We were to meet Bishop Kolisang and his wife, daughter, and son-in-law at the restaurant at the Maseru Sun Cabanas, but the Bishop and his wife were unable to attend. Instead we had a wonderful visit and meal with Kgosi and Mpho Dichaba. (If you’ve been reading this blog much, you have probably noticed the name Mpho several times. It means ‘treasure’ in Sesotho and Mphonyana means ‘little treasure’. How interesting that all 3 of our contact women from Lesotho are named either ‘treasure’ or ‘little treasure’.) Kgosi and Mpho are known at their church, Fill the Gap Ministries, as Papa T and Mama T, and that is what they like to be called. Both in their late 20’s or early 30’s, when they walked in to the restaurant, we felt right at home with them. Mama T is the Bishop’s assistant as well as his daughter, and she walked in with cute jeans and a t-shirt—Wow!—something we hadn’t seen in a while! Papa T looked and dressed like any typical American young man, so it was very easy to speak freely with them.

Let me just say a few words about the dress in Africa. I was surprised to find that in the countries of Botswana and Lesotho, most of the women wear dresses down to their ankles—especially in church. As many of you know, this is not typical in the U.S. As I have referred to previously, I only brought one skirt which was just below the knee. I soon realized with the help of Danita and Jana that since I was having so many opportunities to minister that I needed to borrow some skirts and use a scarf to cover my knees if my skirt hiked up to my knees when I sat down. Wow—unexpected.

I am so glad we had an opportunity to meet with the Dichaba’s over dinner as we were able to learn of Basotho culture from a young educated adult’s perspective. Both Papa T and Mama T were educated in foreign universities in South Africa and Great Britain. They both have a great vision to reach their country through media. We learned of their radio station which reaches almost half of Lesotho and some of South Africa. Here are some of the things I learned from them:

—There is an absence of men and fathers in the country of Lesotho because in the 1960’s when the silver and diamond mines of South Africa were booming, the men left the emerging country of Lesotho to go work in the mines to support their impoverished families. In many instances, they were only allowed to return for one month of vacation once per year. This went on for many years and still continues to some degree today. Therefore, the men were absent from the homes in Lesotho and the women had to learn to run the households themselves and become self sufficient. The men would send money home to their families, but in many cases because of the unhealthy separation from their wives, they would form attachments to women in South Africa and would even have a 2nd family in South Africa. This has been going on now for several generations. Some of the results of this socio-economic breakdown are as follows:


The father figure became a person to be feared with no intimacy with the wife and childrenStrong women had to become heads of familiesPoverty increased because of having to maintain 2 households and 2 families in 2 different countriesThe spread of AIDS because of illicit relationshipsWith the spread of AIDS, parents die young leaving children with either one parent or no parents and with more poverty.With unattended children and children as heads of households, the situation is perfect for exploitation of children, recreational sex and more AIDS and more poverty.
—Papa T mentioned 2 specific problems and his plan to provide solutions:

1. A lack of wholesome, recreation and entertainment for young people:

* He desires to put Christian rap, hip hop, R & B, and contemporary music on the radio station to attract young people all over Lesotho to the gospel of Jesus Christ and to give them a positive alternative to the damaging influences of mainstream rap and hip-hop which contributes to the extra-marital sex, alcohol and drug use. He cannot buy this music locally. He has been using his own personal money to order a few albums for the radio station, but had to quit because of finances. He does have an address at his father-in-law’s across the border in Ladybrand, SA where he could safely receive packages.

* We discussed with him the idea of doing outreaches in the only Maseru city park which attracts young people by the hundreds each Saturday night where drugs, alcohol and sex are the entertainment.

* He told us of different outreaches that were happening with a man from the church who is a music producer who is training young christians to make their own music and do concerts as entertainment.

* We discussed the church providing wholesome opportunities for recreation for young people on a weekly basis. He voiced his concern that government would have to give approval, even though there are no legal restrictions for this kind of thing. I asked him why the government would care. He said that it would make the government look bad if the church did something that the government should be doing. I told him that some people might think that this is more of a job for the church that the government. This is when he mentioned a word that I had heard at least 25 times during my time in Africa— “protocol”. This is not a popular word in independent-minded America. As history has shown, American’s ‘ditched’ protocol when they fought to leave the ‘mother country’ during the Revolutionary War. We are quick to fight anything that seems unfair or inequitable. We actually believe it is our right and duty. This is a value which is perhaps underdeveloped in some cultures.

While we were on the subject of government, I asked Papa T if there were any members of Parliament or government officials in his church. Did church members try to get involved in the government to positively affect laws and public policy? No, he assured me that Christians are not eager get involved in politics. He began to explain to me (I will summarize) that being a Christian and being a politician might not typically go hand in hand because of the perceived unethical practices required to succeed in politics. He expressed to me that it seemed to be the perception of many Basotho, that politicians in Lesotho are not there to serve their country, but rather for their own personal gain.

2. The 2nd issue that Papa T has plans to address is the lack of training of Basotho parents.

* He desires to create radio talk shows with his wife to actually provide on-air teaching and training for the following issues: parenting, marriage, understanding your child’s gift’s and personalities, disciplining children, managing finances, etc. Since he and his wife are only young themselves with one small toddler, they desire teaching materials and curriculum with which they could create programs for the radio. Or to bring on syndicated shows with resources that are already produced.

* There is a need for young couples’ support groups in the churches for fellowship, teaching and training, which Papa T and Mama T are addressing.

I cannot say enough good things about this young couple. With their vision to help the people of their country, with their skills and training, with their strategic positions in their church and community, and with their hearts of dedication to the Lord, I believe they will be instrumental in answering the cries of the people of Lesotho.