Lesotho: The End

So, in the massive whirlwind that has been the past few weeks, I've neglected finishing up my Lesotho and ICS journey. To be quite honest, it only struck me last week that I never managed to write up weeks nine and ten, but everything has been moving quite quickly, and a nice, lazy bank holiday weekend seems like the perfect time to finally reflect on those final two weeks spent in Lesotho.

Unlike previous entries, it seems a bit silly to write day-by-day entries, mainly because 'Week Nine' actually happened a good five weeks ago now. Those final couple of weeks were full of so many mixed emotions: the excitement of real home versus the sadness of leaving my host home, and since arriving back in the UK, I have had plenty of opportunities to reflect. To write this entry as a day-by-day account wouldn't really do justice to just how great the final two weeks were and made me realise that we had made a difference to people, both professionally and personally, and therefore it makes more sense to go through the highlights instead:

Our Host Family 'Surprise'

For the Mafeteng and Thabana Morena volunteers, I think we would all count our final weekend with our host families as a highlight. Determined to make the most of our final weekend, we all decided to head out to Thabana Morena one last time, and do some exploring for the final time. However, our families decided to all band together and organise a BBQ, bringing together all of us for one massive goodbye. We were also all given personalised polo shirts with our sesotho names on (of which mine I still cannot pronounce). Later on in the week, I would have the emotional farewell with my host family, but this was a chance to celebrate, and did cement the fact that the majority of us UK volunteers had incredible experiences with our host families. No matter what, I will always be thankful for them allowing me into their home for ten weeks, and treating me like a member of the Sehloho family.

A few of the Mafeteng and Thabana Morena host mums

The Final Debrief

Ah, debrief weekend. A final opportunity to reflect in-country on our placements, and what we were proud of (and what could have been done a bit differently). Despite a few incidents later on in the day, the morning session was an incredible testament to the supportive nature of the whole Lesotho group, both Basotho and UK. For three hours, we spent the morning looking over everything our placement teams had achieved, helping us realise that our presence in Lesotho was positive, despite many opportunities for self-doubt that had arisen during our time there. Being able to talk to the rest of the team about my experiences working with our disability group at St John's Primary School in Mafeteng Central was a great way to demonstrate that myself, Daisy, Mathapelo and Nthabiseng overcame huge challenges to our group and still made some difference to the community we were living and working in.

The Mafeteng and Thabana Morena UK Volunteers ready for debrief

The Big Goodbye

Possibly the best surprise of the final two weeks was our final big goodbye, held on the Saturday. Hosted at the Guesthouse, the Maseru host families had organised a massive goodbye party for all the volunteers, with a huge BBQ and sound system.What had been explained to us as a 'lunch' turned out to be a seven-hour party with incredible food (oh how I miss moroho), incredible dancing (from the Basotho guys - none of us UK lot were exceptionally talented in that department), and lots of laughs. It was the best way to say goodbye, and not dwell on the upcoming departure - one final hurrah before the end of our time in Lesotho.

The LENEPWHA team

Overall, I'm still coming to terms with how much my time in Lesotho affected me. It's incredibly cliche to go around all gap yah spouting so rubbish about how 'Africa changed me', but, truthfully, my time taking part in ICS has had a massive impact. Following six months of 'what now' after graduation, I have a new focus. I'm more sure than ever that I want to work in international development, and am currently two weeks into a placement with VSO working in the ICS Hub, getting to experience just some of the logistics behind such a huge youth international development programme. I have a place at the University of Bristol to go and study International Development and Security from September. And, more importantly, I met people that have absolutely inspired me in every way. ICS was an incredible way for me to begin 2014, and has essentially become a career-building experience. 

To put it simply, it's one of the best things I've ever done.