Bokoro High School

On Sunday, February 18th I left for the school that I have been assigned to. The Principal, 'M'e Mary Grace Mapalesa picked me up on her way to the school from her home in Pitseng. It is not usual live live quite a distance from where you work, therefore many people travel home for the weekends. I knew that Mary Grace had a driver, so I have to say that I expected to travel in a way similar to when I was picked up from the airport. It is best not to presume these things.... Loud music drew me from the guest house and I saw a purple Nissan pick up truck parked in the yard. A middle aged Masotho lady came to the front door. "'M'e?" I said. "Gwen!" she replied and gave me a big hug. "Let's go home!" I had a fair amount of luggage, groceries and other itmes to bring and when I went out to truck I saw that there were already four people and a baby in the bed of the pick up. They all moved around as my luggage was carefully tucked into place. I then crammed myself into the cab with the driver and Mary Grace. We talked the whole way to the district of Butha Buthe, about an hours drive. We stopped to get some things in town, which were also added to the load in the back. We only had to stop once to pick up somthing that had fallen out! From the main highway, Bokoro is about a 25 minute drive up a mountain just past the village of Khukhune. The roads are very very rough dirt roads, and the driving is quite slow. We came up to the crest of one of the hills and Mary Grace pointed out the school in the distance. "Ah," I thought "This is somewher I can definitively live." It is nestled right at the edge of the Maluti mountains, amoung corn fields and green valleys of corn.

My little house is a traditional rondaval. It is a round hut build of cinder blocks and has a thatched roof. Compared to how everyone else is living, it is palacial. I am a bit embarrassed by the trouble that went into preparing for my arrival. I have a double bed, a cooking table with a two burner propane stove, a table that serves as a desk, a sideboard with a small cupboard and a wardrobe for my clothing. It is very clean and I have two gas lamps for the nighttime. About 8 steps away there is a secnd rondaval, and a Peace Corps worker named Graham lives there. We get along well and often have tea in the evenings. He is at Bokoro for 2 years, and is teaching From A English ( grade 8/9).

My first day of school was very special as I was introduced to the students and given my Basotho name. The students had already picked two names for me and I was asked to pick one of them. They would not tell me what either meant before I chose! I chose "Relebohile" (RAY-LAY-BOW-HEE-LAY), and am now known at school as 'M'e Relebohile Bokoro. The whole things was very special. They also sang two songs for me and their rich voices and harmonies made every hair stand on end.

There are about 400 students at Bokoro. There ages range from 13- 29yrs. About 40 of them "board" at the school and live in cramped little biuildings. The girls all live in one tiny room. I counted 16 beds (bunk beds). I couldn't believe that so many girls could sleep so close together. I later found out that they in fact sleep two to a bed. Two teenaged girls sleep on one tiny metal cot. I am still trying to wrap my head around how this is possible. This is also compounded by the fact that 98 chickens (chicks) are also living in the building (in a separate room)until they are old enough to be moved. I didn't see the boy's dorm, but it is apparently a similar situation. Most of the students who board are orphans, and are therefore supported by the government. As I wrestled with how one could justify living this way, I came to terms with the fact that ultimately is is best for these kids to be in school where they are funded and fed. Mary Grace is currently working very hard on plans for a proper dormitory.

So far I am teaching Form C Reading Comprehension (gr 11) and they have also given me many of their computer classes. I know. You can laugh now. What is ever more hilarious is that there is neither running water or electricity here and so the computers are run off a generator. Of the 8 computers only one works at the moment. Please picture this: I am standing in front of ONE computer while 15 students (I had to divide the class of 44 students in three groups) watch me as I shout over the noise of the generator while inhaling gasoline fumes. I have since abandoned this method until we have more machines functioning. I have detached all of the keyboards and laid them on the desks. We know spend the period 'ghost' typing and practicing the correct fingering, and they love it!

School begins at 7am, and there are 10 periods of 40 minutes each. Lunch is at 1pm. Classes end at 3:20pm, and is followed by an hour of "sports" which involes running, lady soccer, shot put, high jump and long jump. I have since introduced Ultimate Frisbee, which the girls really like (we are still just passing the disc), and I also play soccer with the girls. Around 5pm most students leave to walk home. Most walk the 4km into Khukhune. The teachers also either walk or take a taxi ( mini bus ) into Khukhune as most live in the town of Butha Buthe. They are up at 4:30am in order to ravel to school for 7am.

In the evening the students walk to fetch water ,wash their uniforms, eat and then go up to one of the classrooms for study. I have taken to going up there for about an hour between 7:30 and 8:30pm to help them with their homework. It is quite a sight to bee seen as between 30-40 kids sit perfectly quietly, reading and writing by candlight. I have to say that I struggle to make out the words in their books and so we sit, heads bent together whispering about Venn Diagrams, biology , math and english. I now spend some time each morning in the library, studying the material that I didn't know or have long forgotten since I took High School math!

After a week I feel very comfortable at Bokoro, and think I will be very happy. I think I will become very close with the students who live on site, and hope that we will be able to work out better living arrangements, and work on meeting the needs of the children here. The atmosphere is very positive, there is lots of laughter and singing, but I am very aware of the torn and ragged shirt collars, the students who share one book per 3, as they cannot afford the books and the general difficulty of daily life.

Well, my time is up, and I need to get down to the office to meet with Carolyn. Hello to everyone and please forward this info to anyone who might be interested in reading it. I will write again in a week.

Khotso.
(peace)