Lesotho
FACET partners with Help Lesotho
The FACET Foundation is excited to announce its partnership with Help Lesotho to build a Graff Leadership Centre in Lesotho
The FACET Foundation has joined forces with Help Lesotho to fund a leadership centre and girls' hostel, the Graff Leadership Centre at Help Lesotho Seotlong Complex, Leribe, Lesotho.
The FACET Foundation is supporting Help Lesotho's development work with thousands of AIDS orphans, vulnerable children, youth and grandmothers by building the Graff Leadership Centre to support the under-serviced northern area of Lesotho and thousands of its people. The decision to build the Centre in the town of Leribe allows the greatest reach and scope of influence in the areas of profound need. It is a pivotal location with a hospital and a small and growing commercial sector.
The Graff Leadership Centre will be the focal point for Help Lesotho programming in Lesotho, including an annual leadership camp for 250 orphans and vulnerable youth, three-day gender conferences, sports days, teacher training and grandmother and civil society conferences. The Centre will emphasize community responsibility and the benefits of helping others reach their goals.
The Graff Leadership Centre will host the most extensive library north of Maseru. Programme staff will run a multitude of programmes including literacy activities, youth pre-employment training, youth clubs, gender and grandmother conferences, grandmother days, study sessions, leadership training in communication, conflict resolution, problem solving, democracy and citizenship, volunteering and civil society development, games, sports and HIV/AIDS activities. Basotho youth will be trained to participate in the programming as peer role models and community leaders in training. Girls' programming will increase, as will programmes for young men and boys. Local partners will have a neutral place to meet and explore opportunities to work together for the good of the community.
The Centre will also house a residential hostel for participants in the Basotho Girls' Leadership Corps Programme. This group of girls will be trained to undertake community programmes, peer tutoring with the young orphans and act as role models in their villages. The thousands of orphans in Lesotho have few role models and few support systems to help them grow up.
Local governance and expert advice for the Centre will come from a strong Local Advisory Committee composed of skilled community leaders from various sectors of society with representation from youth, grandmothers, educators and leaders.
The FACET Foundation's major contribution toward the building and on-going operation support of the Graff Leadership Centre will benefit thousands of people over many decades. The FACET Foundation and Help Lesotho are excited by this dynamic relationship and look forward to years of successful work together for those in need.
The Graff Leadership Centre will be a centre of excellence and a model for others as to how to provide Lesotho's young people with hope, opportunities and a future that they otherwise would not have.
As sixteen-year-old Tebello says, "The Graff Leadership Centre and Hostel is going to give us a future. It gives us hope and a place to be welcomed when we are so alone and not knowing how to manage. It will be our refuge and our hope. Rea leboha, haholo (We thank you so much) for caring".
About Help Lesotho
Help Lesotho is a non-governmental organisation founded in 2004 by Dr. Peg Herbert. HL is a rapidly growing Canadian registered charity partnering public, private and volunteer resources to campaign against gender inequity and HIV/AIDS in Lesotho. HL builds partnerships with community leaders and organisations to support locally initiated, championed and managed projects for the benefit of orphans, vulnerable children and youth in Lesotho. Key programmes include child sponsorhip, grandmother support, school involvement, teacher training and HIV/AIDS clubs. Its literacy, gender equity, HIV/AIDS programmes and leadership development initiatives involve multi-year partnerships of common goals, policies and practices to ensure financial and community accountability. HL builds governance capacity and community engagement through partnership, leadership and skill with local partners, civil society and government departments.
Why Lesotho
The Kingdom of Lesotho is a small, mountainous landlocked country entirely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa, and has the world's 3rd highest incidence of HIV/AIDS. About 40% of the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day. 63% of its population is under 24 years of age with a life expectancy of 37 years. In northern and central Lesotho, the percentage of children who are orphaned can reach 40%. These orphans and youth are plagued with loss, poverty, hunger and an almost total lack of psycho-social support. Without significant help, they will lose hope.