La Caņada Flintridge resident Lauren Nydam worked with children at an orphanage in Lesotho, Africa.

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By LAUREN NYDAM
Special to the Outlook

I started off my summer by going to a country where it was winter. Lesotho, a small nation engulfed by South Africa, would be where I lived for the next two weeks, helping out at an orphanage called Beautiful Gate.

I went expecting to work hard and help out and, as often happens on trips like this, I came away touched, refreshed and changed. Two hemispheres away from home, I encountered the most meaningful experiences of my life.

Our group, a team of 23 led by my grandparents, stayed in dormitory-like settings in a very poor area on the outskirts of Maseru. Upon our arrival, some of the children who lived in the surrounding area were curious about these strangers, and they watched us through the fence. We said hello, but they only spoke a little English and we spoke almost no Sesotho, their native tongue.

They could see us through the fence again a few days later as another one of the volunteers and I were tossing a softball around, and slowly these kids edged toward our open gate. We invited them in to play catch with us; some of my favorite moments on the trip were with those kids. Someone brought out a soccer ball and as we laughed and played with them, we found that we didn't need to be able to talk much to have a good time.

Every day when we got back from helping at Beautiful Gate they were there waiting for us. We would play sports and hang out; they were some really neat kids. We shared a unique bond that surpassed any barrier (linguistic, cultural, financial or otherwise) and one of the little boys told us, in broken English, that he thought he was going to cry when we left. He did, and that made it harder to leave them.

The children of a small farming village also had a big impact on us. Many of the people on our missions team sponsor children in Lesotho through World Vision, and the organization took us to meet them in Sekameng. The village leaders sent out horseback riders to greet us. As we drove into the village, the children stood there holding signs of gratitude for their sponsors. The signs read short phrases like "We love you," "God bless you," and "Thank you," and included our names. As we got close enough to read them, we were all touched and close to tears. We went there to serve, but the Basotho people hosted a celebration and honored us as they do their king when he visits. We feasted with them and they performed traditional dances for us. Such an incredible display of hospitality was so overwhelming and so humbling.

During our visit to Sekameng, we also visited a woman who was dying. She was in a dark hut, lying in blankets on a mattress on the floor. Ill, tired and weak, she was bed-ridden with no chance of recovery. Although she had a headache and was not well, she was glad to have visitors. There are many people dying slowly like this throughout Lesotho, but not many people visit them. Although the family claims they are dying of lung problems, tuberculosis or heart disease, their neighbors know the true reason - HIV/AIDS - and there is a stigma about it that keeps them away.

Until recently, there were no orphanages in Lesotho, and there is no word in Sesotho for "adopt." Relatives have always taken care of children in need, but not with legal formality. Now these relatives are dying too.

Approximately 31 percent of the population of Lesotho is living with HIV/AIDS, and 25 percent of children under age 15 are orphaned. The statistics say a lot, but numbers can't convey reality. The truth is that AIDS is wiping out almost an entire generation of people. I saw this myself - there are many elderly, many young children, but not many middle-aged people. The family structure is rapidly vanishing, causing an orphan crisis.

Beautiful Gate, where we spent most of our time, is a care center for both abandoned and HIV/AIDS babies. They provide loving care and a preschool for these children, and a team of local Basotho women are the primary caregivers so that the children are raised in their own culture. I worked in the nursery with them, holding, feeding and crawling around on the floor playing with the little sweethearts.

I spent the most time with Ausi Sapan, who had been abandoned and sadly also had cerebral palsy. Although she was almost 2 years old, she couldn't talk or even sit up on her own. She was so precious and smiled so sweetly when I kissed her on the forehead. Working in the nursery was emotional for me, but at the same time it made me glad to see how she and the others were loved and cared for.

We saw all aspects of the work that Beautiful Gate does. While we were there, a 6-hour-old baby was found by the police and brought to Beautiful Gate after having been abandoned in a deep-drop toilet. (Some mothers leave their babies to die where they gave birth to them rather than raising them in poverty.) On the other end of the spectrum, we also got to meet two boys, Mahao and Carrabo, who had been adopted into a family. Ray and Sue Haakonsen, the directors of Beautiful Gate in Lesotho, currently rent a house for the care center. They have purchased some land and are expanding, building three new baby houses, a hospital, a chapel, an administrative building, and a preschool. The preschool will be for all the children of the community to attend, free of charge. We did a little construction on the building project, but they require more funds before they can continue the building process.

People who know I've gone to Africa ask me about the problems there. The next question is almost always, "So what's the solution?" There's no easy, solid answer to that. There are a number of things that can be fixed but nothing is instant. Helping and educating the younger generation is a great place to start. Beautiful Gate is an important part of filling this need. They rely completely on donations to carry out their work, and if you want to learn more or get involved, you can visit them at http://www.beautifulgate.org/lesover.php.

Donations can be made at www.beautifulgate.org/donate.php. You can also make a tax-deductible donation through The River CRC by sending your contribution to 459 Highland Ave, Redlands, Calif., 92373, memo: Beautiful Gate Building Project. With help, this nation can overcome its AIDS crisis and get back on its feet.

There is so much I could tell you about Lesotho. I fell in love with the country and want to go back to Beautiful Gate between finishing Stanford and going to graduate school. I love it there and I feel called to go back. Being in the middle of a land ravaged by AIDS really put life into perspective for me. Please feel free to contact me at laurenn@stanford.edu if you have any questions. I would love to hear from you.