We are driving through the highlands to Paray mission hospital in Thaba Tseka, set in the heart of Lesotho. Past the traditional grass thatched huts, the small cattle stations where the herd boys stay while guarding their flocks and ever onwards to the distant folding mountains.
I am going to meet a legend, Wolfgang Fasser, also know as Ntate Thuso, a blind physio from Switzerland who has been coming to Lesotho since 1981. Over the last 40 years he’s been on a mission to spread the word about how desperately the people here need physiotherapy and how few physiotherapists there are, especially in the highlands of Lesotho. You can’t train to be a physiotherapist in Lesotho and the handful of professional physiotherapists there are tend to be based around the government hospitals in Maseru.
Undeterred Wolfgang decided to set up a training program for physiotherapy assistants at Pary hospital and went on to inspire the building of a physio centre there. He comes to Lesotho once a year for around two months to run courses for hospital based workers to train as physiotherapy assistants. The training is focused around the basics of physiotherapy exercises as Wolfgang says “movement is life” and he uses these principles to treat neurological conditions like stroke and respiratory problems like TB.
“Wolfgang what brought you to Lesotho?” I ask as we chat on my arrival. I’m thinking that being a blind physio is surely difficult enough without deciding to to come to Lesotho with all its health and infrastructure challenges, poverty and cultural differences. “I had a dream to come to Africa” he smiles serenely. Well, I know that feeling but I’m not sure it would have been top of my list of things to do if I’d been blind, Wolfgang, though, “see’s” things differently.
I read further about him using online articles. A genetic condition called Retinitis pigmentosa robbed him of his sight as a young man in his twenties, but its heightened an extraordinary ability empathize with the patients he treats. “It is not my goal to live like someone who can see, I want to be just how I am,” he states in the article. I observe from our first meeting he is definitely a man who is comfortable in his own skin, assured in his abilities as a therapist and passionate in his mission to bring the benefits of physiotherapy to Lesotho, particularly those living in poverty in the remote highlands.
When he first came to Lesotho only two of the 18 hospitals in the country had physiotherapists. Now with his training and persistence 16 hospitals have at least a physiotherapy assistant, some even a physiotherapy room. He has also tried to initiate a training school and program to train as a fully qualified physiotherapist in Lesotho, but has yet to be realized due to lack of support from the minister of health.
Wolfgang says there is no political will to support a physiotherapy school in Lesotho or increase physiotherapy professionals at the hospitals. If government ministers want physiotherapy they go privately or call the army physio. Among the upper echelons there is no empathy for the physiotherapy needs of those living in poverty. He also thinks the nursing profession are not supportive of such a move because of the possibility of losing some of their budget to providing physiotherapy to the wider population.
Wolfgang believes that persistence will finally win through by training from the grassroots up. He sets about the task in hand with today’s new intake of students. He encourages us all into the exercise room to stretch after our long journeys. His voice is calm and lilt’s in a sing songy way with his German accent and we take off our shoes and follow him into the spacious room. The white net curtains gently billow in the breeze from the open windows. It all feels very Zen until I lie on the concrete floor with a rough carpet which does nothing to soften its hardness. I think I could do with a yoga mat but only a bright coloured cotton cloth is available to lie on.
Wolfgang assures us its much better to lie on a concrete floor because it allows us to feel our body better, the man definitely has a sense of humour. Even though he’s 68 he is a lot more flexible than the young candidates in front of him who are 30/40 years younger. I’m getting close to 62 and not so far behind Wolfgang’s ability. There are lots of stretches lying on the floor with opposing limbs across the mid line, very useful for neurological conditions, mixed in with some yoga postures.
All is going well until we are sitting crossed legged on the floor and Wolfgang stretches out his arms in front of his chest and casually goes straight into a standing position. We all try and follow his example but remain stuck to the floor. None of us can do it. Wolfgang says its a matter of brain gymnastics and we need to visualize the movement, but it doesn’t to help me. Clearly my brain gymnasium is not very fit and Wolfgang is a man of many talents. I can’t wait to learn more from him the next day.
Morning starts with prayers, a song which everyone joins in and effortlessly harmonizes, before we launch into more gymnastics on the concrete floor and some serious grunting and painted expressions. We then cover the theory and practicals of basics physiotherapy with stroke patients and peripheral joint mobilizations, before limping back to the hotel.
The following day I am already at the physio centre when Wolfgang arrives taping his folding white cane in front of him, his head crowned by a splendid red beret. It used to be black he tells me, but had to be changed after after living in Italy where black berets are associated with fascists. Inside the physio centre he prefers to slide his hand along the the wall to feel his way to the exercise room. After our morning exercises more teaching and practicals follow, Wolfgang demonstrating and guiding us through the techniques in his calm and thorough manner.
I give a couple of talks on paediatrics physio and in the two and a half days a wide range of subjects covered. Its a lot of material for the physio assistants to absorb, but they have to be generalists. There is not the luxury of resources to afford specialism here, however armed with some basics these physio assistants skills can make a huge difference to patients .
After the final session on Saturday I drive back over the mountains to Maseru with Ntseliseng and Wolfgang in tow. What he has achieved in Lesotho is remarkable, even before considering he’s blind, but he has never let that define his life or his ambitions. I drop him off in Maseru, he’s been summoned to treat a member of the royal family. He steps out of the car, places his red beret on his head and follows his calling, rich or poor are all treated equally. He’s already come a long way to achieving his goals and whatever challenges the future holds I don’t doubt his courage, dedication and indomitable spirit will overcome the obstacles that lie ahead.
