Lesotho is a tiny land-locked country in Southern Africa. The United Nations estimates more than half the population – 57 percent – live in extreme poverty.
Efforts by non-governmental organisations and donors are however making life just that much easier for some Basotho women and children.
Over the weekend, representatives from the Chinese community visited one NGO to deliver some much-needed aid supplies.
Representatives from the Chinese community in Maseru, visited Good Shepherd Centre for Teenage Mothers, lying about 20 kilometers from the capital, to deliver the donations.
The NGO supports young mothers battling poverty and illness – often HIV/Aids, but as it’s a charity, the centre survives on donations.
The centre provides young mothers with a supportive place to live while they learn to care for themselves and their children. The beneficiaries come from communities where poverty, HIV and unemployment are rife.
The young mothers spend two years here, learning skills such as sewing, cooking and farming in order to empower themselves. There are counsellors on site and the women also learn parenting and childcare skills.
It is efforts such as those of the Chinese community that enable the place to continue helping the beneficiaries, helping shape their future lives.
