For the last few weeks we have been studying Africa in geography.  Each student had to pick an African country, complete some research and mapping, then present their project to the group.  B9 picked Botswana, but then noticed that Lesotho was completely surrounded by another country:  South Africa.  He thought this was a very cool thing and decided to learn about Lesotho instead.

We had been reading and collecting information for about a week when he happened to be discussing his school work with his friend across the road.  His friend mentioned that the king of Lesotho was coming to his school the following week.  When B9 told me this I was a little stunned, so did an online search to find out exactly what was going on.  Sure enough King Letsie III was attending a special assembly at our friend’s school to celebrate the 5th anniversary of Help Lesotho and to thank those who have supported his country over the last 5 years.

I called the school to see if we could attend and was given instructions and sent a special parking permit.  It was important that we arrive well before the King as no-one would be admitted to the hall after he entered.  B9 was happy to see his friend who had the added privilege of meeting the king after the assembly to ask him a question.  The assembly included quite a bit of audio visual material from Lesotho, which showed us what the land was like and the living conditions of some of the people.

There were several speakers, the school choir and some video presentation from children and women in Lesotho who have been helped through Help Lesotho.  The king spoke last and his gratitude was very moving.  Naturally his concern for the people of Lesotho is great, particularly because HIV Aids is a huge problem leaving many of the children of the country without parents.  B9 and I enjoyed being at the assembly and B9 also enjoyed explaining to his audience during his presentation that, as part of the current events component, he had been to see and hear the King of Lesotho speak!

During our geography class we also enjoyed presentations about São Tomé and Príncipe, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar.  Everyone had a slightly different approach in their presentation, some providing food, others music and others a glimpse into the lives of people they knew in the country they studied.