Letters from Lesotho
Welcome to Letters from Lesotho, a site where you can download Madeline Uraneck's letters written during her Peace Corps experiences in Lesotho, Southern Africa. You can read individual letters or download them all as a zipped archive. Also please click on the links button to see a collection of resources regarding Lesotho. All photos are © Madeline Uraneck.
Madeline's article in The Isthmus, the Madison Wisconsin news weekly can be found here. It won the 2007 Wisconsin Newspaper Association Award for Best Feature Article, and was followed by a second article the following year.
Madeline has published an article on HIV in Lesotho in Hotline, the publication for returned Peace Corps volunteers.
If you would like to follow Madeline in her Peace Corps staff work in Turkmenistan (2010-2013), subscribe to www.GlobalMaddyTurkmen.blogspot.com1.First Impressions
November 12, 2006
2.A Mountain Village
November 21, 2006
First impressions continued. A Peace Corps site visit and an amazing trek.
3.HIV AIDS in Lesotho
December 4, 2006
Funerals. Campaigns. Talking about sex. Attitudes and orphans.
4.A Basotho Village
December 31, 2006
Four weeks in a Basotho Village. Language challenges. Culture and cows. Where are the men?
5. 1 day down,724 to go
January
3, 2007
Assigned to Mt. Moorosi. Corn, orphans, chiefs. Textless teachers. Heavy beans and heavy expectations. Disappointment reconsidered.
6.Collecting Best Days
February
26, 2007
School visits. Mountain trails. A convocation.
7.What my Village Needs
March
24, 2007
What the children need. What the parents need.
8. Orphans
April
18, 2007
Dintle. Aussi Neo. How Lesotho feeds orphans. Grandparents inherit treasures.
9. Swaziland
May
20, 2007
Hello neighbors. Swaziland's notorious distiction. Crafts. South Africa.
10.Books, Baths & Bribes
June
7, 2007
Vignettes. A balanced diet. The price of a political opinion. Corruption. Bribes. Water.
11.5 Funerals 1 Mountain
September 1, 2007
Why Lesotho doesn't work. Wouldn't you live in Maseru? No one dies of AIDS here.
12. Christmas Candles
December, 2007
Candles on my Christmas Tree.doc
Looking back at year 1. Lighting a candle for each of 10 joys and struggles.
13.Down the Other Side of the Mountain
April 29, 2008
The deaths of Madeline's brother David and a Basotho orphan girl. Reflections on sunsets and violence to women.
14.Crazy Lady on the Bus
June 12, 2008
Mental illness; disabilities.
15.Not Coming Back
August 26, 2008
The gift of not returning; A 20-year old in 4th grade. Mozambique
16.Guilt and Herd Boys
October 6, November 11, and December 16, 2008
Pity for the rich; Generosity in a poor land.
17.Youth, Old Age & the Wild Coast
March 3, 2009
South Africa; Age; Attitudes toward kids.
18.Two Murders
July 22, 2009
19.What I've Learned in Lesotho
August 16, 2009
10 things Madeline learned in the Mountain Kingdom. Unspoiled children.
Emotion as a way to approach AIDS. Loss of the fear of death. Courage to follow your dreams.
20.Last Days in Southern Africa
October 26, 2009
A farewell with 150 children. Disgruntled neighbors want my discards. Awesome
Namibia. Mad Madagascar.
21.Madeline's Mountain Desk Project
Thank you for giving desks to mountain schools. A weary trapse across three
countries to negotiate desks. A last minute loss of courage to stay and teach.
Humility.