Meeting Ambassador Phamotse

On the last night of our trip to Lesotho I got a message from Ciaran Staunton, who has been instrumental to say the least in how far we have come on our journey. The message said that the Lesotho Ambassador to Ireland, H.E. Mr. Paramente Phamotse, would like to meet us! So this morning Chris, Ciaran and I made our way to the Lesotho Embassy on Upper Mount St. where we met with Ambassador Phamotse and The First Secretary of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Lesotho, Nkhotha Machachamise.

Chris and I about to head into the meeting.

The reception we received at the embassy could not have been more welcoming. We had the opportunity to speak with the Ambassador about our journey so far, our recent trip to Lesotho, and our hopes for the future. Throughout our conversation the Ambassador gave us further insight into Lesotho, its history and culture, and the plight of children of Lesotho who have been orphaned through AIDS as well as a lot of practical advice on what our next steps should be to keep the project moving forward.

Before today I have never had the opportunity or reason to spend any time with diplomats so I don’t have anything to compare my experience with but Chris and I were really encouraged by our meeting. In particular we were struck by how much the Ambassador genuinely wanted to be of help to us on our journey. He really represents his country well.

We left the meeting somewhat overwhelmed by the possibilites  of where this thing could go and with lots to think through…