Impressions from a trip to Lesotho October 2011

by Karen Bæk Andersen

What should I choose to write about?

About the red and ocher-colored earth - about boys who practiced speaking English with us - the women who spun the wool over bicycle rims - or something else?

I choose to write about "Project water collection tanks", which we saw up in Teyateyaneng, popularly called T.Y. Water tanks are not such green plastic water barrels from Silvan for up to 200 litres of water. No, they are walled up with stone and mortar with space for 30,000 liters of water, probably. There is plenty of stone throughout the landscape. Water tanks are built in connection with public schools, so that it is possible to irrigate school gardens in the dry season. After boiling. the collected water will be used for drinking and cooking, so that school children should not sit in school and be hungry and thirsty. In Lesotho, it rains mostly in summer months, and there can be months between rain, unlike in Denmark, where it rains more evenly throughout the year.

 

Molly, 81 years, was the woman who had been active in the selection of the three schools that should have been equipped with these tanks. Molly herself had several water collection points, that were empty now in the early summer. Molly's garden was a story in itself. It abounded with flowers, trees and vegetables on a relatively small patch of soil. Under the peach trees were carrots and beetroot. Herbs and flowers mingled in the most beautiful way. Poppies bloomed in all sorts of reds and yellows. In the middle of the courtyard stood a couple of orange trees. A boy was set to pick us fresh oranges.

Molly had several helpers for the gardening, and she herself had a chair to sit on when she planted and weeded. Molly showed us her garden with pride, and was further inspired by our obvious interest.

She said that shortly she will be visited by a delegation from South Africa who works with environment and sustainability.

A very uplifting story. THANKS.