Dear friends of Children of Lesotho,
In the last few weeks I have already experienced a lot and, above all, discovered an incredible number of new things. On the one hand that is of course really interesting, on the other hand it is sometimes almost too much. The first two or three weeks in particular were really tough, because everything was simply so overwhelming. Living alone on the school grounds was a big adjustment that brings a lot of homesickness and time to think, which I still struggle with now and then.
On top of that come all the other adjustments that a foreign country, and Lesotho in particular, brings with it: from the houses, driving on the left and the language to the fact that I get an enormous amount of attention here because of the colour of my skin.
Since being here I have also become very aware of the privileges I had – and will have again – in Germany: whether it is the washing machine, drinking water from the tap, the educational opportunities or the safety of walking around alone after dark.
But of course I have also had a huge number of wonderful experiences, mainly with the pupils and teachers at the school. The teachers welcomed me with incredible warmth, and after the “getting to know each other” phase everyone, including me, opened up considerably. Even now the teachers always look out for my well-being, go on trips with me and are always there for me when I need something.
At first it was a little difficult to find my role at the school, as there had been no volunteers here since 2020 and the school is such a well-functioning system. The children met me with openness but above all with curiosity, as children do, and in that way they made it really easy for me to feel welcome.
In general I was surprised by the good standard and the way teaching is done here, as it hardly differs from what I know from Germany. Of course the school does not have exactly the same resources as German schools, and the classes are much larger, but both pupils and teachers make the best of it. You can also tell that the children like going to school and that most of them really appreciate having this opportunity.
By now, though, I have found my place at the school quite well. During lessons I am mainly in the Grade 5 and 6 English classes and occasionally take a lesson myself. After school I run a kind of English tutoring class for pupils from Grades 4 and 5. As there were no lessons at all for more than a year during the lockdown, the children have some quite big gaps and therefore struggle to keep up. Next, I am planning to offer afternoon care as well, as many of the children have to wait a long time for their school buses or for their parents because of long working hours.
My daily life has slowly settled down, whether it is running the household or washing my clothes by hand. I would say I have almost properly settled in, although there are of course still many hurdles to overcome – learning the local language, for example. And there are days when things do not go quite so smoothly. Overall, though, I really feel at home here and am very much looking forward to the coming year.
Yours, Leah
