The Habitat house in Lesotho is finished! And we’re celebrating halfway around the world!

Many people in Lesotho gave it their all to complete this home, built entirely by hand of concrete block and mud.  The project began with Habitat for Humanity, but was interrupted by an attempted coup to oust the prime minister of Lesotho.

The children who will live here — in their newly finished home in Lesotho.

But now, we’ve come full circle.  The house is finished.  The family has a new home. And three deserving children face blue skies and white clouds as they look to the future from their doorstep! It’s a new day!

For more about our travels in Lesotho and South Africa, check out the Page at the top of this blog.  And thanks for stopping by.

Click here for A dream deferred:  Political unrest delays Habitat build in Lesotho.

This shot, taken from a moving bus, shows several stalls near the Kliptown Open Air Museum selling oranges.

In Lesotho, a lady wearing a colorful blanket pauses to eat her orange.

For more entries in the Ailsa’s Travel theme: Bountiful, head to her blog Where’s My Backpack for this week’s bounty.

And to read more about our travels in Lesotho and South Africa, check out the Page at the top of this blog.  Thanks!

Two Lesotho women with blankets wrapped around their waists.

Ask any woman who travels this one question:  What one thing do you love to do when you travel?  And what you’ll hear is almost universal:  SHOPPING!  At least that’s how it was among all the women (including me!) on our recent Habitat Global Village build in Lesotho.  And we knew what we were looking for even before we left the States.  After perusing brochures, newsletters, and pictures of Lesotho, we spotted the one must-have of the trip:  a blanket!  You see, whenever we saw women in the Lesotho pictures, we also saw blankets — wrapped around women’s waists, cuddling infants in blanket slings, and warming up shoulders in cool morning hours.  Plaid, paisley, plain — it didn’t matter.  We just wanted to make sure we had some spare shopping time to bring home a Lesotho blanket.

People walking along the street in Lesotho – some with blankets wrapped around their waists.

On our second morning in Lesotho, though, we heard the news:  the U. S. Embassy had ordered the evacuation of all Americans from the country.  So, we looked mournfully at our Global Village liaisons, asking if there would be any time to shop.  No sooner had we mentioned a possible excursion before evacuating, our hosts manned a bus, taking us into town while the others (men, mostly) waited for evacuation plans to unfold.  As you can guess, there is no direct route to blankets — but the hunt is just as good as the find, if you know what I mean.

Baby swaddled in a blanket on a busy street in Lesotho

We began at Setsoto Design in the village of Teyateyaneng, where ladies sit on the floor (some wrapped in blankets, of course) weaving intricate tapestries.  Following a paper pattern hung almost ceiling height, weavers take the tiny bundles of colored mohair (from angora goats in Maluti Mountains) and move them those bundles in and around and through the vertically positioned strings, replicating the designs on paper.  Nimble fingers.  Fierce concentration.  Long hours of sitting.

Fascinated, we snapped pictures in the open workplace and then headed to the gift shop to purchase lasting memories of true artisans at work in Lesotho. (I told you we love to shop!)

My tapestry from Setsoto Design in Lesotho, woven by Maggie

Next door, an elementary school had spilled its precious children all dressed in uniform into the playground to do what children do best:  play! We were a bit surprised at how the kids gathered ’round, wanting their pictures taken, and then asking us to reveal the photos as they giggled and pointed at themselves on our cameras.

Kim Kreitner (Baltimore) shares her pictures with schoolkids in Lesotho.

And we loved it — later commenting that kids are kids no matter where they live.  Thank goodness for naivete and smiles and unplanned joy.

We passed storefronts selling everything from oranges to pop — kind of like America’s farmers markets or flea markets or newsstands back home.

And saw more women with blankets — this time in real life rather than on the internet.

Colorful blanket serves as sling for baby

But when our guides led us to the general store, we knew we’d hit the jackpot.  Stacks of colorful fabric lined the shelves.  And neatly folded blankets stood knee-high on the floor. And we struck up conversations with salespeople, folks in the check-out lanes and men carrying heavy loads on their heads.

Carrying a heavy load at a general store in Lesotho

We came.  We saw.  We bought.

Blue-patterned wedding shawl from Lesotho

Now back in Tennessee, Bert and I are spending cool fall evenings wrapped in blankets found halfway ’round the world.  Ah, it’s great to be a shopper in Lesotho!

My very own plaid blanket from Lesotho!

(By the way, isn’t this the same blanket the lady in the top picture is wearing?)

For more information:

Habitat for Humanity Lesotho: http://www.habitat.org/where-we-build/lesotho

Setsoto Design Gallery: http://www.setsotodesign.com/

For more of our travels in Lesotho and South Africa, check out the Page at the top of this blog.  Thanks!

Children waiting for a new Habitat house in Lesotho

Don’t ask three children living near Maseru, Lesotho, about an unexpected coup to oust the Prime Minister.  They may not know anything about it.  Or even care.  All they know is that their new house — a sturdy, clean, safe, concrete block and mud house on a pleasant hillside — couldn’t be completed on schedule by a certain 12-member Habitat Global Village team from the U. S. and Canada.  And not only that —  what is a coup anyway?

Waiting for his new house in Lesotho.

It didn’t seem fair, of course.  But then political unrest always seems to hurt those who are innocent and undeserving of upheaval.  On the day our Habitat team arrived in Johannesburg, a military coup was taking shape:  Prime Minister Thomas Thabane fled the country, seeking exile in Ladybrand in Free State, after receiving intelligence that he was the target of a military assassination attempt.  Habitat Global Village coordinators reacted quickly to the news, delaying the border crossing of our team into Lesotho by one day and discussing issues, ramifications, and concerns for the safety of all.  Cautiously, we entered the country, unloaded our packs at Ka Pitseng Guest House, and prepared for the build on the following day.

Ready to build: Hlabathe from Global Village Lesotho assists Kelle Shultz, Knoxville Director of Habitat for Humanity

Gathering onsite, we listened as Mathabo Makuta, National Director of Habitat for Humanity Lesotho, greeted us and welcomed us to her country, praising our commitment and generosity.  Then she spoke of passion, passion for helping her people, the people of Lesotho.

Mathabo Makuta, National Director of Habitat for Humanity Lesotho, addresses the work team from U. S. and Canada.

The task seemed fairly simple to those experienced in global village construction:  Stack concrete blocks, add logs of mud for binding and filler, follow the stone masons’ guidance for alignment and balance, and tap/rake/tap the dirt floor to pack a solid foundation. Secondly, build a pit latrine:  dig, dig, and then dig some more until you can just see over the head of a man standing upright. When both tasks are complete, top the house with corrugated tin and rocks (to form a roof) and line the latrine with block to make it last for years to come.

Working hard was the goal.  After all, most on the team had built with Global Village somewhere in the world before — Guatemala, Nepal, Trinidad, Belfast, Viet Nam.  But no one had ever been to Lesotho, a small land-locked country surrounded on all sides by South Africa.  A country of mountainous terrain with a population of just over two million. And one of the poorest countries in the world (The Citizen, September 1, 2014). Lesotho depends heavily on the income it derives from exporting water and hydroelectric power to South Africa. But even with the benefit of good natural resources, Lesotho has a widespread problem to overcome: over 24% of the population is infected with the HIV/Aids, one of the highest rates in the world.

Current home of family in Lesotho.

And so our thoughts turned to the family, the people we came halfway around the world to serve.  The ones who had high hopes of a completed house the week we were there.

Three children will live there — a girl (16) and two boys (12 and 8) — orphaned since their parents died of Aids years ago.  Caring for them is their faithful grandmother (age 82, blind and unable to walk, thus not pictured) and her brother (age 76) who stayed onsite with us during the build, frequently tearing up as he expressed his gratitude for the work we were doing.

Proud owners of a new Habitat home — soon!

We lined up in front of the family’s current home to meet the grandmother and tell her how grateful we were for the opportunity to build a new home for her family.  Not a one of us could speak afterwards.  Our mouths were dry.  Our hearts were open.  And the resolve was stronger than ever to complete the job.

The children’s uncle — happy to work with us and grateful for a new home.

One day of work, however, was all we had.  The attempted coup prompted the U. S. Embassy to issue a statement mandating the evacuation of all U. S. citizens from the Kingdom of Lesotho.  We were leaving — even though the important work had just begun and lines of communication among the Lesotho workers and our team had strengthened.

Global Village team with community supporters: Lesotho 2014.

We looked back at the house with a sense of pride, knowing we had given it our best even if for only a day.  And also knowing that the work would be completed by community workers, our co-workers. Almost immediately, the Global Village team found refuge for us in nearby Clarens and planned for our safe evacuation.

But we hated to leave. Hated to disappoint the family.

Hopeful that her new Habitat house in Lesotho will be completed soon.

Later in our travels, someone shared the poem “I Am an African” by Wayne Visser, reminding us of our time in Lesotho and a short, very short, build with Habitat for Humanity — a dream deferred.

from I Am an African

When Africa weeps for her children

My cheeks are stained with tears.

When Africa honours her elders

My head is bowed in respect.

When Africa mourns for her victims

My hands are joined in prayer.

When Africa celebrates her triumphs

My feet are alive with dancing.

Wayne Visser

The panoramic view from home to be completed by Habitat for Humanity in Lesotho.

For more information:

Habitat for Humanity Lesotho: http://www.habitat.org/where-we-build/lesotho

Habitat for Humanity Lesotho: Mountain View Newsletter: http://www.hfhl.org.ls/habitat/sites/default/files/HFHL%20JULY%202013.pdf

The Citizen: http://citizen.co.za

Added on October 7, 2014:  This post has a happy ending!  Check out pictures of the finished house in Lesotho.  Click here for Welcome news from Lesotho: Habitat house is complete!