7/1/2009 Manning native in midst of 2-year Peace Corps stint
Kelly Ferneding (left) and a fellow volunteer hitch a ride in the back of a police truck in Lesotho. Ferneding, 25, has been working with HIV/AIDS patients there since last summer.
Ferneding shows the tiny bathtub she uses in her one-room house in Lesotho. Ferneding said she’s lucky to have electricity and e-mail access but ironically doesn’t have running water.
"I think public service and volunteerism is important. And I liked the idea of being able to do that and also travel, live someplace I'd never known about."
Kelly Ferneding's career path is oddly winding through Africa.
Ferneding, 25, dreams of working in government or public relations, possibly as a press secretary for a federal politician.
So what the heck's she doing volunteering with AIDS patients in Lesotho?
Ferneding is in the midst of a two-year Peace Corps volunteer mission.
"I think public service and volunteerism is important," the daughter of Jean Ferneding of Manning and the late Mike Ferneding said. "And I liked the idea of being able to do that and also travel, live someplace I'd never known about."
The 2001 Manning High grad earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication at Iowa State University in 2005.
She became interested in the Peace Corps during college and undertook the year-long application process.
"I requested Africa. That was as specific as I could get," she said.
When told of an opening in Lesotho, a tiny country enveloped by South Africa, Ferneding eagerly accepted.
She departed in June 2008 and after training settled into a one-room home in the Mafeteng District southwest of the capital Maseru.
Ferneding works with the American nonprofit group Population Services International, providing HIV/AIDS testing and counseling in remote villages.
"Lesotho has second highest HIV/AIDS rate in the world. About one in four people HIV positive," she said. "So it's very important work they're doing, not only just trying to get people to know their status, but there's also a lot of stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS in Lesotho. A lot of their work is education."
Ferneding assists the 10 PSI counselors and testers in devising ways to persuade residents to get tested.
"It's the people not interested in getting tested that we want to talk to. They're predominantly men 25-35 years old," she said.
"We're also starting a support group for all people, whether they're HIV positive or not. The idea is to develop support skills, where people can come in and talk about concerns they're having and get that emotional support. Things like that don't exist much in Lesotho. We want to get people talking about what's going on and supporting each other."
Ferneding is also working with the Mafeteng District government-run hospital to start a library for patients. Her mom, the elementary and high school art teacher at IKM-Manning, organized a book drive for the library in December 2008. Sent by cargo ship from New Orleans, the 1,000-plus books arrived a couple of weeks before Ferneding came home on break this month. Ferneding hopes to open the library later this summer.
Mafeteng is situated in the lowlands of Lesotho, a mostly mountainous country about the size of Maryland and seven hours ahead of U.S. Central Time. It's wintertime there now, with nighttime temperatures dipping below freezing.
"It gets a little cold," Ferneding said of her concrete-walled and -floored room, which sits inside a fenced compound a few blocks from where she works.
Her landlord and house mother sells chickens, eggs and pigs, and customers often arrive at 5 a.m.
Kelly's place has modern conveniences like electricity. She has access to e-mail through Lesotho's cell-phone network. But surprisingly her house has no running water.
"That's sort of the way of life down there," she said. "You're surprised to see people like my house mother having a satellite dish, yet I don't have water."
Ferneding said most Lesotho people speak English and are friendly, hard-working and curious.
"They're a lot like the people here in Iowa," she said. "There are some big differences. I mean, they plow their fields with horses. But for the most part they're friendly and willing to help you."
Ferneding has no qualms about working closely with HIV-positive and AIDS patients in an area where the infection rate is rampant.
"It doesn't bother me," she said. "I tell people at home about that and they go 'Whoa.' It's hard for them to imagine. I didn't understand it until I was there. I have a lot of friends I've made there who are HIV positive. They're all very healthy right now and taking good care of themselves. Hopefully I won't have to experience the death of close friend while I'm in the service."
The government-run health-care system in Lesotho is doing what it can to deal with the AIDS epidemic.
"But sometimes they run out of drugs, so the people have to wait," said Ferneding. "Cost is the problem. But a lot of the pharmaceutical companies are donating drugs and sponsoring clinics."
Ferneding is returning to Lesotho in early July and will serve into May or June 2010.
Then she wants to travel and attend graduate school.
While discussing her interest in federal-government work, Ferneding was asked if she'd be running for office.
"I don't know about that," she said. "But I could be press secretary."
