A letter from Dr. Tolle at Christmas Time 2006.   

Sent: Monday, December 18, 2006 1:20 PM
Subject: Christmas in Lesotho

Hi Grenda,

But I wanted to take the time to write you tonight and tell you a most sincere thanks.

As you know, Lorena has been giving out the beanies as they come in, but holding a few here and there back to put together with your Christmas boxes (4 of which came - 2 were kept in Cape Town, no explanation, one being released this week) for Christmas gift bags for all the kids at the clinic now to Christmas.

They started giving them out today. Folks from the clinic dressed in the Santa outfits and helped Lorena and others give out the gifts. And they'll be doing this all week. I'll be in the Santa suit Wednesday on.The reaction from the kids was overwhelming.

This is a deeply troubled place, with a darkness that pervades everything, doom and despair around every corner. There is little to smile about here, especially at our clinic, and in the lives of our patients, and don't worry, no one does. There is very little evidence here that Christmas is around the corner. No happy spirit here.

And this is evidently the way it always is. Not even the relatively privileged people that work in our clinic have much feeling for Christmas. There is just nothing to celebrate.

When I write the kids that come to our clinic have nothing, I mean it. They have nothing. And they get nothing nice, no warm fuzzies. Never a break from all of this. Their lives are day to day survival.

But today they had Christmas. It was sent from overseas in cardboard boxes, but today it flowed out all over the clinic, out the doors and up into the bright blue Lesotho sky.

Nurses in Santa hats, doctors, too. Every kid getting a present. Something kids in Dallas might look cross-eyed at, but that the kids here just adored. Some of the mothers - and these are tough ladies, hardened by difficult lives - broke into tears. So did some of the staff. It was the first time in everyone's memory that someone had done something like this for these kids.

These kids sit back and watch every Christmas. But this year someone was watching them.

And they'll be repeating this every day this week.

So thank you from the bottom of our hearts. If there is a truer meaning to Christmas I'm not sure what it is.

I remember that Bob Geldof song from Live Aid, the one about there won't be snow in Africa this Christmastime...

And indeed there won't be snow. But today in Lesotho there was Christmas.

Kudos to you guys. Don't stop sending.

Our love,

Mike, Lorena, Sebastian, and the BIPAI-Lesotho team
Dear Grenda

 Lesotho team