Why do people go into politics? I think that some do so for the "right" reasons; to contribute to society, to serve people, to act as a responsible leader. I know the elections are in full swing back home - and I won't pretend to be sorry on missing the media frenzy that you're all enduring - and I'm reminded of the differences between politics in the US versus Lesotho. For the most part, I loathed politicians at home. I was disgusted with the political process, the schmoozing, the lies and the insane amounts of money wasted both in campaigning and in the US budget. And not to be unclear, I still hold those convictions. But seeing the way things "work" here has given me perspective on what truly corrupt practices are. Being involved in politics means having power and making tons of money. Not with everyone, of course. I'm not pigeonholing all the ministers and I don't want to sit here and bash the Lesotho Government - or, rather I should say that I probably shouldn't play that game. What I would like to describe is the frustration, not for me, but for the Basotho who live here and are constantly set back by changing or inadequate government policies and programs.

I'm incredibly fortunate to work with an amazing set of nurses at Fatima Clinic in Ramabanta. They are driven, compassionate, and they are honest and open with people in a country where the word "sex" still makes many uncomfortable. One of the challenges Lesotho faces is a "brain drain;" those people who do attain a certain level of education in medicine, engineering, teaching, etc. often move to South Africa to work where the money is much better. But my nurses have stuck around. 'Me Malineo, the head nurse clinician, told me that she hasn't left for greener pastures because she wants to work with her people, to help her country. The money isn't great, the health infrastructure is, at times, laughable, and problems are numerous. But she's here, requesting a peace corps volunteer to bring more programs and resources to the clinic and community. All the nurses work their butts off - they're on call 24/7 for deliveries and emergencies, they take care of book keeping, drug orders, and all the duties with our hospital in Roma, an hour's taxi ride away.

Three weeks ago, the government announced free health care across Lesotho. The government clinics have always been much cheaper than private clinics like Fatima but also busier, more understaffed and more likely to run out of supplies. If people can manage - and if they live in an area where they actually have an option - they go to the private clinics. At Fatima, nurses to everything in their power to make sure that anyone who comes in gets the treatment and drugs they need, even if they can't afford to pay the minimal fees. And those who could afford it helped to pay for drugs, supplies, etc that the clinic uses. Yet this new mandate changes everything. And I know that the intention was to make health care more accessible to those who live in extreme poverty. But to make this work, to keep things from falling apart, the logical thing to do would be to first set up the infrastructure to supply clinics with money, drugs, and additional staff to handle the mandate before instating it. Get things running smoothly and then take away fees for consultations and drugs. Build extra staff housing, organize doctor's visits, trouble shoot, talk to nurses working in remote ares... It didn't go this way. Three weeks and drugs haven't come in, money hasn't come through, we haven't had a doctor visit in over 6 weeks, and the number of patients per day has tripled. People are coming in when nothing is wrong just to take advantage of free health care because they think it's temporary (and I can't really blame them for assuming it'll all fall apart). It's insane. There's three nurses at Fatima, two on duty each day, and one woman working in front as receptionist/pharmacist/trouble shooter. That's the entire clinic staff. Now they're seeing 50 plus patients per day and doing VCT (voluntary testing and counseling for HIV) not to mention working all hours during deliveries several times per month.

Would I stick it out? Would you? Keep on trudging along when the system keeps setting you back, when you could make more money to support your family and send your children to better schools? Of course there's a brain drain. Corruption is one thing - and it's rampant - but negligence and inadequacy is another. The small frustration is that there so many NGO's and volunteer organizations here, so many aid programs offered by embassies, a disgusting amount of money that comes in every year in monetary foreign aid alone, and all their efforts can be set back with just one policy like this. Peace Corps has been in Lesotho for over 40 years - it's one of the oldest posts in the history of the organization - and how many PCV's projects could have made a substantial impact if not for larger forces working against them? The much greater sense of injustice lies with the Basotho who, instead of being represented by their government, are the true victims of poorly constructed/executed policy decisions instead of its benefactors.


~~~~~

I feel the need to lighten the mood a bit after such a heavy (and depressing) topic. Here's a few stories that have made me laugh in the past few weeks - not because they're all that strange or unusual, but the opposite; these things don't phase me any more, don't cause me to stop and say: "WTF?" If there's one motto that I believe to be true, it's that every reaction to any experience boils down to this: you laugh or you cry.

*running out of gas in a taxi in downtown maseru
*an 8 year old girl wheel barrowing a crate of beer through the street
*having women touch my breasts as a way to show closeness or affection (the same way we would touch an arm or shoulder at home)
*men holding hands (straight men)
*getting out of a kombi and walking up a steep hill since the car doesn't have the power to make it with passengers
*enjoying wearing a skirt
*waking up to the sound of donkeys
*being excited about hearing bad american pop on the radio (versus the other options here)
*pretending to be married