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Grandmother of eight grandchildren grateful for emergency support
Mamofumotse Tsoekere (88) lives in Serutle village in Butha-Buthe District with her eight grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. Identified as one of many vulnerable families affected by the El Niño drought, she relies on a meagre old age pension from the government to take care of her family. Because of this, the community thought it necessary her family be included on the list of beneficiaries to receive cash transfers, which was organized by the district disaster management authorities.
At the time, Mamofumotse had been forced to reduce the number of daily meals to only one because the family did not have access to fields except a small garden where she plants maize. “To some, canned fruits are a snack but for my family it is a main course,” says Mamofumotse, sobbing. She is thankful for the humanitarian response joint programme because, “I was able to buy 80 kilos of maize meal and other needs for my family. My children are happily going to school having eaten their breakfast at home unlike before.”
Green thinking: Effects of conservation agriculture and home gardening in Mafeteng District
“I love conservation agriculture and will never let it go!”
The sun is out in Mafeteng district and, yet, a cool breeze sweeps through the air. Malerato Makoae, 64 years of age, has an indefatigable love for conservation agriculture, the evidence of which can be seen in her maize fields and gardens where a variety of vegetables are thriving. Makoae is one of 24,856 participants in the protection and restoration livelihoods programme under the Humanitarian Response Joint Programme in Lesotho.
Beneficiaries across the country received assistance in the form of agricultural products like 10kg of pollinated maize seeds, 5kg of bean seeds, 5kg of grazing vetch seeds, fertilizer/peas seeds, and six varieties of vegetable seeds. The result has been that people can now, hopefully, better weather coming disasters and protect themselves and their loved ones against extreme weather conditions. “I love conservation agriculture and will never let it go,” Makoae says. “It has made life easy for me as it is a type of farming that allows me to do everything with my own hands!”
Positive overflow: Lifesaving school WASH initiatives
The road to Qholaqhoe High School winds along an isolated mountaintop in northern Lesotho and is long and rocky. Look up to see peach tree blossoms, bursting bright against the drought-parched yellow hills. Look down and one will see aluminum sided shacks with backyard gravestones. "Most of the children at the school don't have parents. They're orphans because of the AIDS epidemic or their parents have gone to work in South Africa," says Deputy Principal, Lebohang Khakhane, pointing to a far mountain range. "Students only come to school if they want and some walk ten kilometers to get here every day. Many do this without having access to quality food."
Lesotho has the world's second-highest HIV rate, meaning the virus affects every part of life and touches countless children and families. But there is also another silent killer at work: Lesotho has the seventh-highest rate of death-by-diarrhea on the planet—nearly one in five children dies of diarrhea-related causes before reaching their fifth birthday. To help combat this, UN humanitarian response joint programme stakeholders launched water and sanitation initiatives at 20 schools like Qholaqhoe across the country. In such cases, students gained access to clean, safe water sources and toilets. They also learned lifesaving hygiene skills that turn them into "agents of change,” all of which has helped transform entire communities as a result.
Finding hope in the wake of trauma
Motherless from the age of nine, Lerato* was 13 when she was raped repeatedly by her father until his arrest two years later. The abuse and trauma she experienced was not only psychobiological, but extended to her economic situation as well. Lerato had to repeat Form B three times—despite being extremely smart and driven, she was barred from sitting exams because of unpaid school fees.
Compounded, the challenged rose and led Lerato, now 22, to believe her future was hopeless and gloomy. It was such that she became a single mother of two and lived for a short while with her father who served one year in jail for sexually assaulting her. Yet, despite these odds, Lerato’s outlook eventually shifted for the better. After taking part in a community-led workshop on GBV and economic empowerment, held in Maseru district things began to change for Lerato, no matter how slight.
“I needed counselling,” she says. “Yes, my father supported me and my children as I did not have a job, but it wasn’t healthy. He never stops reminding me how I have brought two fatherless children into our home. He also hasn’t made amends for the pain he in inflicted on me when I was a teenager.”
The turning point was the workshop and since attending it Lerato is able to envision a brighter future and feels she acquired sufficient skills to start a small business selling secondhand clothes. The training she received not only helped her identify a market for goods to sell, but it empowered her on the different forms of GBV and psychosocial services available to her. Once her business is up and running she plans to take full care of her children and siblings.
*Name has been changed
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