Me again! So, I have less than three months left in my Peace Corps service, and I’ve decided to call out all of you who promised to send me packages. Time to pay up.
The Semonkong Youth Center is barren. There’s a big room with a pool table, the felt of which looks like the surface of the moon (a dirty, oddly reddish-brown colored moon), and that’s it. No board games. No sports equipment. Not even a deck of cards. A few herdboys hang out in there during the winter, mostly to get out of the cold. There’s NOTHING TO DO there.
To be fair, the Semonkong Youth Center is currently closed, not that I could see any discernable difference between “closed” and “open.” The Center was officially closed by the Ministry of Youth and Recreation back in March, after an adjoining computer/business skills classroom was robbed by friends of the guy who had the only key to the room. Since meeting with the Director of Youth last month, I have been working with local principals and teachers to rebuild the Center’s leadership staff in anticipation of officially reopening in January 2011. In the meantime, we need to get stuff. Lots and lots of stuff. We can get the most dynamic youth leaders imaginable, but the kids still won’t come if there’s nothing to do.
Here’s where you come in. Instead of going out and buying snacks and books and whatnot to send to me (like you PROMISED), go through your basement, garage, attic, closets, roommates’ closets, and glove compartment and throw a bunch of stuff into a box. What kinds of stuff? All kinds of stuff. Want some examples? Here you go:
-Board games, especially the ones that little kids have outgrown, even if you have to cut the board into pieces and send the game in a ziplock bag.
-Playing cards and card games.
-DVDs and VHS tapes, for when one of the kids steals a TV from the neighboring village (kidding, kidding, we just borrow it).
-Any sports equipment, from balls (inflatable, please!) to jump-ropes to ping-pong paddles. And on that note, a ball pump or two would be useful.
-Sneakers, any condition, for boys or girls or men or women, anything smaller than a men’s 10 (Basotho generally have small feet).
-Sports bras! They don’t exist here. Ladies! Send a sports bra or two, and make some high school girls much, much more comfortable; it’s bad enough that during “Athletics” they have to run laps in skirts, sweaters, and dress shoes.
-Broken Crayons- Teachers! Parents! People who like to color! You know all of those little end stubs of crayons that you throw out when your fingers start cramping? Save them! Collect them from other teachers and parents! Put them all in a ziplock bag and put it in the box! We peel off the paper and melt all the little bits in metal ice cube trays, making these really nifty multi-colored “stained glass” crayon blocks. You should try it too, but send me a bag of them first. Oh, and any and all other art supplies will be greatly appreciated as well!
-Books! Books! Books! Anything! The Center has a small “library” in a locked storage room, but I plan on emptying it by the end of October. After nearly two years collecting dust, these books are going out into the schools and the communities, where they belong. Many of these books will never be returned to the Center, and that’s the idea; this way, the community becomes the library. Send books, any level, any subject. Please, please, please send books!
Those are just a few ideas and suggestions. And the best part of the whole deal is that you don’t have to buy a thing! In fact, I’d rather you didn’t buy anything. I’m not asking for charity- I’m asking for a morally and economically imperative reapportionment of existing and available material resources! You have stuff that you’re not using and don’t need, stuff that could and would be used and enjoyed by dozens, possibly hundreds of children and teenagers from the Semonkong area. Pack a bunch of it in a box, take it to the post office, and cough up the $50 postage to ship it off to poor kids in Africa.
Send the boxes to my address, below. Even if some of them don’t get here before I leave (packages generally take 3-5 weeks to get here from the States), they will be taken care of by another local volunteer. So get on it!
Khotso Foulo
PO Box 100
Semonkong, 120
LESOTHO
SOUTHERN AFRICA (for good measure)
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Gimme some lovin!
So, many of you have said that you want to send me a package, and asked what I want. As it is, I have pretty much everything that I need, though every once in a while I get a craving for something that I can’t get here. More than anything, I just want fun stuff. Surprise me! Without further ado, here’s my wish list:
Food Stuffs:
Cheese-Its (reduced fat)
Wheat Thins (reduced fat)
Pop Tarts (do they actually make them without frosting, or was the last box I got a fluke? I like the no frosting ones. The regular ones give waaaay too intense a sugar rush. Though you can send them anyway, I can trade them for a wide range of goods and services.)
Fruit Snacks (the bags of little gummy things- I like the organic/real fruit ones. Come to think of it, bonus points for a bag of organic gummy bears!)
Trail Mix (anything delicious!)
Granola Bars (I really like the crunchy Hidden Valley ones)
Frosted Mini Wheats (I’m currently rationing the crumbs from the bottom of my last box. Think about that the next time you walk down the cereal aisle. Any cereals will be greatly appreciated!)
Instant Mashed Potatoes (a bowl of cheesy mashed potatoes can turn the worst day into a win)
Hot Sauce (Frank’s, Cholula, or anything habanero, chipotle, or nifty)
Spices (chipotle, or any good Mexican mix specifically)
Dried black beans (can’t get them here!) or kidney beans (cans are no fun to take on the bus)
Beef or turkey jerky
Coffee!!!!!!! (a bag of Starbucks or Kona gets you a postcard!)
Canned chicken or roast beef (I know it sounds gross, and I never would have touched it back home, but here it can make my life worth living for one more day)
Oreos (for bribes- you’d be amazed at what most PCVs would do for an American oreo)
Trader Joes Stuff:
Seriously, TJs needs to open a store in Lesotho. The volunteers and other expats here alone would keep it in business.
Peanut butter filled pretzels (no salt)
Chili pineapple or mango
Plain dried pineapple, mango, bananas, apples, etc….
Good dark chocolate (dear god, please!)
I especially like Trader Joes surprises!
Other Stuff:
Hand sanitizer (you have no idea how much I need this! You think the kids in American schools are filthy?)
Movies and music (throw a bunch on some CDs/DVDs for me, I need new music and movies! Desperately!)
DVDs/VHS (anything you have lying around the house and never watch- even burned/recorded stuff- will go in the PCV library, and you will be a hero to many)
Photos/pictures/letters/anything to go on my walls and remind me of home
Stickers
Magazines
World Maps (for my classrooms; furthermore, any kind of educational posters will be put to very good use)
Q-tips (the ones you can get locally are no good, especially in the face of the types of deposits that grow in my ears here)
Incense (I like vanilla or cloves; it helps to mask the smell of cow/donkey/chicken/pig shit perpetually drifting in through my windows)
X-Acto knife blades
Chalk (the stuff here crumbles instantly)
Flintstones vitamins (with extra vitamin C)
Bonus: Anyone with access to a running store that sells Gizmo brand socks (for example, Village Runner in Henderson) can become my favoritest person in the whole wide world. I don’t really care about colors/patterns (older designs are often on clearance), and my shoe size is 11 (I think that’s a large). All of my good socks are developing gaping holes faster than I can sew them. A couple of new pairs will make me happy in ways that you can’t possibly imagine.
That’s about it. Anyone who sends me a package will be handsomely rewarded in some fashion or another.
In unrelated news, I’m doing really well here. Having officially separated myself from the Lesotho College of Education, I’m now based permanently in Semonkong, and much happier for it. I have two primary schools that are my main focus; I’m currently trying to set up pen pals (still need American teachers for partners!), and have turned the dusty, unused books at the local youth center into a mobile library, getting the books out to five local primary schools and rotating every 2 or 3 months (ideally; even if the rotation system breaks down, at least the books are out at the schools and being used by the kids, as opposed to sitting in locked cabinets). I’m teaching a life skills/ guidance class one day a week at Semonkong High School for Form A, B, and C students (equivalent to 8th, 9th, and 10th grades in the States), and will soon be starting a remodel of the school library. I’m also in the process of developing the more or less defunct teacher resource center in town, which will also serve as a collection site for a town-wide can and paper recycling program that I’m developing with one of my schools, which will hopefully help raise some money for instructional materials. Plans for the near future include teaching a general fitness class at the youth center (starts next week) and a tree planting campaign to begin in October, possibly at several sites across the country (if the people at the Ministries with which I’m working can pull it together). And as soon as I finish the application, we’ll be starting to raise money to replace a roof and build a new classroom at a local school (if you’re interested with helping me to fundraise at your school/work, let me know, I’d really appreciate any help I can get!). Needless to say, I’m keeping myself very busy.
More soon.
Oh, and my address:
Ro Gluck
PO Box 100
Semonkong, 120
LESOTHO
(On the customs form, under contents, put "religious books and materials." And if you write "Jesus loves you" and whatnot on the box, the people at the post office won't mess with it.)
Food Stuffs:
Cheese-Its (reduced fat)
Wheat Thins (reduced fat)
Pop Tarts (do they actually make them without frosting, or was the last box I got a fluke? I like the no frosting ones. The regular ones give waaaay too intense a sugar rush. Though you can send them anyway, I can trade them for a wide range of goods and services.)
Fruit Snacks (the bags of little gummy things- I like the organic/real fruit ones. Come to think of it, bonus points for a bag of organic gummy bears!)
Trail Mix (anything delicious!)
Granola Bars (I really like the crunchy Hidden Valley ones)
Frosted Mini Wheats (I’m currently rationing the crumbs from the bottom of my last box. Think about that the next time you walk down the cereal aisle. Any cereals will be greatly appreciated!)
Instant Mashed Potatoes (a bowl of cheesy mashed potatoes can turn the worst day into a win)
Hot Sauce (Frank’s, Cholula, or anything habanero, chipotle, or nifty)
Spices (chipotle, or any good Mexican mix specifically)
Dried black beans (can’t get them here!) or kidney beans (cans are no fun to take on the bus)
Beef or turkey jerky
Coffee!!!!!!! (a bag of Starbucks or Kona gets you a postcard!)
Canned chicken or roast beef (I know it sounds gross, and I never would have touched it back home, but here it can make my life worth living for one more day)
Oreos (for bribes- you’d be amazed at what most PCVs would do for an American oreo)
Trader Joes Stuff:
Seriously, TJs needs to open a store in Lesotho. The volunteers and other expats here alone would keep it in business.
Peanut butter filled pretzels (no salt)
Chili pineapple or mango
Plain dried pineapple, mango, bananas, apples, etc….
Good dark chocolate (dear god, please!)
I especially like Trader Joes surprises!
Other Stuff:
Hand sanitizer (you have no idea how much I need this! You think the kids in American schools are filthy?)
Movies and music (throw a bunch on some CDs/DVDs for me, I need new music and movies! Desperately!)
DVDs/VHS (anything you have lying around the house and never watch- even burned/recorded stuff- will go in the PCV library, and you will be a hero to many)
Photos/pictures/letters/anything to go on my walls and remind me of home
Stickers
Magazines
World Maps (for my classrooms; furthermore, any kind of educational posters will be put to very good use)
Q-tips (the ones you can get locally are no good, especially in the face of the types of deposits that grow in my ears here)
Incense (I like vanilla or cloves; it helps to mask the smell of cow/donkey/chicken/pig shit perpetually drifting in through my windows)
X-Acto knife blades
Chalk (the stuff here crumbles instantly)
Flintstones vitamins (with extra vitamin C)
Bonus: Anyone with access to a running store that sells Gizmo brand socks (for example, Village Runner in Henderson) can become my favoritest person in the whole wide world. I don’t really care about colors/patterns (older designs are often on clearance), and my shoe size is 11 (I think that’s a large). All of my good socks are developing gaping holes faster than I can sew them. A couple of new pairs will make me happy in ways that you can’t possibly imagine.
That’s about it. Anyone who sends me a package will be handsomely rewarded in some fashion or another.
In unrelated news, I’m doing really well here. Having officially separated myself from the Lesotho College of Education, I’m now based permanently in Semonkong, and much happier for it. I have two primary schools that are my main focus; I’m currently trying to set up pen pals (still need American teachers for partners!), and have turned the dusty, unused books at the local youth center into a mobile library, getting the books out to five local primary schools and rotating every 2 or 3 months (ideally; even if the rotation system breaks down, at least the books are out at the schools and being used by the kids, as opposed to sitting in locked cabinets). I’m teaching a life skills/ guidance class one day a week at Semonkong High School for Form A, B, and C students (equivalent to 8th, 9th, and 10th grades in the States), and will soon be starting a remodel of the school library. I’m also in the process of developing the more or less defunct teacher resource center in town, which will also serve as a collection site for a town-wide can and paper recycling program that I’m developing with one of my schools, which will hopefully help raise some money for instructional materials. Plans for the near future include teaching a general fitness class at the youth center (starts next week) and a tree planting campaign to begin in October, possibly at several sites across the country (if the people at the Ministries with which I’m working can pull it together). And as soon as I finish the application, we’ll be starting to raise money to replace a roof and build a new classroom at a local school (if you’re interested with helping me to fundraise at your school/work, let me know, I’d really appreciate any help I can get!). Needless to say, I’m keeping myself very busy.
More soon.
Oh, and my address:
Ro Gluck
PO Box 100
Semonkong, 120
LESOTHO
(On the customs form, under contents, put "religious books and materials." And if you write "Jesus loves you" and whatnot on the box, the people at the post office won't mess with it.)
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