by Boitumelo Sekotlo | Aug 28, 2023 | Latest
On the 10th August 2023, Lesotho Red Cross Society (LRCS) received a request from St Paul School for the Death in Leribe that the school was about to be closed due to lack of food. As a result, Leribe Division and the LRCS Headquarters facilitated the provision of essentials for the school in order to keep students at school for the time being while the school seek additional support elsewhere.
On Thursday the 17th August 2023, the following items (food parcels and cosmetics) were provided to the school: Maize meal, beans, cooking oil, washing powder, bath soap, roll-on, Vaseline, sanitary towels, toothpastes, hand washing soaps, brooms and mops.
According to the Acting Principal Mrs ‘Makhabane Malataliana, the school is committed in providing accommodation, happy caring and simulating environment to children who are deaf and those with intellectual disabilities from ten districts and some are from very vulnerable households.
“Due to increasing number of children, the school has encountered countless problems which may lead to high chances of school being closed. We normally survive with the subvention from the government, when the money is delayed, we are forced to take food on credit from the local supermarket and pay as soon as we get the money. Mrs. Malataliana indicated
She further said they used to survive through their broilers chicken, they ate and sold eggs they produced but they were forced to sell the chickens last year since they had no other way to survive.
“We are looking into investing into agriculture so that we do not depend mainly on donors for suvilal, the good thing about the students in this school is that they like doing things with their own hands so I do not think vegetable planting will be a problem”. Said Mrs Malataliana
She concluded by thanking LRCS for the support saying the food and cosmetics
by Boitumelo Sekotlo | Aug 23, 2023 | Latest
On Thursday the 30th March 2023, Lesotho Red Cross Society (LRCS) held an Early Action Protocol (EAP) at ‘Manthabiseng Convention centre. Present at the workshop were LRCS Divisional Secretaries, LRCS staff, Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Forestry, Range and Soil Conservation, Ministry of Gender, Youth Sports and Culture, District Administrators, Disaster Management Authority, District Counsels and the Netherlands 510 team among others.
When officially opening the workshop, the president of the LRCS Mr. Hareteke Nkhets’e welcomed everyone who attended, he said the Society’s strategic intent is to alleviate human suffering. “One of our key result areas is to prepare for disasters “disaster preparedness”. This project is very key to us as the LRCS in terms of preparedness to the disasters” The President said.
He further expressed his gratitude to the government and other stakeholders for taking part in the preparation of the Early Action Protocol He emphasised on the point that the Society is thankful see that the government is working along side with the Society to make sure that the role of the Red Cross is seen and known.
When giving the key note of the workshop, the Secretary General of the LRCS said the objective of the Early Action Protocol is to close the gap between disaster preparedness and response. He stated that drought has become on of the normal event in Lesotho so this programme came at an opportune moment whereby the world is concerned about climate change.
“The research that has been done by the LRCS in collaboration with the National University of Lesotho and other stakeholders looked specifically at draught and it has been endorsed that draught is one of the big problems that face Lesotho hence the EAP that will be discussed today.” The Secretary General said.
He further stated that the Society has qualified to receive about M9.3 Million for the next five years which will be utilised to reduce the impact of draught in Lesotho. “This means it guaranteed for the next five years the country has access of funds that will at least assist about 10 500 people so that they don’t experience the full impact of draught.” Mr. Masilo stated
The EAP Project Manager Miss Sibongile Hlubi said Early Action Protocol is an approach that enables access to humanitarian funds. “We can forecast draught using different indicators, using metrological data and looking at the food security situation, with the forecast that we have we will be able to say we can predict the situation before it happens.” She said
She further stated that there is the risk analysis should be looked in to and there are two indicators to look into which are:
- The exposure; Which regions are exposed to draught
- Vulnerability: What makes the community in that area to be vulnerable.
She said the goal of EAP is to anticipate disasters, prevent their impact and reduce humanitarian suffering and losses. According to the project manager, the first phase of the project started in 2019 and ended on the 31st December 2022. In this phase, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Eswatini
tried to develop this approach and see if it works in different countries. The project focuses on draught, cold waves or heavy snow fall in Lesotho.
Miss Hlubi indicated that the Early Action Protocol project started on the 1st January 2023 and will end 31st December 2028, it is funded to a tune of M9.3 Million which is allocated for readiness, prepositioning and early action costs and it is expected to cover the average minimum of ten thousand people.
There are triggers that fully define the processes that were undertook and who will be the custodian.
She further stated that when ever the Lesotho Metrological Services gives a seasonal outlook that is normal to below normal rain fall, the early action will be activated, this includes dissemination of early warning messages and unconditional cash transfers. The dissemination messages will be done from October to end of February because the seasonal outlook would have been received.
“The Forecast Based Financing is here, Anticipatory Action is here, Early action Protocol is here, I give this to the government entities to and all stakeholders to say this is the opportunity that we can use to ensure that we protect the vulnerable community.” She concluded
The Early Action Protocol document was then handed over to Disaster Management Authority (DMA) at this event,
When receiving the document on behalf of DMA’s CEO, Mr. Thapelo Rankoe thanked the LRCS for handing over the document to them and said the DMA is mandated to conducting all Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) activities in the country.
“Today my colleagues and I acknowledge the handover of the EAP from the LRCS. This clearly indicates the step forward to preparing and responding to those affected by draught. Mr. Rankoe said.
He further stated that the LRCS and DMA have long been good partners when it comes to activities and initiatives aiming at reducing disasters in Lesotho. “Together we shall work hard and hand in hand to make sure that EAP is adopted in our work.” He concluded.
by Boitumelo Sekotlo | Aug 23, 2023 | Latest
With the help and guidance of Lesotho Red Cross Society, elderly people from Kena community started a “GRANNY’S CLUB” with the aim of destressing and coming together as elderly people to talk about challenges that they come across in their day to day life.
This elderly ware brought together by the Society in 2012 after seeing the struggles that they go through as they are left raising their grand children whose parents died due to HIV/AIDS. It was discovered that the elderly goes through a lot of stress as they raise these children since some of them are not working and struggle to put bread on the table. The other factor is that raising teenagers is very difficult because some of them do not listen to their grandparents.
In this Club, the focus groups are formed whereby some focus on Kids Club which its main purpose is to teach children about their culture and help them be responsible adults on day. The kids in the club are also taught to make income generating activities so that they learn that they should work hard to get their daily needs.
Through this project, elderly people are also taught to make income generating activities such as flowers and chairs using locally available resources, the money the get from selling those items helps relieve the workload of raising their grandchildren. They also get Psycho-Social Support (PSS) from the Society.
by Boitumelo Sekotlo | Jun 23, 2023 | Latest
Africa CDC Saving Lives and Livelihoods Regional Coordinator Dr Charles Ibeneme informed the Lesotho Government Minister of Health Mr Selibe Mochoboroane that he is impressed with the achievements of the COVID19 vaccination project in Lesotho.
Dr. Ibeneme informed the Health Minister during a debriefing after the AFRICA CDC SLL Date Quality Assessment Team (DQA) visit to the country from June 12 to 15 the year. The DQA team consisted of members of Africa CDC and Deloitte Limited.
He said aim of the visit was to check the progress of the SLL project and look at the accuracy of the data that they are receiving, whether they are consistent with what was reported.
He reported that the project which started in August 2022 and ends in August this year, has achieved the following;
- recruited and trained community volunteers as RCCE teams in the Berea, Mohale’sHoeK, Quthing and Thaba Tseka district under the watchful eye of Lesotho Red Cross Society.
- Have supported data capturing and entry
- Trained and deployed data capturers/officers
Dr Ibeneme said the plan is to ensure that 100% of people with poor mobility and 70% of the eligible population is vaccinated against in Lesotho the COVID19.
He mentioned the stakeholders of the project as being Lesotho Red Cross Society and CHAL.
He said the goal of the SLL project is to vaccinate 70% of the eligible population in Lesotho.
Ibeneme also discussed the Data Quality Assessment (DQA) process, which involved field work to observe how the implementing partners collaborated during the campaigns. The DQA focused on factors such as the number of community influencers reached and engaged, the number of people reached through RCCE (Risk Communication and Community Engagement) messages, and the number of vaccine doses administered.
In the meantime, Lesotho Red Cross Society has managed to train 354 people on Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) approaches and COVID 19 vaccine, employed 47 youth and engaged a total number of 395 community influencers comprising of political leaders, religious leaders, traditional leaders, business owners and social media influencers to inform people about Covid-19 Vaccine.
On behalf of Deloitte Consulting Ltd, Linda Isawa, the Monitoring and Evaluation officer, expressed that Lesotho is performing well in the project. She mentioned that they have also come to learn from Lesotho so that they can share their experiences with other countries implementing the SLL.
Isawa stated that the Data-Quality Assessment (DQA) exercise was a valuable experience for the in-country implementing partners. It helped identify gaps that needed to be addressed in terms of implementation. The exercise also highlighted the strengths of the implementing partners.
Additionally, Isawa mentioned that the strengths of the RCCE (Risk Communication and Community Engagement) activities included strong integration with the implementing partner and the presence of an RCCE coordinator appointed by the Ministry to oversee activities in the districts. Isawa commended the accuracy of the reported data and indicators as noteworthy strengths.
Furthermore, Isawa acknowledged that Lesotho has made progress in terms of data availability in the District Health Information System (DHIS2) system, which is a positive development. She also highlighted the presence of policies governing organizations, such as policies on information confidentiality.
Isawa emphasized the integration of the SLL partners, enabling them to report consistent data. All data collected by the teams aligns with the information reported by the Ministry of Health and the SLL program.
However, there are some gaps that need to be addressed. These include the accessibility of reporting tools in other offices and the need for Health Centers to have access to their own data instead of solely relying on the Lesotho Red Cross Society (LRCS). Similar issues were identified in the Divisional offices as well.
The international team, consisting of representatives from Deloitte, Africa CDC, AMREF (subcontracted CHAL), and the Botswana Red Cross (subcontracted LRCS), visited the Ministry of Health and met with the Director General of Health Services, Dr. Nyane Letsie, in Berea on June 12th to pay curtesy call.
In addition, the Director General for Health Services, added that the Lesotho Red Cross Society and Christian Health Association of Lesotho (CHAL) have been successful in the SLL, saying they have been consistently reporting and communicating with the Ministry since the program began. “Prior to the SLL, there were significant challenges with data management, which were resolved by the data clerks engaged under the SLL,” she added.
The findings of the assessment were reported to the Ministry of Health, Director General of Health Services, Principal Secretary, LRCS Secretary General, CHAL Executive Director and staff.
by Redcross20 | Apr 25, 2023 | Latest
Although children have adverse challenges to get education in Lesotho like long distances to school and bullying they still find schools as safer places to be than home.
This was said by the children during a UNICEF Lesotho study called ‘Children’s Voice’ whose aim was to identify children’s challenges and violation of their rights as a result of development and humanitarian challenges.
The study was conducted in Mafeteng, Maseru, Mokhotlong and Quthing in November last year but the approved report was released this year.
According to the Programs Director Mr Sechaba Mokhameleli who led the exercise the targeted children were those in and out of school; including herd boys and young Mothers.
The Disaster Management Officer of LRCS Mr Maine Makula indicated that it was discovered during the exercises that children come across different challenges and bottlenecks that affect their wellbeing and freedom.
The DM Officer revealed that during the focus group discussions, children were freely talking about their issues in the absences of community leaders.
He said the idea of excluding the community leaders was to ensure that the children speak freely about issues that affect them.
In addition, the other focus groups included community leaders like the chiefs, councilors and teachers, he said.
According to the participants, it was indicated that both boys and girls do not attend school well due to long distances they have to walk to schools and bullying by boys including forced labour to look after animals. The girls on the other hand are forced to cook and deliver food for boys looking after the animals.
“We feel safe at school than at home. Our parents fight in our presence, some of them give us a lot of responsibilities that affect our studying at home. We do not have enough time to play at home. Some of us especially those whose parents drink alcohol are continuously abused verbally and physically ,” they said
Children demonstrated that they are not only abused physically, but also emotionally. Lerato Motaung (not her real name) indicated that she lives with her sick mom and stepfather who always refuse to assist with school items such as; uniform, books, and clothes.
“My mother is sick, and always shouts at me when I request school items and other necessities and this gives me a lot of stress. I sometimes think I would be better off with my biological father and his family than with my mother”, she said.
Lerato says her father may treat her well and accept. She thinks he may be able to assist with her needs.
Lerato continued that her mother tells her that her father abandoned her and that wishing to relocate to him she will discover how the family hates her. She told the researchers that her mother constantly tells her how useless she is.
In conclusion, the Programs Director indicated that the study was carried out using different tools that allowed the children to be comfortable to express their issues using five thematic areas; Education, Health, Child protection, Nutrition and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.
In these consultations, UNICEF observers were present to be part of the exercises which were carried out. The study was financed by UNICEF Lesotho to the tune of M432 200 maloti.
by Redcross20 | Apr 25, 2023 | Latest
The Australian High Commissioner to Lesotho Ms. Gita Kamath visited one of the schools in the Butha-Buthe District funded by the Australian Red Cross under the School Feeding Project to see the progress achieved.
After touring the project site, the High Commissioner informed the gathering that education is very important, “however, education alone is not enough; you cannot learn when you are sick and hungry. Clean water, good hygiene and nutrition are very important in your lives and that is why this project is so important.” Miss Gita said.
She further stated that she is very proud that the Australian Red Cross is helping to make this possible and working together with Lesotho Red Cross Society.
“I just want to congratulate you al; the staff, volunteers and the community here including the principal, the school board, the teachers, the parents, the children and the chief, for the good work done in Lesotho through the Schools Feeding Project.” Miss Gita concluded.
The acting Principal of Mantlobo Primary School Mrs. Mathakane Melato indicated that the School Feeding Project did not only revive their agriculture spirit in schools but at home as well.
“The project has taught us that we need not be without vegetables all year round. We have learned to grow own vegetables and preserve them and for that we are grateful “she explained.
Mrs. Melato further gave a round of applause to members of the community for their dedication and cooperation they have shown throughout the project; from inception.
“If it was not because of you parents, the project and the schools would have failed. Through your assistance, the children are able to eat healthy food at school as well as at their homes because the same vegetables they eat at schools, they take it to their homes,” she said.
Mrs. Melato applauded the LRCS for the good work it has done in their school and the community, saying the LRCS should expand its helping hand to other schools.
One of members of Mantlobo Community, Mrs. Marelebohile Makema gave thanks
especially on the pots and stove indicating that for years their children have been
eating unhealthy food due to broken pots that were used at the school.
In addition, the Divisional Treasurer Mrs Magadebe Matela, speaking on behalf of the Butha-Buthe Red Cross Division, that she was privileged to have been to Mantlobo to witness the success of the project.
The LRCS Secretary General Mr. Kopano Masilo indicated that the Society is humbled by the fact that over 192 National Societies worldwide, the LRCS was selected for the funding of about six Million Maloti to bring a smile on the faces of the vulnerable children.
Mr. Masilo added that the LRCS is an organization that takes care of the people, and is one of organizations that are accountable to the people it serves.
“All money that we are funded with in order to assist the communities, we do so with pleasure and conviction d. please take care of the vegetables and trees. Protect them without fail so that they can benefit everyone”, He added.
