Winter Break

On Friday I noticed a lot of school kids out and about during lunch and mentioned it to my driver later in the day. It turns out that Friday was the last day of school here in Lesotho, with a break extending until mid-August. This confused me. In the U.S. the origins of the summer break lie in agriculture, of families needing kids at home to aid in the harvest. As Lesotho is in the southern hemisphere and just entering deep winter, obviously the rationale did not hold. My driver explained that they had a break because it was so cold. Having been in a few school houses here and seen the utter lack of heating or insulation, that argument actually holds some weight. Walking uphill five miles in the snow to get to school is one thing, but then being forced to sit in a school house as cold as or only marginally warmer than the outside is another.

I feel rather sorry for the children of Lesotho at this moment. American kids get time off when the days are long and warm, lending themselves to outdoor fun and adventures. Lesotho kids get time off when the daylight is scarce and the only thing you want to do is huddle by a heat source.