"Work Life"

So a lot of people are asking what it is that I am actually "working" on here in Lesotho. I can tell you that the concept of "work" here is very different than back in America. People here have a very different work ethic which influences the time it takes to get anything done. It takes a VERY long time to accomplish anything so patience is key. I've been mainly working with support groups. At this point I am working with over 8 different support groups throughout the Sebapala Valley. Some are made up of only People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and some are made up of HIV negative people but mainly want to help the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC'S) in their community. At this point I am doing a needs assessment of each group trying to figure out what they do and where they want to go and how I can help them help themselves. This in itself is extremely difficult because the needs are obviously quite great and the groups have no money to reach the goals that they do have. Unfortunately, Lesotho has a "hand-out" mentality ingrained in their culture so it makes it very difficult to re-direct that to starting from nothing (reality) and making it into something. Most groups want to do some type of income generating activity (IGA) to help PLWHA and OVC'S. Right now I'm working on getting the group seeds so they can plant and have a good source of nutrition for PLWHA and OVC'S and to sell the remainder of the crops. One group has started making bracelets and necklaces out of scrap fabrics and materials to sell as IGA. A lot of groups want to do chicken and pig projects for sources of protein and as IGA, but these projects cost a lot of money so I'm trying to have these groups start small so they can reach these goals. I've also done some education of support groups on HIV 101 and Nutrition. It was shocking to realize the lack of facts these groups have on basic HIV/AIDS info. I've also worked a bit with Red Cross on canning and food preservation techniques. But pretty much I've just been trying to meet as many people as possible, trying to figure out how things work, and the culture of my community, and putting people in touch with the proper resources and connections that Lesotho has to offer.