I am advised to leave Lesotho as restrictions on movement grow tighter around the world and the boarders between South Africa and Lesotho start to close. Since last week I have felt increasing surges of panic as I get updates on the coronavirus and the travel situation and try to decide what is best to do. Sometimes I forget about it for hours as I am totally immersed in work, and then an update comes through and I start to panic that I’ll get stuck here, or panic that I am not panicking when the whole world around me seems to be panicking. I am committed to running a training program on Monday and Tuesday so wish to stay, at least for the next few days.
Monday mornings panic is added to by the stresses of running the training course, trying to find flip charts, note pads and pens and suddenly realising that I have no certificates, which is an absolute crisis when running courses here. It’s the minimum people expect, along with free refreshments. Mamokhosi has the refreshments covered while Justice has a friend who sorts the certificates. A volunteer from Australia picks them up from town and drops them off. He only arrived a few days ago and now has to go back to Australia, along with a host of other volunteers who are all making their way back to their own home countries. Everyone is leaving and I’m beginning to feel like I’m last man standing.
I try to stay focused on the course, which is ‘Physiotherapy with children with disabilities. On the first day we will be looking at the physiotherapy exercises and programs the children are doing at Saint Angela and then on the second day looking more at the environment and attitudes and how they affect activities and participation for people with disabilities. The candidates on the course are some staff from Saint Angela, local teachers and volunteers. Amazingly everyone turns up and nearly on time, it’s already a triumph!
After some background talks on physiotherapy and basic conditions, the afternoon session is a practical on the principles of exercise. Everyone gets enthusiastically involved, whatever their shape of size and it’s a riot. Sister is going for the burn with a medicine ball and seems to have incredibly strong biceps for a lady who has spent a lifetime in prayer. The floor football becomes ultra-competitive and social distancing is forgotten. It’s been a good day.
Night is not as good as coronavirus lockdown around the world continues and by morning, I have slept little. I receive a trail of emails from other volunteers and the High Commissioner of Lesotho, who are all making to the boarder. The High Commissioner is going back to the UK and will be working from home. Jon from Wales for Africa thinks he can get me a flight out if I leave in the next few days. I ask him what the implications are if I stay, he says worse case scenario is I might get stuck here for the next 18 months. I can feel the panic bubble rising in me, mixed with a wry smile as I imagine the dust trails left by everyone hot footing it to South Africa.
We start the second day of the training course. Thato gives a talk about the outreach program and what we have done so far, I pick up a message from Jon who has managed to book me a flight on Friday if I want it. I crumble. I am not due to leave Lesotho for another three weeks, and while I don’t mind being here a bit longer, the thought of a whole year is too much. I was due to leave Saint Angela next week and at least have achieved most things here I set out to do. Even if I leave now the trip has been a great success, but it means I won’t be going to Phelisanong children’s centre for the first time in four years.
I press the send button and accept the ticket and turn my attention back to the course. If it had been left to me, I don’t think I would have had to energy or presence of mind to book a flight. Things have been going so well here and I have felt very unclear about what is the best thing to do. Without a crystal ball I can’t see the future and I am grateful for the ILO for making the call.
In the afternoon a couple of the lads come in to share their physio dairies and demonstrate their exercises to the course participants. I am nearly in tears as I read out their introductions at the beginning of their diaries. They are both wheelchair users, Rets, with his tightly twisted legs, wants to be a soldier and protect his country, while Thabelang, who has only just started school at the age of 12, wants to read and be a businessman. Everyone should have dreams and these boys have the determination to achieve them.
We go out for a walk in the grounds using crutches and wheelchairs, trying to scale badly built ramps and make our way over potholed paths. It takes a huge amount of effort even for fit healthy bodies and staff are beginning to have some appreciation what it must be like for the children with their disabilities. We get back and we finish things off with a discussion with the teachers and the importance of education and attitudes. There’s a long way to go in this country when it comes to equality and reducing discrimination for people with disabilities, but the schools are a good place to start.
The last two days I spend seeing as many of the children as possible and trying to pass as much information as I can to Thato. She’s absorbed a huge amount of information in the last few weeks and its amazing her brain hasn’t exploded. I don’t know when I’ll be back, it’s hard to predict the future with the spread of the pandemic, but I am confident the work will carry on. A young lady on the course, Julia, has already been doing voluntary work with the physiotherapy sessions and will be there to continue to support Thato, it would be a huge undertaking for Thato to do it alone.
The final day and we are in a frenzy of physiotherapy programs and assessments. All the students understand why they are doing physiotherapy and busting a gut lifting weights, doing stretches, trying to balance and strengthen their core muscles and filling in their diaries with their achievements. I couldn’t be prouder of them.
I feel the work at Saint Angela has taken a giant step forward with the outreach program taking it into the communities, and the physio diaries getting the children and families more involved and making the work sustainable. Staff training has added to this and increased local contacts and understanding of what is trying to be achieved. Hopefully the work will have a ripple effect and spread out the from the families and communities and help to bring about greater equality and opportunities for children with disabilities in Lesotho. It’s the least these children deserve.
Tomorrow with great sadness I will try and leave here and see whether I can transit Oliver Tambo airport and get back to Heathrow. As always its been an emotional roller coaster ride but totally worthwhile. Of all the scenarios I thought I might face out here coronavirus was not one I had prepared for. The children’s endurance, spirits and smiles of triumph have made all the stress and sleepless nights worthwhile and hopefully I be back again next year to see how they are all getting on.
No comments:
Post a Comment