tveiga's Xanga

Radio interview w/ Tarsha Veiga

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 00:53:49 GMT

For those of you who are still following, i will be doing an interview on WBSM 1420am radio with Phil Paleologos at 9am on March 1st.

I believe this is the site and it streams live. if you are in the local New Bedford, south coast area, then you can catch it on 1420am radio.

http://www.wbsm.com/showdj.asp?DJID=52315

Dear America, am i glad to see you again.

Sat, 05 Feb 2011 04:06:43 GMT

Well, for those of you who still follow, i have landed stateside! Yes, it is totally true. It's taken me 3 years to realize that America will always be my home. Though i loved Lesotho it will always be a home to me, i am glad to be "back home." Honestly, i didnt think that i would ever be saying this again, but i am.

When leaving the Peace Corps on December 22, 2010, i then went to Cape Town for a celebration trip. Post Cape Town i landed in New York City and cought up eith a friend that closed her Peace Corps service in October 2009, Victoria Traski. What a treat! It was amazing to be in the presence of an old friend and a Peace Corps Volunteer. Life made sense. She understood and still understands what it is like to have lived overseas and then return to this crazy world called America. I left NYC and headed to Massachussets bin a rental car with Mr. Veiga. I stayed in Mass at my old home for 4 days. Once my four days was up, i headed toward to Berkshires for a 12 day meditation course -- which was 200% worth it. I then left the meditation course and headed to Freetown again. Here i am! I am official home!

I am with a friend right now and will complete this update at a later time=)

My latest update

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 10:42:34 GMT

check it out:

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101205/NEWS/12050322

see you all real soon.

It's nearly time

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 14:55:14 GMT

estly, I don’t even know where to begin when writing this email. Three years has gone by so quickly. soon I will be back where I started but with a whole new mind frame and look. Yes, for those of you who don’t know or who don’t believe it, I did shave my head. It’s amazing!

With that said, I feel like it’s going to be mind boggling to leave Africa and just be plopped back down stateside. Not sure how I will handle it. Suppose I have the to chance, “sink or swim” and surely sink is not an option for me. I am going to miss this place, its colors or lack there of, it’s smells, the people, its friendliness; it’s over crowded taxis and lack of structure and time. Oh, so much. I have truly loved every minute even the bad times, b/c no matter where one is in life, there are always problems. Why not love?

Currently, I am cleaning out my hut, selling items outside for no more than a few American cents and packing my one 50 pd bag and 18 pound carry on. I shake my head every time I take a minute to reflect on my last three years. I haven’t a clue as to how I will explain to you all what my 3 years in Africa means. Really, so much has happened and I think I will struggle with figuring it all out. Soon, I will wake up in my old room, with my old car and even maybe the old problems of money and cell phone and too much to plan with too little time. I will miss my hut and days of endless reading on my bed. I will miss the willingness (to learn everything) of my teachers and students

Somehow, I keep telling myself I am ready for all this America, but am I really? I would say, yes. I miss a sense of normalcy and crave the comforts of home. However, will that wear off all too soon? Will I become frustrated with how America takes for granted all the things that I and many African live without?

Heading out. Will finish 2mrw…

It’s tomorrow already:

Woke this morning and I just feel like a zombie. My body is doing what it is supposed to but my brain just seems to be looking at everything from a distance. I suppose I just don’t know where all the pieces are supposed to fit. I am trying to make sense of it all, and it is so damn hard. I am trying to take mental pictures so I can recall these very footsteps months from now or even years from now…but is all this possible?

I am, yet again, at a loss for words.

It’s December 3, 2010. Christmas season at home: cold, Christmas lights, gifts, trees and snow all seem to define the holiday season for Americans. It’s not that way here at all. Totally 80-90 degree weather, lack of lights and absolutely no xmas trees, not even gifts. Christmas to Basotho is a religious holiday. They celebrate the way Americans probably did a century ago. We don’t even pass out gifts here, which I like that its not all about who got the best gift, who bought the most and who finished the earliest, however; I miss the spirit of Christmas. Why cant Americans spend Christmas like thanksgiving? Spend it with family and cherish the moments we all have together…possibly with the occasional gift (one, single, uno). On December 22^nd I will be closing my service and heading to Cape Town until January 3^rd. On January 3^rd, I will board a plane and say goodbye (hopefully just for now) to Africa and land in NYC on Jan 4^th. Will be in Mass the week of Jan 9^th. Done and Done.

Once I return, Support will be needed. Oh, where will I find balance again? I hope to not fall into old habits…rat race, seems wrong! Where’s simplicity?

-Signing off for now, Tarsha Veiga

Robin, i got your Sept letter. hearts! Will see you soon. T

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 14:54:56 GMT

Coming home real soon. Be ready

With perseverance and help from strangers, one man from Lesotho has achieved success

Sun, 10 Oct 2010 13:22:48 GMT

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20100905%2FNEWS%2F9070341

By TARSHA VEIGA

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

September 05, 2010 12:00 AM

EDITOR'S NOTE: Tarsha Veiga, of Freetown, is a Peace Corps volunteer serving in Lesotho, Africa. This is the latest in her series of reports about her life there.

In a world where education is not a right, rather a privilege, many students do not attain an education. In 1997 Lesotho’s government administered free Primary education to grades one through seven. Beyond the desire of seventh grade, all students must pay their own fees to acquire further institutional knowledge. In a world where the staple food of corn meal can hardly be afforded, it is unlikely that many students will go beyond seventh grade. In the circumstances that any given student reaches junior high or high school, it is out of the family’s struggle and sacrifice where annual subsistence crops are bartered for school fees. Mr. Khotso Sekhele, the scholarship student, was fortunate enough to graduate from high school but due to lack of funds his education could not proceed until a turning point.

When landing in Lesotho, I wondered what I would do for this country that would have a true affect. Soon, I realized what this country really needed in order to thrive. Knowing that education is the key to success, I decided, with the community, that a scholarship grant would be the correct way to provide for Lesotho. At heart, I felt satisfied to come to this conclusion. Later, however, I realized that defeat would be a daily reality.

After a 20 page proposal to the Peace Corps office in Lesotho, my idea got wiped by Peace Corps Washington DC., as it was too unconventional. At that point, I was lost, had no back up plans or a forward direction. With months of persistence, I was finally told that the non-profit organization, Friends of Lesotho, would allow my grant money to be routed through them. I thought to myself, “Finally!” Later I realized the storm was yet over. Time in this world has no measure, no reference points, shape or tempo – to often it all seems to be at a standstill.

After one and a half years of persevering, the scholarship grant received enough funding for Sekhele to begin his studies at the University of South Africa. Upon realizing Sekhele qualified for a degree in Business Management, we were ecstatic and marveled in the thought of success for him and his people. As time elapsed, the struggle began when he was accepted to university. After receiving books and a school schedule, he received a phone call from the admissions office stating, “There has been a mistake in your application, therefore we have declined your acceptance.” Sekhele then asked the gentleman why. He was given ill answers like, “The computer states that you do not qualify,” and, “I did not decline you, it looks as if you just can’t come to school.” Even when Sekhele defended why his grades qualified and asked to speak to someone higher up, he was told it is not possible.

At this point, he decided he would not take “no” for an answer, as he qualified for the degree. He decided to teach Africans that success can be achieved no matter the situation and the forces against one. In a world where phone calls cost an arm and a leg, email is over an hour away and only slow public transport is available, it is truly difficult to achieve anything. For two weeks, he was treading water and continuously told that the matter is being taken into consideration, but the entire time, not a single person could answer exactly what the problem was – not one.

After the wait, Sekhele hopped in public transport and headed 6 hours one way to find some answers and even in person he was pushed aside. With his determination to have what he rightfully deserves, the road opened up to him. He found that people knew he was not going away and demanded answers. Only after 18 hours of public transport and 3 days at the main campus, he was told, “We have discovered the mistakes. You are readmitted and allowed to move forward with your degree.” It is notable that Sekhele was crossing invisible boarders that few others passed.

I wonder to myself, what if he did not pursue the institutional flaws. Would he be just another African left behind and pushed down forever? And if so, where do “mistakes” like these leave the African continent?

When I reflect back to my days of teaching in America, I can remember too many students being quite upset that they had to be at school. Do many American students take for granted their time at school and their right to learn? I see with my own eyes what happens to a people when education is not at the forefront of their world. Students appreciate even the smallest knowledge. They are happy to share a book, a seat and a pen. They do not take for granted what is given to them and a lesson repeated for multiple days is an honor to learn, it is like a day at The Science Museum. However, the smallest amount of gratitude does not afford progress or growth for a country like Lesotho. It will only be through prevalent and long lasting education that a world can develop and create opportunities to succeed like America.

Choice does not exist here. Most people take what they are given and most allow others to determine their destiny. Unlike Americans, black South Africans have not been taught to stand up for what they believe in. Basotho are not empowered by their parents, their school teachers or their government to speak up or to have dreams. Oppression is at the root of this culture, and I have seen it first hand with Sekhele’s situation. Only the strongest survive. I hope that all the work I have done with Sekhele and the community will have its way with Africa - nothing ventured, nothing gained.

In Africa barriers are all around and one must have the audacity to challenge institutional norms. Progress on this continent is painfully slow or does not exist at all. I am enlightened to see Sekhele’s ability to see beyond the limitations that are deeply engrained.

After one and a half years of pursuing this experience, I can appreciate America’s institutional systems because they are not set up to fail its people. America has taught me to reach for what I believe in no matter what, I have passed that on to others. Sekhele is not going to sit around and wait for others to determine his future. He is now equipped with knowledge to positively impact this world. It is a testament to the resiliency of the spirit. This African spirit is not of war and disease, it is of triumph and self respect in the face of hardships. I know that he will not keep with the operative local principal that a thing broken will never be repaired. Working hard is important but there is something that matters even more, believing in one’s self.

From Khotso Sekhele, "Everyday I see people being pushed down in this world. The struggle I confronted to get to school tells me that anything is possible. I feel I have become a new person and learned lessons beyond even my own understanding. I have the willpower to never give up. This golden opportunity has filled my life with unexplained joy. Higher education has afforded me to see that there are no limits. No longer will I be just another person in a village under a command system that has no exponential opportunities. I know the knowledge my degree will give me will allow me to be a better person who will better the world in which I live.

Thanks to all those who helped my dream come true. Your effort to make this world a better place is remarkable." –Khotso Sekhele

Thanks To All Who Helped Make This Happen

Mike Bailey

Mary Barber

Alexis Burke

Calvary Pentecostal Church of Freetown

Rich Carlson

Betsy Cornell & EFCCC Youth Group

Rebecca Correia

Robin DeCosta

Gina Despres & Karl Schnapp

Ashley, Nicole & Kayla DeMoranville

Lidia Dias

Teri Crovello & family

mferola@ferola.com (Michael)

Freetown-Lakeville Middle School

Richard Gilder

Jeanne W. Hatch

Mary V. Hurley

Jay & Abby

Kylie Krick

Kristen Krolicki, family & friends

Lions Club of Freetown

Nina M. Mach

Amelia McNutt

Jenna Meunier

Michele Meunier

Ted Mooney

Sue Murray

Patrick McCarthy

New England Farms-

patrons & employees: Freetown & Assonet

Carolyn L. Perry

Penny Perry

Phil Paleologos

George Polochick

Shelly, Doug, Nate & Brad Plissey

Adam Michael Rosenberg

Laura Shippee

Paul Sleight

Conrad & Janet St.Gelais & family

Ramon Tarini

Art Tibbetts

Victoria Treski

Maureen, Jean, Molly Trahan -

In memory of Tyler Trahan

Bob Unger

Madeline Urenick

John Veiga

Sharon Veiga

Mrs. Mary Ann Walker

Mike & Kayla Warren

Catherine L. Willis

Martha Worley & family

THOMAS CARMINE MARESCO Jr. 1986-2010

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:00:11 GMT

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/09/05/lesotho.peace.corps.death/

Police Station

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 08:53:23 GMT

my time here is flying and it seems unbelievable. Before I know it I will be stateside, lost and confused. I have been extremely busy so I have not written any funny stories. Yesterday I went to the police station to file a report and I swear I have never seen such incompetent people.

I walked in and one of the police officers was flirting with me and it felt so uncomfortable the moment he put his hand on my bicep. I had to ask him to stop being so friendly, which didn’t go over so well. After he walked away, the other “police” officer asked to borrow my pen so she could start taking my statement. I thought, a police station without a pen, hmm, I wonder if they are even equipped to arrest. Anyhow, I looked beyond these things and tried to be as patient and professional as possible but once I saw that my statement began with, “I am Tarsha Veiga, I live around Lesotho, I am literate….” I realized that the entire ordeal was a joke. Once the “officer” finished writing my half coherent statement, I got to sign the bottom. It seemed wrong to sign a police report that was written out on ripped piece of notebook paper. When I asked for a copy of the report the police officer and his colleagues didn’t seem to understand what I was seeking for. I then asked if they had a copy machine and everyone seemed to be confused so instead of getting a carbon copy or a machine copy, I got a ripped piece of paper with my case number and a Lesotho stamp. I then walked away baffled.

At this point, I have to make another trip to the same police station and possibly write my own statement and get a Lesotho stamp so that Peace Corps can file my report. I really haven’t a clue. I am exhausted and am ready to go back to my site to work on the HIV project.

It is 15 days until my bday. Crazy to think that I am going to be 28 years old. Oh, how time flies.

Keep smiling. I’ll see you all in just a few months time. Tarsha

ADDENDUM

12:23 I arrive at the police station for the 2^nd time in 2 days and ask for said gentleman. at which point, I am told that he is on lunch and I must return at 2pm. knowing that lunch begins at 1pm here, I persist and tell them that he is expecting me. I am only speaking in English at this point and, to belittle me, they speak in Sesotho, but since I understand just enough to get around, I proceed down the hallway to an unknown office and open a door that has “claims report” above. I entered and the Ntate is, in fact, expecting me. I greet all the men sitting in the small over stuffed hot room and am ordered to take a seat. We exchange greetings and I try to hurry the gentlemen along by telling them that this matter is highly important and I must leave with a police report. I am then escorted to another room where I am ordered to sit. Two men speak about my case and one goes off to make COPIES. At this point, I am thinking, copies, no way, it can’t be. But the gentleman come back with TWO photocopies of my report.

Yesterday, I was told that they did not have a copier and today I am shown that a copier does exist. I am baffled by the incompetence of “professional” workers in this country. in my opinion, too many are too lazy and all do not have any understanding of customer service. If this is how their justice system functions, then no other department can function in this country. Are they taught to be lazy or are they born this way?

Standard Times Article

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 08:43:35 GMT

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His family failed to find him a bride during his young adulthood, so still he lives at home. Stricken by cultural norms and tradition, he is not allowed to start his own life without a woman by his side. He will remain a mohlankana - a boy, unmarried - under their thatched roof until his family finds his “Ms. Appropriate.” Even if he does choose to marry without his family’s full consent, this does not give him freedom to plan his own future. One’s parents are the only people who can traditionally prepare a married couple for the “ways of living.” Almost everything within each clan and their family culture is alike – this world depends on repetition and continuity. It is what keeps tradition thriving.

From infancy, the child learns to earn his or her place among the people of their clan. The child must learn to “see” the ways of the clan and then he or she is accepted as a member. As an observer and a person playing a role in this culture, I understand the deep connections that the Basotho have with one another. Bonds that I see, I cannot learn in a classroom. I am ambitious to walk with this culture and their traditions.

By his late twenties, an age considered “old”, a female accepts his family’s offer for marriage. Once the female accepts marriage, the male’s family has to pay her family a lobola – dowry of 22 cattle as compensation to the bride’s family. This is paid because the bride indefinitely leaves her family and resides under the roof of the groom’s. If not rewarded freedom, the couple resides indefinitely.

It is like early 20^th-century America. The America my grandparents reminisce about so frequently.

Americans marry for “true love.” From an early age, young Americans seem to bounce from mate to mate until “true love” is found. It seems the only traditional standard for an American male is to ask the female’s parents for their honor to take their daughter as his wife. In Lesotho, culturally, a married couple is expected to never break the vows of marriage. Whereas, in America, divorce tends to be a social norm and often encouraged if one is “unhappy” with his/her marriage. It is no longer a taboo to get divorced, unlike in Lesotho.

Life in Lesotho and most of developing Africa is shaped by clans and their origins that are strung together by ancestral relations. Families here worry about more than just their nuclear ties. Parents have many children in hopes that some children will become wealthy and financially support the family and their extended family. Having a large family promotes reliance. This is passed throughout generations and lessens the burden for the family as a whole. However, at times, worrying about relatives and their relatives proves to be problematic because their dependence has weakened the nuclear family’s strength.

In the states, family life may or may not consist of a married couple or even a man and a woman together sharing a “family” lifestyle. Our definition of family is loose. Most often, families consist of no more than just immediate family members. Each family has its own customs woven from generations ago or recently started. There are always social standards within each family’s traditions. In America, we believe it is our right to be different.

Families here look after one another. The life of Basotho is progress that is slow and has much difficulty, a hardship they endure with amazing patience and humor. In Lesotho, the sense of community is a village functioning as one. There is a solidarity that lives and breathes here. This cohesion is what creates the social fabric. Their permanence is family. This lifestyle is strong and colorful, where everyone has a traditionally assigned role and everyone understands their duties. Community is not based on material things or territorial grounds. This binds Africans closest to who they are and what they stand for – family and tradition.

Basotho take care of one another. They enter a world of dreams together. One’s difficulty is another’s. Although they may not get far and their world may not be developed, they are happy. It is not a world of every person for himself. The Basotho live a traditional lifestyle preoccupied with taking care of one another.

He considers marriage a destination and will fulfill his role as Ntate – a man. Their family path is already carved into the ground, and the road I come from is not entwined the same. The first-world family life I was born to is woven differently. Culture is not the same everywhere, but throughout the world there are similarities and differences woven within every society – that each of us can learn from.

I get this insight because I live here not out of oblivion, but rather out of awareness to see and to make a bond.

Is marrying for cultural respect or for true love best? Who can honestly say what is best for any culture? It seems that every nation has a different road to discover and travel. Basotho appreciate building things from scratch and have no desire for instant gratification. Africa has taught me that less is more and life goes beyond material items. Every day, we are sharing ideas to unite this world.

(IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, THERE IS ANOTHER ARTICLE BELOW THAT I SUBMITTED TO wbsm 1420 TALK SHOW.) keep reading!

WBSM email (1420AM)

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 08:24:26 GMT

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Lumelang bamameli ba khabane, July 20, 2010

(Due.may.long / ba.ma.medi / ba / ha.ba.ne)

“Hell beautiful Listeners”

Just five and a half months of my service left and I am constantly reminded because my dad likes to tell me that my days are numbered, but I tell him it’s actually wonderful to enjoy the moment. I am going to live somewhere between this very moment and my tomorrows.

Big things are happening in my life here in Lesotho. Recently, I was approved for a 2,000 dollar grant. It’s for a two day event focusing on HIV/AIDS. The statistical ratio is 1:4. (for every four people, 1 person has the virus). The onset of all this HIV/AIDS outreach has been Mr. Khotso Sekhele, the scholarship student. In November 2009, we went on our first cross-cultural group hike to rural Lesotho; at that point, I realized what a great asset he is to have on these hikes. Mr. Sekhele became my interpreter and soon the drive behind leisure hikes for AIDS outreach. Without Mr. Sekhele’s assistance, I couldn’t have done 3 very successful AIDS hikes thus far.

Here in Lesotho, 95% of the herd-boys are illiterate. When we partake in these 3-5 day hikes, we bring along condoms so we can stop and “chit-chat” with the boys and men that are watching over the cattle, sheep and goats. Some of the topics discussed during these hikes include: what is one’s knowledge about AIDS, the measures to prevent AIDS or measures to care for a person living with the virus, what transmits AIDS, causes, misconceptions, myths, etc. Thus far we have passed out over 300 condoms and spoken with nearly a hundred boys and men, all of which have not had any formal education beyond 3^rd grade.

With an organization called Lejone Action AID and Mr. Sekhele’s desire to help his people, I was encouraged to apply for a PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan For Aids Relief) grant through Peace Corps. After 5 months of gathering information, applying for the grant and awaiting approval, I am finally training five host country individuals on multiple procedures so that this event can be run by local individuals, organizations and/or communities and repeated annually. A few of the topics are: reaching goals and objectives, time keeping, capacity building, publicity outreach, training of stakeholders and numerous other topics. This is a two day educational event with 80 participants and 20 facilitators, which will take place right here in my village. The goals of Lejone Kopano Action AID are to make Basotho aware of AIDS and the impact it has on this country and the future of the Basotho as a people.

I solely believe in sustainability so while PEPFAR is supplying 47% of the cost, the Basotho are supplying the remainder. I am not the face of this event, Mr. Sekhele and his team of 4 from LAA are. Without their vision and hard work, I could not be successful with making this event happen. The event is tentatively planned to happen in Early September so right now we are working our tails off to get the event ready.

Things tend to take longer to process here and even though I have Mr. Sekhele, whom is determined, we seem to always hit these invisible walls – which we are constantly breaking through. I was taught to never give up on what I believe in. I believe that this nation has great potential and I will work to help as many Basotho as possible. I will teach then about determination like they have taught me about patience.

I believe that knowledge is the key to success. Failure is not an option. I firmly believe that the only dumb question…is the question not asked. I know that I can’t move mountains alone. However for every Mosotho I encourage, a little bit of the mountain is chipped away and hopefully one day minds will be altered and the education that I brought will be long lasting.

When I leave - as I have been reminded multiple times - in about 160 days, I want to know that those whom I taught can go on without me. I am quite a strict teacher and demand my students to demonstrate exceptional progress based on each individual. They are seeing through their own grueling labor that effort creates progress and improvement.

Teaching them how important it is to strive for goals is beneficial, therefore they are beginning to understand the importance of setting goals and achieving them. I hope that I am demonstrating to the Basotho how important perseverance is. I am not changing their way of living, rather adopting and improving their lifestyle and hopefully leaving each individual Mosotho hungry for more education and knowledge.