Tuition Assistance Program

Last year I became a co-chair of the Tuition Assistance Program. This committee, under Peace Corps Lesotho, works with the home based organization of Friends of Lesotho. Friends of Lesotho is comprised of several people stateside, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers or those who have worked in Lesotho in the past, who still remain vital, active members in the development of Lesotho. This post is to explain TAP and FOL’s purpose in aiding to the education sector of development in Lesotho.

Our senior team

Education in Lesotho has been one of the major fronts of development that the Peace Corps community has been addressing. Unlike the states, the government of Lesotho provides only some of the schooling for students. Children get no monetary support from the government for pre-school or kindergarten (actually I believe in the states, pre-school is also not provided for). The government does start funding children at Standard 1, or 1st Grade. They are paid for in full (with food for lunch) from Standard 1 until Standard 7. However funding for students cease upon graduation of Standard 7.

Although most schools have no electricity, no running water, little to no visual aids, and are essentially concrete cubes, the students perform vibrantly. They are taught English starting in Standard 5 and gain some form of fluency by the time they enter High School. The government unfortunately does not pay for students starting at Form A (8th Grade). This means that parents or guardians must save money for their students if they want them to enter high school. At my school the high school fees are R 1350 or approximately $130 USD for the entire year. This however does not include book fees or exam fees, which are similarly comparable.

Working hard

This may not sound like much for parents or guardians to handle, but in a country where 75% of the population is unemployed and most rural villagers get food from subsistence farming rather than through economic means, mustering the R 1350 to send just one of their many children into “higher” education can take its toll on the family. For those students who are double orphans (both parents deceased) the government does pay for the students in full as long as birth and death certificates can be materialized. Therefore the most at risk students who have the most difficulty paying are those who are single orphans, and whose living guardian isn’t working.

That is where TAP, or the Tuition Assistance Program, comes in with its support from Friends of Lesotho. The main premise as to further the education of the citizens in developing countries is that those who become educated will then in turn bring about further development in their own country. Education is the tool that trains a system to be self-serving. The true purpose to volunteering and development is to have that country become self-reliant. TAP and FOL hope to achieve that by funding the brightest, yet neediest of the students in the many schools in Lesotho.

Our most important meeting

The Peace Corps Volunteers in Lesotho work directly in the schools and gain insight and develop personal relationships within the school. We learn to see which students try the hardest, which ones are excelling with little to no parental support, which ones just need a little more help to become the tools for the future. Each volunteer who wishes to have their school participate in TAP scholarships submits up to 5 students chosen by the volunteer and the volunteer’s community. These students must not be a school member’s child (meaning a school member has a well paid job in order to pay for their child), must not have any other scholarship (for example: government double orphan scholarship known as manpower), and must be in the top third of the class (to statistically assess which student scholarships may allow more students to enter tertiary schooling).

These students then write compositions, which are used to judge their English skills and used to thank the sponsors that provide FOL with funding. The process is a simple one, with plenty of people benefiting.

Some students who applied 

Last year 30 schools participated with 290 students given half scholarship. Friends of Lesotho donated over $17,000 USD. This year 37 high schools in Lesotho applied. 71 students were awarded full scholarship while 46 students were awarded half. Approximately $10,600 USD was awarded and distributed giving the 117 students incentive to stay in school longer. The amount of funding is directly related to how much support is generated to FOL from America and other organizations. These students often receive food, life skills education (HIV/AIDS prevention), and invaluable mentorship. These students are encouraged to continue working hard to keep up their marks and we predict great things to amount from them.

Let's keep these kids in school

Without TAP and the support from FOL, these students may have been dismissed from their education. If you are interested in supporting FOL in its TAP endeavors next year please check out their website:

http://www.friendsoflesotho.org

 

What's Going on Year 2

The first year of Peace Corps is essentially a learning and observing experience. Most people say that no real, substantial and sustainable development can happen on the grassroots level until one has at least been in village for a year. I would have to say from my experience that this is unquestionably true.

In my first year I fumbled through a slew of projects that I more or less forced on my school and community. This year I have taken a more relaxed (Basotho style) approach and waited for people to approach me to aid in their own development. That is how the HIV Soccer Tournament was started and executed as elaborated in my previous post.

Happily tested

This year we have a few projects that have started, and or are currently in progress. In this blog post I will elaborate on some of the smaller projects, and in future posts I will dedicate larger projects their own post.

1. Libraries

2. Borehole (Clean Water Project)

3. Chicken Coop

4. Write-On Competition

5. Condoms on my Desk

1. Libraries

Last August we submitted two applications to the African Library Project from the High School and the Primary School. Unfortunately due to bureaucratic issues, the High School application was lost and only the Primary School was provided over 1000 gently used school books. Fortunately the Primary School and the High School have a very good relationship, and the Primary School offered half its supply of books to the High School as long as the following year the High School would return the favor.

Excited to read

The Primary School decided to make 10 separate classroom libraries while the high school has decided to create one large school library. So far the Primary School has completed their individual libraries and have started effectively using and sharing the books. The kids are very thankful, as before they had fewer than 5 books per class (50 kids) to share. It has been shown that schools in Lesotho with libraries generally perform better in their English exams, and we hope to see that trend in Fobane.

Carrying the books from the PS

In the High School we have been a bit delayed as we have been waiting for our contractor to build shelves. Students and Teachers have been helping with organizing the books into categories based on difficulty, and we predict that shelves will be complete in August along with our new staff room.

Helpful Organizers

The minister from our village allowed me to get the books in his car and his driver drove me back personally to my village almost 3 hours away. Private Rides are phenomenal. I forgot how great it was to use AC, or plug in your iPhone to listen to music, or have heated seats! But I am still fine with public transport now that I have downloaded Pokemon Platinum on my phone.

2. Borehole

Our school periodically goes through droughts. Among the many volunteers who have visited me, my village may be in 1st place for the dustiest and sandiest village. We are always bombarded with dust storms and mini twisters here, the other day my chewing gum was quite gritty. Because we have over 500 students, our taps run dry and students are often fainting due to dehydration (Although they may argue with me that it is the devil, to which I respond that I am a Satanist and they just giggle but simultaneously keep their distance). 

How it was dug

Our issues do not come from unsanitary water; they come from having no water. Therefore our community and school raised over 30,000 Rand ($3000) to dig another tap and raise a 2000L water tank.

Just installed

This was also to make sure our school gardens can be properly irrigated so our food costs will go down, and our agriculture exam scores can be improved through hands on training.

Now we can grow food

Lots of food. Beans and cabbage

It was started two months ago, but is now complete and ready to go. Funny enough the main individual helping the school with the Borehole project was a local Indian man. My students were convinced he had to be American and my brother. What’s nice is that my students and community here see me as American first before they jump to my skin tone and then say I am a different kind of American because I look like and Indian.

Refreshing...

3. Chicken Coop

In February my counterpart (we worked together on the library) asked for my help to manage a chicken coop. The purpose was to raise almost 60 chickens and sell them by Easter to raise money for student funds for double orphans who cannot seem to get government funding. Double Orphans are those who have lost two parents, and if the student can prove their status, (with legal documents such as death certificates and birth certificates) they can receive full government sponsorship through high school. Unfortunately that process can be quite difficult, even with the School’s help, therefore our community saw a need to seek aid elsewhere. Primary School is free up until Standard 7 (7th grade) but the rest is about 1350 Rand per year ($135). This can be quite difficult even for students with working parents. The chicken coop ended up have 5 chickens die, but still made a large enough profit to help 3 students and still have enough money to start another chicken coop in August. It was a very ingenious and simple Income Generating Activity with a lot of future potential and provided families with a very fresh and healthy protein source.

Synergy

4. Write-On Competition

In February I gave information on an initiative from our Ministry of Education about a creative writing competition to the school English teachers in the Primary and High School. The teachers and students loved the idea. Creativity is not exactly encouraged here. Basotho culture has a very strong emphasis on equality, and forces its students to wear school uniforms that way students who cannot afford proper clothing do not feel any worse for coming from a poorer family. In addition, because school performance for students is often lower than desired, (passing is 45% and yet we still only have a 10% pass rate in Maths and Science) time is not allocated for nonessential studies such as Art and Life Skills. This competition gave students a 1- hour period to write on an assigned creative topic and encouraged them to not focus on grammar or structure, but about ideas. While most students could not reorient their trained English skills to this new style of competition, there were some students that shined through. Out of almost 400 students who competed at the High School, in the district we had 9 district winners and 1 national winner. At the Primary School we had 2 district winners and 1 national winner (only 2 classes competed). Each student received certificates and the national winners compositions were shared over the Internet. Check out the link. 

http://www.writeonlesothoblog.wordpress.com/

Primary School Girls who won

My favorite composition was our national winner in the high school student who wrote about the world’s most important invention. He discussed the importance of Tar road, and how a tar road can help connect the country better by reducing travel time and reducing the use of petrol. What was great about his essay was that it was truly from the perspective of a village child, who wrote what they have observed in the world as most important. While we in America may say the Internet, or individuality as our culture’s most important invention, this student revealed what we may indeed take for granted.

Our High School winners 

5. Condoms on my Desk

Without asking for permission, I decided this year to always be fully stocked with Condoms. This may not be the best Peace Corps approach to HIV/AIDS prevention, but I banked on the fact that I have a perfect friendly relationship with almost all my co-workers. Whenever I go into town I grab a bunch of free condoms from the Hotel Bathrooms (I could get the free ones from my village clinic but it is more about the thrill of stealing free condoms; I can’t stop). They are always chaotically spread on my desk, but for some reason almost every two weeks I need to restock.

My teachers all ask why I have condoms, and ask if I am promoting sex to which I respond in Sesotho (people love it if you speak Sesotho) that I want people to love each other regardless if its students or teachers. Also I usually through a racy sex joke while doing it, and therefore dodge any opposition. What’s great is that the staff room isn’t so busy, or my desk isn’t always monitored so people who want/need condoms for safe sex know where it is, and take a few discreetly. Everyone thinks it is very funny, but when I tell them how many condoms I have gone through they all understand its importance, but just eye the pile from a safe distance.

These are some smaller projects that I have been working on and with my community. The next blog post will discuss the following items which are probably some larger, perhaps more impacting projects.

6. Tuition Assistance Program

7. Solar for Breakfast

8. Literary Life Skills Magazine

9. Peace Corps Volunteer Replacements

   
   It's time for a replacement...I'm getting too local...