Visiting a place and getting to know its people makes the world smaller and increases our sense of community, even when that place may be far away. Or at least it does for me. My family visited the tiny country of Lesotho (pronounced li-soo-too) just three years ago.

So last week, when I heard of Lesotho’s attempted military coup, I could picture the people and the place, a country where over 90 percent of the women are literate, according to UNESCO, but half the population lives below the national poverty line, and 40 percent of the people suffer from malnutrition.

For more photos and travel stories of our trip to Lesotho, check out these blog posts:

Adventures in Lesotho, Sleeping in Lesotho, Eating in Lesotho, Orphans in Lesotho, Visiting Our Sponsored Child in Lesotho, and Washing Clothes by the River.

Trip taken August 2011.