My brief encounter with Lesotho!

[Photo: Bhumi]

Children shouting “Shoot me, shoot me”, beautiful scenery, serene mountains, friendly locals, children with illuminating smiles, Volker’s uplifting drumming and trekkers singing by the bonfire every night, beautiful galaxy of stars in the sky, small wet & cold tents, walking on red soil with beautiful fragrance, crossing numerous rivers, climbing countless mountains and excellent team spirit everyday, are few of many things that reminds me of my brief encounter with Lesotho. It was an overwhelming experience especially the perfectly synchronised impromptu concert by the school children on our last day in Lesotho and the visit to Cotlands Orphanage in Johannesburg. (shoot me = take my picture)

A summary for those who wish to skip my Lesotho diary ;)

[Photo: Richard Storey]

We left London on 12th April and reached Johannesburg on the 13th at 6 in the morning. We straightaway boarded a coach for our next bit of journey to Lesotho which took roughly 6hrs. With clouds promising a heavy rain we had a very quick lunch by a road side before we started our 6km trek. We trekked and camped for the next 6 days. Our day started everyday at 6.30am with exception of the day 6 which started at 6am. We walked a roughly 95km over six and half days, achieving total elevation of 2124mts (6969ft).

[Photo: Daksha Patani]

The longest day we walked (12 hrs) was day 6, covering just under 20km and reaching the height of 3109mts (10200 ft) having achieved an elevation of roughly 1100mts (3600ft). This also was the day when we walked in the sun, hailstorm, rain and just over an hour in dark. Day 5 was not far behind in terms of distance and number of hours walked (17km, 9.5hrs, 900mts elevation).

[Photo:Richard Storey]

We had one free day to ourselves when we were given an accommodation in a national park resort and the feeling of excitement was injected in the group to find a proper bed/pillow, hot shower (after 7 days of baby wipes shower!!!) and a place big enough to put your bag without having to compromise your sleeping space!

As a result of this challenge the group raised over £62k for Childline UK at the time of writing this blog and more donations were pouring in following the success. Cotlands, Johannesburg and a school in Lesotho also benefited from this event. I feel Lesotho gave us lots including, a great adventurous experience, some beautiful scenery's, a location for the trek challenge that raised some serious funds for Childline to answer over 20,000 calls, very friendly and welcoming people. As a group we attempted to return the favour by donating £440 towards replacing a school’s windows and provided toys, books, colours to children at Cotlands. Cotlands in Johannesburg looks after orphans and most of these children are HIV positive. The children are cared for until they are seven and those that survive are either adopted out or moved to another branch of Cotlands.

[Photo: Dick Goodband]

I left South Africa feeling there is lot more that we could have done and can do for the children in Lesotho and Cotlands. This trip has left me with a reminder of the harsh reality of life for many there and an admiration for people who work for the orphanage. I hope to continue to raise awareness of the work that Cotlands does and generate more funds for the charity that offers excellent support to people who live in the most difficult circumstances in which they find themselves helpless.

I have put together a video for the sponsors to show my appreciation for their support and I very much hope that you enjoy it as lot of hard work has gone in creating this.