Greetings from Mich and Ang and best wishes for the new year! This morning, we started off our day at the Leratong Community Center which was built by Wittenberg students in past years. We were all amazingly surprised to see how the center continues to grow. We always question the impact that our projects will do and it was so inspiring to see how a past work has flourished and how the community has put so much life into it. An example of this growth is that in 2008 the phrase, "We are all the same," was adopted as the trip's motto and each trip since has sought to embody this as well. On the side of a community center building, they painted these words and also them in Sesotho: Kaofela rea tsoana. That ideal has been rooted in their work and it is shown through the white painted gate. This represents innocence and the director made a point to say that when anytime a child walks through the gate, they are all considered to be equal. She touched our hearts when she said it doesn't matter if they're a boy or girl, how old they are, if they are HIV+, what their home life or even background is. They are all accepted and welcomed. Leratong means love and they truly live out that message.
Seeing how impactful this project was in the community, we were all excited to begin our first project here since we came to Roma. Our task is to build a playground which was expected to take 3-4 days. However, our little group of 16 was so influenced by our morning that the center strengthened our resolve to get our work done. Thanks to the soft ground, teamwork, and determination, we pickaxed and dug all the holes for the foundation to be set. We even were able to cement all the poles into the ground. A usual two days work was accomplished and we all came back to the compound after a long, hard day of work.
Many rested and swam in the pool, but the two of us and Gustavo and Riley adventured with a group of kids from the village to show us dinosaur footprints that have been preserved on the mountain. When we walked outside of the compound's gate, we were greeted by kids that we had just became friends with yesterday. Two girls that had hid behind the wall yesterday and were shy to approach us, joined our hands and we started on our journey. We were amazed at how quickly these children warmup to us and how close one can grow in such a short time. As we walked, even more kids joined our group and we were also stopped by some girls about our age who asked us if we were from Wittenberg. When we replied that we were, they got very excited and the Rosenbergs' words that "we are known here" seemed to set in a little more. After a 20-minute climb, our group of now about a dozen of us reached our destination. The Lesothosaurus' footprints were complimented by an amazing view from the plateau. The kids were so excited that they were able to show us a prized piece of history for their village. For all of you who know Mich, we are sure that you know how wonderful this adventure was for her!
It is very cool to think about how something so long ago has remained and left its mark here. Something so old can still be appreciated. The dinosaur footprints weren't large, but still hold great value to the people in the village. We like to think that just as the footprints and the center are so important to the community, we hope to leave our mark on the relationships and the work that we do in our time here in Lesotho!
Happy New Year and all our love,
Mich and Ang