I spent a month in Africa. 3 weeks of that was in South Africa, mostly around Durban. A week of that was in Lesotho. That was the most amazing week of my life. We rode on horses from South Africa into Lesotho through a pass in the Drakensberg mountain range called Bushman’s Nek. We got stamps on our passport to say we left South Africa, but did not get a stamp to say we had entered Lesotho. Basically we were “nowhere” for a week, and it was amazing. It was like I was in a different world.
We were in a place called Qacha’s Nek, in Lesotho, because a primary school there that had been done up by some British highschool kids had been vandalised and wrecked over the holidays. We (Australian highschool kids) were there to fix it up again and decorate it. Each day we would walk along the road for a couple of kilometres to the school from where we were staying. The views were amazing, and so were the people. It was such a different culture, it was fascinating.
We had to source out a wheelbarrow to borrow from a local, as the school didn’t own one. It took a while, not many people there owned such an expensive commodity as a wheelbarrow. We had brought giant buckets of paint with us, and already many women of the village had pleaded with us to give them the buckets after we had finished with them, as they were very valuable to their way of life.
The kids were beautiful. They just wanted to help us so much. Even though it was their holidays they came to the school every day to try and help us. It got a bit chaotic and paint was flying everywhere so we took in turns to play games with them outside. They were always just so cheerful, no matter what. They were fascinated by our cameras and loved seeing themselves on the little screens.
As well as fixing up the classrooms in the school, we built a fence around an area they could use as a vegetable patch. We also dug a ditch around the netball court that the British people had made so that it didn’t flood in the rainy season. We filled it with rocks so it didn’t deteriorate, and even such a seemingly inane task like collecting stones, the kids took to with fervor. When we had finished the classrooms, we got each child to dip their hand in coloured paint and put a handprint on the wall. We hoped that by getting them so involved in the reparation of their school, they would take more pride in it and be less inclined to vandalise it.
The principal of the primary school’s son, who was our age, was an amazing help. We became quick friends and exchanged addresses. As soon as we were home I printed out my photos and posted it to him. While we were there he helped teach us about Lesotho culture and some of their language. I will never forget him. We ran out of time to finish fixing all the broken glass panes in the windows. Without any previous experience, only what we taught him, he continued to fix the windows after we left.
A few of us got to visit the village chief. We presented him with a gift as we had been told, but the village elder was also there. He had been the first ever student at the school in Qacha’s nek and he just couldn’t believe that 15 teenage girls all the way from Australia would come, using their own money, to his tiny little village in the mountains to fix up the school. He said that the chief didn’t deserve our gift, and from now on he had better make sure that the school was kept in order. It was amazing to see this display of authority in the village, where the elder is actually allowed to chide the chief.
We also rode on horseback down the mountains back into South Africa. That was an amazing experience in itself. We were allowed to go off at intervals, and gallop if we were brave enough. Galloping at the horse’s top speed, down the mountainside, seemingly by myself, was the most exhilarating experience of my life.
The rest of the month in South Africa was amazing too, but that week was the best. I had the most amazing experience I consider myself very lucky to have had the opportunity to do so. If you can travel, and experience anything like I did, DO.
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