Thursday, March 5th 7:10 am

I am sitting on the 30 seat prop plane which is taking me to the country that was spelled out in my dream: L-E-S-O-T-H-O. I’m looking down at the peaceful South African farmland which seems to stretch to the horizon. It is difficult to believe that within these serene surroundings there is a tiny mountain kingdom with such desperate need.

Even in the country of Botswana from where I have recently come, the only African country which has not seen war on its soil since the late 1800’s, a country which seems to have plenty of food, the life expectancy of the average woman is somewhere between 30 and 38 because of the ravaging of the HIV virus. In questioning the people of Botswana about the causes of the spread of AIDS, I have observed the following which I assume may also be true of Lesotho—we shall see:

—Even though Christianity is the predominant religion in Botswana, there is widespread promiscuity which contributes to the spread of AIDS
—Women in the nation of Botswana have just recently been given the right to hold property in their own names. Even just a few years ago, a Batswana woman married to a foreign man could not have Botswanan citizenship for her children even though she may live in Botswana and is a citizen herself. In other words, her citizenship was not enough to count—the child’s citizenship was solely based on the father.
—Because of this traditional cultural devaluation of women, women are very susceptible to trading sex for money and shelter. This contributes to the spread of the HIV virus through illicit relationships. This trend may be changing since there are many Batswana women in governmental leadership.

We shall see what the situation is in Lesotho as the story unfolds…