DLN Karen Steffensen and secretary of DLN Karina Ruby. DLN-member Claus Bo Jensen joined the trip as a self-financing tourist. 

Mode of transport: Air France from Billund via Paris to Johannesburg(return ticket), rented vehicle by Hertz (via AfriCARHire) from Johannesburg to Maseru (return) and around in Lesotho

Expenses:Available from the DLN accounts.

This report is a day-by-day narrative report of the activities during the 2 weeks visit to Lesotho. The monitoring visit is part of the activities outlined in the project description for "Building capacity of small scale farmers through water harvesting and vegetable production" with Rural Selfhelp Development Association (RSDA) and thus included in the project budget.

The visit was primarily dedicated the cooperation with RSDA, but we used the opportunity to visit other DLN partners and individuals in Lesotho for networking purposes. The first week was spent only on RSDA work, and the second week was used to strengthen the network in general in Lesotho and to visit potential project partners.


Monday 21st November

Arrival at Johannesburg International Airport 12:30 am (delayed). Pick up of rental car at Hertz, driving to Maseru, arrival in Maseru at 9:00 pm, accommodating at the TRC guesthouse with the assistance of Mrs. Thulo, the director of RSDA. (TRC = Transformation Resource Centre, a human rights organisation, NGO)


Tuesday 22nd November

We arrived at RSDA office in Maseru in the morning expecting to have a meeting with Mrs. Thulo. Mrs. Thulo gave us a plan for the week of work with RSDA. We handed over the signed "Agreement between DLN and RSDA" to Mrs. Thulo. We learned that there was a change of plans. Today was now planned to be a field visit to the Mafeteng area together with Mr. Mathabe who is a full time manager on the water tank project. Also two animators are employed in the project.
We had to get fuel for our vehicle, and because it was using unleaded petrol (which is not very common in Lesotho) we had to check a couple of gas-stations before we found a usable one. It delayed our departure and we left Maseru at 10:45. Together with manager Mr. Mathaba we went to the village Mathebe about 20 km north-east of Mafeteng. Mathebe is a village of 650 households.

At the farmer Matepiso Nonyana's house we met with the farmer group and inspected the newly constructed water tank. We met 11 farmers from their group of 13 farmers in total. List of the 11 present farmers enclosed (attachment 2). Matepiso Nonyana feeds a household of 10 people. She has a large plot with rape, which they water with water from the tank using a watering can. They would like to get a hosepipe to use for irrigating.
We visited another farmer from the same group in Mathebe, also a female farmer. At her house there was a small old dam to catch the water from the roof. They always had problems of soil and dirt filling up the dam. It has now been replaced with a water tank built by the DLN project. The water is supposed to be used both for irrigating the garden and some chickens at her plot. The farmer group has a lot of chickens in small poultry runs at her plot (koe koe and other races). The 13 members are sharing the work of raising the chickens, and they are sharing the eggs and the meat. Close to this garden we saw the graveyard with several fresh graves. Mr. Mathabe reminded us about the large and current loss of manpower owing to HIV/AIDS.

After Mathebe village we visited a farmer group in the village Thabana Mohlomi, which is situated about 30 km's north west of Mafeteng close the Caledon River and the South African border. First we visited the farmer couple Zakaria and 'Matokelo Ntholeng. They have a newly constructed water tank and some impressive high beds. In the high bed they have 5 different sorts of vegetables that look very good. This farmer group has 21 members and most of them do not have water tanks. They expressed a wish for all of them to get tanks. List of the 21 farmers enclosed (attachment 3).
Then we went to another farmer in Thabana Mohlomi, Mathato Mantsi, high above but close to Caledon River. Here we saw a tank under construction. This tank will be used for garden watering and for drinking water, Mr. Mathaba explained to us. He is now considering how to make a roof for the tank to make the water usable for drinking. He is thinking in the lines of a sort of thatched roof, but he hasn't exactly invented the construction yet. Mathato Mantsi is a farmer without any vegetable production now, they have livestock only. They are planning to landscape a garden and start growing vegetables as a supplement to their meat production. As we visited the site they we active building the tank. We saw the cart that they use for transporting the sand from the river to the site, and the homemade sieve they use to sift the sand. Since the village is situated high above the river, it is hard work for oxen to pull the cart with sand from the river to the village. Probably not all farmers will be able to collect sand for a water tank.

On the way back we again made a stop at Mr. Zakaria Ntholeng's house to eat a bowl of motoho (porridge). We also stopped to see a rondavel under construction by some women of the village. Their intention is to use the rondavel for tourism purposes. Women of the farmer group want to use it to produce and sell handicrafts, and maybe tourists could be accommodated in the rondavel. Next to Thabana Mohlomi is a mountain with a cave, which is said to have san paintings on the wall. An interesting story connects to the cave, something about a snake living there and a light at night time. We got a copy of a written story about some san people leaving the cave and the area some 60-70 years ago, maybe a real historical document.
In Tsita's Nek (15 km north of Mafeteng) we saw the RSDA compound with Mr. Mathaba's office. There is a room usually used for holding workshops, which is now used as a storeroom for cement, pipes and other materials for the water tanks. Another small room is now used for workshops and meetings. Late afternoon we were back in Maseru. All in all we saw 3 completed tanks and one under construction, all funded through DLN.


Wednesday 23rd November

Meeting with RSDA secretariat at RSDA office in Maseru 9:00 am. We met with director Mrs. Thulo, the administrator/accountant Mrs. Lelimo, and a few other programme staff. Mainly we discussed with the director and the accountant.

Discussion about the project:
Now: Mrs. Thulo explained to us that now RSDA is doing construction work and workshops on farming methods and water harvesting. It is now beginning of summer and time to work the fields, and the farmers are motivated for learning about planting etc. Off-season the farmers will attend workshops on leadership and group management.
Tanks: 116 farmers are listed for water tanks; all 116 have collected sand and stones. We asked Mrs. Thulo for a list of the 116 farmers; we got a list of the 36 farmers with completed tanks (attachment 4). RSDA concentrates on one village at a time, because it makes it easier and cheaper when it comes to transport of building materials. RSDA is trying to make a survey to find out: What do the farmers use the water for? Should there be roofs on the tanks? What kind of roof? In some villages it will be important to cover the tanks, because they will use the water for drinking, (if the water post is far away). Ministry of Conservation recommends roof on tanks, and RSDA consider contacting them for details on design of roof.
Obstacles met: Not all materials for tanks can be delivered on time. Some suppliers are slow; they had to wait for a long time for pipes to be delivered. They seem to be up to date now anyway in terms of constructing tanks. The price of cement has gone up from R 38,- per bag to R 49,-.Delivery/transport of cement has gone up, diesel/petrol has gone up. A challenge is all the farmers out there who want to be part of the project. The amount of funding only allows RSDA to take a certain number of them. Only farmers who have collected sand and stones will be taken into consideration. RSDA would like to be able to provide training for all farmers who might be interested; they could then pay a fee to attend training.
Training: After training a group of farmers the animators go out every month to see if the trained people are passing on their knowledge to other people in their village. At workshops RSDA provide lunch (sandwich) and transport refund (from farmer's home to RSDA office). Taxi-prices are stable, they have not gone up because government controls the prices and taxi-owners are subsidised.
Drip irrigation: RSDA wants to make demonstrations plots; 2 in the Mafeteng area by two farmers, and 2 in Phamong by a farmer and at the RSDA office. Drip irrigation is planned to be implemented this summer, the kit will be there in January.
Maintenance: We express concerns about the maintenance of the water tanks and gutters in the future. Mrs. Thulo promises that the animators who teach in workshops are asked to put emphasis on gutters. In their workshops a day is dedicated to water harvesting, and they will put focus on cleaning and maintenance of gutters.

Discussion about budget and accounting:
The accountant of RSDA drew our attention to the fact that there is a discrepancy of M 9.458,14 between the amount sent from DLN and the amount received by RSDA. Could it be the amount of money that goes to transfer fees and loss by changing from DKK via US$ to Maloti? Or has some money disappeared during the transferring of money from DLN to RSDA? We discussed what to do and how to find out, what happened to the money. We will ask our bank and our auditor in Denmark about it. The RSDA accountant will find or get a statement from their bank in Lesotho of the transfer action.

Discussion about reporting:
We agreed that RSDA is to send a quarterly report to DLN. The narrative report can be of max. 3 pages and with a format of following parts/headlines:
- Planned activities for the quarter
- Achievements of the quarter
- Challenges met
- Corrective actions done and planned
Revised plan for coming quarter to be attached.
The accounting report was agreed to be like the report RSDA makes for another donor.

Discussion about life for NGOs in general
Mrs. Thulo shared with us her opinion and impression of the situation for NGOs in Lesotho now. She said it has become more difficult to seek funding after many of the international agencies left Lesotho. It was easier when a potential donor had an office in Lesotho, where you could go and physically meet the staff. Now your contacts get limited, and only the larger NGOs with good communication facilities (email, fax etc.) are able to reach a donor.

We decided to meet the following week to have a last talk about our monitoring visit and the project.

We left the RSDA office at about 1 pm. After lunch we went into town to buy starter packages and air time for our cell phones. We started calling different people to make appointments for networking meetings the following week. Karen went to the internet café to make some email communication with the DLN board in Denmark.


Thursday 24th November

In the morning we went to the RSDA office to pick up two cooler boxes with food for our two-day trip to Phamong, and we left Maseru at 9:15 am. We drove south to the RSDA office in Tsita's Nek, where we paid a short visit to a workshop taking place in the small room next to Mr. Mathaba's office. There were 24 participants in the workshop learning about permaculture and propagation methods.
After the workshop visit we went together with Mr. Mathaba down south to Phamong, east of Mohale's Hoek about 3 - 3½ hours drive from Tsita's Nek (4 - 4½ hours from Maseru). We arrived at the RSDA office in Phamong (Shalane) at about 3 pm where we met some few remaining participants of a workshop that had taken place. Mrs. Mohale, one of the animators in Phamong area gave us some lunch that was left from the workshop. Only 6-7 farmers had attended the workshop because the rest were busy working their fields.

After lunch we were guided around on the RSDA compound by Mrs. Mohale to see their beds of vegetables and the poultry runs. Then we went for a 2-hours walk with Mrs. Mohale, up the mountain behind RSDA compound to admire the great view from up there. We were surprised to see some arable fields on the top, and later we passed a village that is working with RSDA. A woman showed us her vigorous garden and her 5 years old water tank. It was a very impressive garden with many different vegetables.

Mrs. Mohale went home and we were left alone to stay over night in the RSDA office and guest house. We found it a very charming house with good facilities, a good place to stay.


Friday 25th November

Mrs. Mohale came to meet us at 7:30 in the morning. She gave us a plan for today's field visits in the Phamong area, an ambitious one including 7 villages (probably not possible to make in one day - attachment 5). We left RSDA compound at 8:00 to drive to the village Makhabane (situated between RSDA compound and Phamong village).

At Makhabane village we met 10 members from a farmer group of 15 households in total. A household feed 2-15 people, the average is 7-8 people. We met them at the house of farmer Letlamoreng Lehloenya. He and one other farmer have got water tanks, the 2 oldest members of the group, not funded by DLN but some years ago by a German donor. They tell us that the others also want tanks; the group is very focused on water tanks. It is for them not enough to get workshops on farming methods. They expect to increase their production of vegetables and to have more types of vegetables if they get tanks. Mrs. Mohale tells us that none of them are planned to get tanks from the DLN project. They are supposed to attend a workshop later this year.
The farmer couple Letlamoreng and Mankhasi Lehloenya are full time farmers, hard-working and ambitious farmers. They got the water tank in 2000 (5 years ago), and they would like one more. They have already collected sand and stones for another tank. Besides from the roof he also collects water from a spring 300 meters away using a hosepipe. He tells us that before the tank he used to be self-sufficient about 3 months a year, and since he got the tank he is self-sufficient about 7 month a year. He used to have a nursery, and with more water he would like to make it again. Now he is selling beans. He also has a field of 11 hectares next to Senqu River, and he wants a pump to get water up to the field. They all say they need seeds, they have to get them from Mohale's Hoek. Only from spinach and onions they collect seeds themselves. List of the 15 farmers in the group enclosed (attachment 6).

From Makhabane village we drove further east to a point where the road ended. We left the car, put on hiking boots and walked the rest of the way down to Kheleli village. Here we met a group of female farmers working in their communal garden. In the village there are 6 water tanks funded some years ago by the Germans. The water is used for watering chickens, livestock and vegetables bed by the houses. Most of the houses have thatched roofs and it is not relevant to think of more water tanks. They also say it is too difficult to collect sand from the river because it is far away. Donkeys would die if they should carry sand from the river to the village. They have a dam next to the garden, and they water with buckets and watering cans. They want a pump or at least to improve the dam by paving the bottom of it with cement. The dam gets filled up with soil, and the women are too old to keep up with maintenance. They complain of lack of manpower. They also have problems of pests and lack of security fence around the garden (to stop livestock from eating the vegetables). RSDA wants to help them improve the dam. With DLN assistance?
We were treated with a bowl of motoho (porridge) before we left the village.

After Kheleli village we made a short stop near Makhabane village, and then we went on to Ralekone village, eating our packed lunch on the way. Near Makhabane we saw a farmer with a large and nice garden irrigated with water from a German funded tank. We were treated with soft drink and bread. In Ralekone we saw a nice garden and the school, which is also cooperating with RSDA. There are only old metal water tanks at the school, no plans to make stone tanks. The school is growing vegetables in their garden to use for food for the students. They are using farming methods introduced by RSDA. After this visit it was about 4:00 pm and we ended the work of the day.
We realised that there are no water tanks in the Phamong area built by the DLN project, and no tanks are planned to be built in the area. We asked ourselves what the purpose of going on a field trip to Phamong could be? Why did RSDA send us down to Phamong when the DLN project is not supposed to include this area except for some workshops?

We drove to Bethel to Ivan's place, Bethel Business and Community Development Centre (BBCDC). It is a large compound with green plants and lush vegetation like an oasis in the desert. Ivan is committed to the ideas of permaculture and sustainable and environmentally friendly use of energy. We stayed there overnight and drove back to Maseru the following day, Saturday 26th November.


Sunday 27th November

Karen visited Berea Agricultural Group (BAG). She found the chairperson Mrs. Molly Letela at home, and the treasurer Mrs. Justina Raseeke joined them later. At the moment Berea Agricultural Group has no funding and no staff is employed, thus the activity level is low. However BAG still holds monthly meetings at different member schools. More individual farmers and farmer groups have become members. We visited Tsetsana Primary School, near Sefikeng to look at the water tank that was build in 2000 by BAG. We did not meet any teachers, but tank and gutters looked well maintained and water came out of the tap. Good to see that it is still working.


Monday 28th November

At 10:00 pm we had a meeting with the journalist and editor of the newspaper Mopheme, Mr. Lawrence Keketso. He interviewed us about Denmark Lesotho Network and our visit to Lesotho. The result was an article in next week's newspaper, no 34 of 2005, enclosed (attachment 7). He informed us on his view upon the media situation in Lesotho right now. He said that more often the media nowadays are direct and aggressive when it comes to reporting about politics and politicians. Unfortunately it results in a lot of cases where the media is taken to court, and they mostly loose the case and have to pay damages. It is very expensive for the newspapers and can be a threat to their survival. Most newspapers are putting more hot spot news and short stories in their weekly edition, and they seem to be selling well. For a more analytical paper like Mopheme it is hard times, but Mr. Lawrence Keketso wants to keep his paper analytical.
We paid him the R 1000,- that DLN has owed him since last year, the payment for writing an article to our newsletter.

After the meeting with Mr. Lawrence Keketso we went to pay a short visit to Lesotho Society of Mentally Handicapped Persons (LSMHP). Karina used to work with them when she stayed in Lesotho with MS, and the purpose of the visit was partly networking and partly private interest. The new coordinator, Mrs. Motsamai, informed us about the situation and the activities of the organisation now. There are only two paid staff members now, her self and a programme manager, Mrs. Mafumane Makhele. They still keep up with many activities, and the ordinary members have become more active in helping the small secretariat. The Norwegian donor NFU extended their funding for another year or two, which keeps LSMHP alive.

After lunch we went to see Lesotho Child Counseling Unit (LCCU) in Mazenod about 15 km south of Maseru. LCCU submitted a proposal to DLN last year seeking funding for vegetable production and for holding workshops in communities. We wanted to pay them a visit to get an impression of the organisation and their work. We had tried to make an appointment for a meeting, but the director Mrs. Lydia Muso was out of town for some days and therefore we could not talk to her. We decided just to drop in anyway when we had time, at least to get an impression of the place.
Mrs. Lydia Muso was not there but an American Peace Corps volunteer, Diane, showed us the place and found time to talk to us. LCCU is a short term emergency shelter. LCCU is growing and they need more space. Children are taken in from the street for a temporary stay to get training on basic life skills, and when possible they are helped to get back to their relatives or their village. Unfortunately there are many street kids with a need to be taken care of. The present premises consisting of Mrs. Muso's own house and a container is not enough space. Therefore the most urgent project for LCCU is to get a new house.
They have got a piece of land on the road to the airport, and they are preparing for building a new house. They could use some more funding for construction of the house. Diane showed us the drawings for the new house, which is designed to accommodate the special needs that the children have for feeling safety and confidence. She told us that a Danish lady in Ladybrand (South Africa, about 20 km form Maseru) would skip furniture and bed linen to Lesotho for the new house.
Diane thinks that maybe the proposal for vegetable production would not be relevant anymore. LCCU got at big funding from the Kellogg's Foundation, and they have a monthly Swedish donor for food. More needed is to raise funds for a new shelter. No salaries are paid to any staff so far. The construction costs of the new house will be about R 200.000. Some parts of the construction are funded already. Also funds for holding workshops are still needed. Right now they have no money for workshops.
We thanked Diane for spending time with us, and about 5:00 pm we went back to Maseru.


Tuesday 29th November

In the afternoon at 3:00 pm we had a meeting at Coop-College with representatives of some NGOs. The umbrella organisation LCN (Lesotho Council of NGOs) held their yearly NGO-week at Coop-College, and the director Mr. Motsamai had arranged the meeting for us. We would like to meet with some of the small NGOs in Lesotho to inform them about DLN and to hear from them, how life for NGOs in Lesotho is right now.
We met with 11 persons representing 8 different NGOs. List of participants enclosed (attachment 8). In general they said that NGOs are struggling to survive, they have no money. A problem is that no donors want to fund salaries for staff, only project implementation. They all find it difficult for NGOs to get funding, because most of the international development agencies that are still present in Lesotho only work with government and not with NGOs.
Lesotho Youth Federation (LYFE), represented by Mr. Mosala Moket…., says they have been struggling since MS left Lesotho.
Boseele Association, represented by Mr. Oscar Makhoroane, says they have been struggling since MS left, they have no money to pay people and no money for transport. It is difficult to produce food because they don't have money to hire a tractor and make big scale farming.
Lesotho National Council of Women, represented by Mrs. Maseepheephe Matete, says they need funds for preschool playgrounds.
Hlokomela Bana, represented by Mrs. Nkhabu Mofomobe, says they have to focus on Maseru because they lack funding for transport. They would like to work all over the country (helping the poor, children in need with food, medicine).
K.T.B.Ass. (Khatha Tema Baitsukuli Association, an association of street vendors), represented by Mr. Tsolo Lebitsa, have difficulties to get funding because they have no office and no telephone. How can they communicate with potential donors? They would like to have an office to have a place to train people and to have a telephone. They want to produce vegetables themselves instead of buying from farmers. They want to grow and sell what people ask for, not only what farmers grow.
LCN, represented by Mrs. Thandiwe Solwandle, asks us whether we think NGOs should shift their focus since donors seem to disappear. Should they stick to core activities or streamline the NGOs?


Wednesday 30th November

At 9:00 am we had a meeting with Mrs. Thulo at RSDA office in Maseru. We discussed the financial issues and our monitoring visit up till now. The purpose of the meeting was to evaluate our visit and to brainstorm on how to make it even better next time.

Financial issues: When RSDA found out that money from the transfer between DLN and RSDA were missing, they asked their bank about the discrepancy. The bank told RSDA to wait for the bank statement at month end to come. RSDA received the bank statement during the first week of October, and they again noticed the discrepancy. At that time RSDA did nothing, they wanted to wait for us to come to Lesotho. Exchange rate and commission charge could eat some money, but could it be M 9458,14? We found out that it is most likely that the amount of DKK is changed to US$ because there is no agreement between Denmark and Lesotho about exchange rates. We should have asked to transfer the money into SAR instead of Maloti. Maybe many conversions have eaten the money; we will try to find out from the bank in Denmark. RSDA was asked to give us the bank statement for November, but they did not manage to get it from the bank before our departure from Lesotho.

Monitoring visit, field trips: Mrs. Thulo explaines to us that a list of 116 farmers to get water tanks will be finalised and given to us before our departure next Tuesday. There are no water tanks planned in the Phamong area because a German project with many tanks have been completed there. The need for tanks is not that big in Phamong, there is a larger need for tanks in Mafeteng. There will be held some training workshops in Phamong; the first training on permaculture has been done. Present status of the project:
- 36 water tanks completed (we got a list of names)
- 29 water tanks under construction
- 58 farmers trained in water harvesting, permaculture and permakitchen
- 22 masons trained in Mafeteng
Photo of map in RSDA office: red marked villages are RSDA-villages (farmer groups), the blue marks are water tank villages. They are selected to be the ones who have no or only one water tank.

We pointed out that we did not really see the purpose of going to Phamong when the DLN project is not going to fund water tanks there. We also expressed our surprise to realise this late, that water tanks are only going to be built in Mafeteng area and no tanks in Phamong area. If RSDA decided to change the project, we think we should have been informed. We do not disagree; we find it all right to build the water tanks in the Mafeteng area and to provide the training both in the Mafeteng and the Phamong area. We should have been informed about it, and RSDA needs to rewrite the project description to make it clear that water tanks will only be built in Mafeteng area.

To learn from this: We need to be better at making the purpose of our visit to Lesotho clear. We need to express clearly and more in details what we want to see (DLN water tanks), when we come to Lesotho for a monitoring visit. RSDA needs to tell DLN about changes in the project, so that we can follow the development of the project and prepare ourselves better for the monitoring work. We had a nice trip to Phamong, and we saw many beautiful water tanks and gardens, and we got an overview of RSDA activities, which was interesting. It would have been more relevant for monitoring the DLN project though, if we had spent the time looking at DLN water tanks or planned tanks.
We would have liked to make more photo evidence of houses and gardens before the water tanks and after the water tanks. We did not really see any farmers who have not yet a tank, but who will get one. We agreed that RSDA will make photos of some of the houses and gardens before constructing the tanks. We can then make photos of the same houses and gardens after the tanks at our next monitoring visit.
We agree that the first quarterly report from RSDA to DLN needs to be a bit more detailed than usual to explain the changes of the project.

We left RSDA office at 10:30 with the appointment of a goodbye-saying Tuesday morning before our leaving Maseru to travel back to Denmark.

After the meeting with RSDA Karen went to the internet café to follow up the communication from last week with the ex. committee members back home in Denmark. She tried to get in contact with DLN's auditor to ask what more we could do about the missing money. We did not manage to get any further with the issue, while we were in Lesotho.
Karina and Claus went to LSMHP again to visit the organisation, while they were doing activities with the group of young mentally disabled people. She met with the programme manager Mafumane Makhele and the former programme officer and now volunteer Tankiso Phori. They were informed about DLN, and they told us about the activities going on at LSMHP nowadays. They still do weekly activities with the youth group (still many of the same young people as 2-3 years ago); it seems to be a very stable programme. Despite of less funding and a cut of paid staff from 6 to 2 LSMHP seems to be keeping the core activities going. The mission and the goal is still the same, and they have increased their cooperation with Department of Social Welfare.

During lunch time we met with Christian Olsen, who is working as a financial advisor with Ministry of Finance. He is employed by EU under the EU Embassy in Maseru, and he is based in MoF. He shared with us his interpretation of the financial situation in Lesotho and some of the obstacles for further development within that area. Compared to 3 years ago we got the impression, that some development has taken place in terms of collection of taxes and putting focus on corruption. There is room for improvements though.


Thursday 1st December

In the morning we had an appointment at Beautiful Gate, a children's home in Maseru, at 9:00 am. The purpose of the visit was for us to get an impression of the institution to see whether it could eventually be a future partner for DLN. It was also to do two DLN-members a favour in line of monitoring. Malene and Klaus Brask Nielsen have collected some money in Denmark and sent them to Beautiful Gate as funding for new premises. We wanted to go and see what their money had been used for.
Ray Haakinson met with us and told us all about the history of the institution, and the work they do. Sue and Ray Haakinson are missionaries from South Africa and Zimbabwe, and they have been in Lesotho for more than 10 years. In 1997 they got aware that abandoned children/babies ended up in the hospital, and they were not really taken care of. Sue and Ray Haakinson got permission to go into the hospital and take care of the babies. They soon realised that the hospital was not a good place for the babies unless they were very ill, and they got permission to take some babies home to take care of them there. In 2001 they got rooms by Save the Children (in Maseru station area), and they employed 7 ladies to take care of 7 babies.
Now they have a rented house in Ha Thetsane, and they have 25 children and 28 staff members to look after them. They pay the staff local salaries, money comes from donations, and they are always looking for funds and donations. The Chinese factories in the area give R 1000,- per month, a positive surprise. 80% of the funding comes from private and church donations. Unicef funds specific things since 2004, but it is difficult to get funding for salaries. They use mainly private funds for salaries.
Beautiful Gate is a temporary place for children until adoption. Up to now 103 children have been through B.G. Up to now there were 42 adoptions, others went back to their families, and 14 children has died. Only one of the 103 children has a disability. 20 babies have turned from being HIV-positive to being HIV-negative. It is probably a matter of babies having antibodies from the mother at birth and turning negative later. HIV-positive children at B.G. get antiretroviral from the Clinton Foundation.
They have developed adoption criteria with Department of Social Welfare; few years ago Lesotho had no adoption criteria. Social Welfare does all the adoption procedures. The law says that only someone who lives in Lesotho can adopt a child, because Social Welfare cannot make follow up if they live abroad. Most abandoned children are found in Maseru, in the mountain areas they find dead children.
They have got a large piece of land in Ha Thetsane, and they have started building a new big centre. There will be room for 50 children, a chapel and multipurpose house, a clinic, a training centre with accommodation for 25 people and a preschool. Malene and Klaus Brask Nielsen's donation has been spent for building baby-houses. We went down to the new plot to see the construction work and the half-completed houses. It looks very good.

We left Beautiful Gate at 11:00 am with the impression of a very well organised and well working institution.

During lunch we had a meeting with Dr. Tumelo Tsikoane at the National University of Lesotho (NUL) in Roma. The purpose of the meeting was networking. We both know Dr. Tsikoane from our time with Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke in Lesotho, since he was a member and chairperson of the Policy Advisory Board for MS Southern Africa. His field of work at the university is development studies, and his huge knowledge and interest in the development of Lesotho could be useful for DLN. Besides of our partner organisations it is also useful for DLN to have an individual as a contact person in Lesotho. He has been briefed about DLN on a regular basis since the founding of the organisation, and he receives our newsletter, so he was already well informed about our activities.
We informed him about the status of DLN and how we work within DLN (that we are solely volunteers, have limited time for DLN work, that we are committed and that we hope to extend our networking activities). We discussed the possibilities of Dr. Tsikoane being a contact person, whom we could ask for assistance in the monitoring of some smaller projects or in between our monitoring visits to Lesotho if needed. He is a very busy person but he is willing to assist us, and he took the initiative to sign up as a member of DLN.

In the afternoon we went to see Mr. Chaplin and his running club Chaplin Athletics Development Club (CADC). The purpose of the meeting was networking and examination of their present situation. CADC has submitted a proposal to DLN seeking funding for running shoes and running clothes. DLN has not managed to find funding for CADC, and we wanted to explain our lack of success to Mr. Chaplin.
We had not had a chance to make an appointment in advance so we just drove to his house in Ha Tsosane and hoped to find him. We found his son, who told us to find him at the training court behind the police station at Khubetsoana/Ha Tsosane. When we arrived at the training court we found only some few young athletes, but after a short time Mr. Chaplin arrived being very surprised to see us. Karina knows him and some of his athletes from her staying in Lesotho.
He told us that he has a very strong team this year. The best female runner, Lechela, is very fit and expected to perform well this year. Other young talents are being trained with the expectation of being able to become very good. He has a contract with Adidas for sponsoring shoes to the 15 best runners. Most of the other athletes do not have any running shoes and run bare-footed. He also has Modise Transport (a lorry contractor business) as sponsor for their transport to attend competitions in Lesotho and neighbouring countries. Mr. Chaplin seemed to be very optimistic about the coming year.
We left CADC about 5:00 pm. It was our last work activity for DLN.


Friday 2nd - Monday 5th December

Holiday: A hiking tour in the mountains east of Mapoteng to Senqunyane River; climbing up the Mosalemane Pass, hiking to Ha Mothakathi, and coming down to Liotloaneng. We went together with Joseph Thaba from the newly started tour agency Raboshabane. Some informal talks about networking possibilities took place (tourism, updating of DLN website, pottery etc.).


Tuesday 6th December

Leaving Maseru in the morning. Before departure we met with Mrs. Thulo who presented us with a tapestry for the wall in the "DLN office". It is a large full coloured tapestry picturing rondavels, mountains and the inscription: DLN - RSDA APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT

We arrived at 4:45 pm in Johannesburg Int. Airport, returned the vehicle to Hertz and checked in. At 6:00 pm we met with Mrs. Palesa Mohasoa-Senkhane, a former administrator at the MS office in Maseru. She stays and works in Pretoria now and came to the airport to meet us. She has also been briefed about DLN since the beginning and shows an interest in the organisation. We informed her about our work, the project with RSDA and our monitoring visit. She told us that she has a soft spot in her heart for Denmark and what is Danish, and she was happy to meet with some Danes again. After about one hour we had to say goodbye and go to the gate to catch our plane back to Europe.


Reporter: Karina Ruby
December 2005