Peka High School

After surviving our first week we now face the daunting task of being split into two seperate teams. This means less time to spend with people when teaching and the lack of security that comes with a big group but it also means we can double the amount of people we help and hopefully the air of confidence from our successful start will follow us. Myself, Dallan and Dee are given Peka High School while the rest (Des, Joe, Aisling and Jen) head off to Kolonyama. Jonas and Carla still have plenty of stuff to get sorted for the rest of the month so they will be preoccupied with that and drop in and help out where ever possible.Peka has been described to us as the "ghost town" school because of the numerous deserted buildings dotted around the campus. Even the first journey there seened quite cursed as our first taxi bus choked us with fumes as it broke down and the second nearly lost an exhaust as it pulled in. The walk up the drive to the school hit home why it has it's ghost towwn alias, to the laft had side is a deserted guards entrance and a long building of concrete and broken windows. Bare trees loom large over your head and the shells of broken buildings are everywhere. Apparently this was one of the first high schools in Lesotho and was the pups nuts back in the day but funding has since gone elsewhere and the locals we met told us that the students are what they used to be. But after some initial problems with setting up the computers, surge protection and a drunken local chief (at nine in the morning! I was very proud of him!) we find the students are just as we have come to expect, enthusiastic and a great laugh. We also have two police officers from the local cop shop in attendence. I have heard rumours that the police aren't to be fucked with here, they aren't very well educated and slightly trigger happy and the two we have on our course certainly fit into the not well educated category. They definitely are used to having people stop and pay attention to them as they just shout at you when they need help even if you're in the middle of helping someone else out. So when Dee tells them in no uncertain turns to be polite and wait their turn they don't know where to look.On our second day there I finally get my bags back. I'm really relieved to have them back until I actually check them, the good people in baggage control in Jo'burg airport have helped themselves to my sleeping bag, clothes and plenty of other stuff. Dee has also gotten her bag back and had a load of things stolen too. Worst of all our clothes have obviously been thrown about the place and are damp and wet, and the sneaky fuckers stole my Jameson! So angry e-mails are sent and insurance forms filled out but everyone is alive and nothings stolen that cant be replaced.We finish up in Peka on Wednesday and give out 19 more certs. There are plenty of stand out students and I really enjoyed talking to one guy Victor Mopeli, he lives near the school and is a well studied man, been to college in Botswana and Bloenfontain and teaching tech drawing in Peka. He is really interested in fine art and is really interested in the Wikipedia software we install on the computers, the one thing I have found which is common across all the people we have taught is a real thirst for knowledge. As well as teaching in Peka, Victor also has just started up a photocopying service and helped to organise a fruit and vegetable co-op for local people suffering from HIV and AIDS and their families. Its seeing someone really trying to educate themselves and still finding time to help others that makes you appreciate this country.