A note from Kefuoe Motabola

Thank you for this sponsorship.  I will use all the time that I have to do my school work because when I finish my high school level I would like to go o the University of Lesotho.  This sponsorship will help me to improve my life and I will make sure that I work hard to improve my life and also so that I will improve this world.

Posted under Letters from Lesotho, The Mission

It’s summer here in Lesotho and it’s hot. The rooster wakes up with the morning sun at 4:30 a.m. and all local activity begins. The mountain foothills are green and the maize fields indicate a bountiful harvest come fall. The thunderstorms that come almost every night shake the house and cut out the electricity. Mornings are busy but things slow down in the afternoon as the blanket of heat steers people under shaded trees. I’m happy it’s summer – everything is so alive.

The Maluti Mountains of Lesotho

Back in Lesotho for only a few days now, I’ve already had the chance to meet with many of our G.R.O. project members and leaders. It was great to re-connect with our projects and I was so pleased to see that they have all strengthened and grown within 2008. They are excited for all that can be done in 2009 and they send their thanks for all of your support this year. Thanks to those of you who contributed where you could, or participated in the Scholarship Challenge and Gifts of Hope campaign, The G.R.O. Foundation will be able to further expand its projects and support more people in Leribe, Lesotho.

The Family Scholarship Fund
The students of the Family Scholarship Fund at Molapo High School are enjoying their summer holidays and the end of the 2008 academic year. Three of our students have completed their final year and have just taken their graduation test. We are awaiting their results which will come in February as the results of their exams will determine which post-secondary schools they can attend. Tsepo aims to study tourism and Marosa and Maseliso are interested in a variety of disciplines. We delivered their Holiday Food Baskets at our annual end-of-year Braii (BBQ) and everyone is very excited to start the new academic year in January.
Our peer educators and academic advisors are busy preparing their teaching plans for 2009 and we look forward to welcoming new students as well in January.

Family Scholarship graduate Tsepo speaks about his experience at Machebang College to other scholarship students at Molapo at the 2008 end-of-year party.

The Grandmothers Support Group of Leribe
‘Me Mapalesa, a retired nurse clinician, runs the Grandmothers Support Group of Leribe. The Grandmothers group has two main projects: home-based care and community support through a poultry project. Home-based care is an incredibly important part in combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Even with the awareness campaigns and available treatment, the shame and fear HIV patients feel keeps them hidden in their houses – usually dying alone without any care or comfort. The Grandmothers Support Group works with the local chief to visit patients at home and help them get the health care they need. We delivered multivitamins, pain medications and kids vitamins to restock their Home Care kits.

The Grandmothers Group also started a poultry project in 2008. The Grandmothers raise broiler chickens and sell them locally. The Grandmothers also give the chickens to orphans and patients in the community and use the profits to provide for the needy in the community. Each member of the Grandmothers contributed funds to provide the start-up for this project while The G.R.O. Foundation matched their contributions. Because of your support, they have a brand new poultry house which can house over 300 chickens and within 2009 aim to build at least 4 more chicken houses to expand their project.

Thuli’s Jewelry Handicraft Cooperative
The Handicraft Cooperative is going really well. There has been a lot of interest generated both in North America and in Lesotho. The women are working hard and currently we are looking at solidifying our local systems and working to expand our international market. This project has so much potential and I look forward to working with the women to help it grow next year. We’ve started putting together the Thuli’s Jewelry starter kits and I can’t wait to start delivering them to the new cooperative members.

It’s great to be back – I’m happy its summer – and I look forward to keeping you all posted on the work we are doing in Lesotho. Keep an eye on our website and blog for future developments and updates!

Jean - G.R.O. Co-Director

Posted under The Mission

A Note from Matseliso Mataoe

I attend school at Molapo High School and I am in Form E this year.  I am a Mosotho girl with 19 years.  I would like to be a nurse because I have seen that here in Lesotho there are very few good nurses and many people are dying.  As nowdays, people die of diseases, especially AIDS; these infectious disease need more nurses to help people as I can see the death rate is high.
I would like to say thank you to people who are responsible for my sponsorship.  I am thankful for the opportunity to be one of the Molapo High School students.  If you had not helped me, maybe I would be someone who is useless with nothing to do.
Thank you and may God bless you. Please help sponsor other students like me.

Posted under The Mission

Greg Felsen

Khotsong! Peace to All.  My name is Greg Felsen and I am a founding member of the G.R.O Foundation. From August 2005 through December of 2007, I was living and working at Molapo High School in Leribe, Lesotho. My primary focus at Molapo High School was on establishing a strong infrastructure for sustainable agriculture projects that could generate income to support orphaned and vulnerable children. During this time, seeing the great need for support of many Lesotho youth, I teamed up with James White (a pediatric HIV nurse) and Jean Margaritis (a community advocate) to form The GRO Foundation.  Our first project, The Family Scholarship Fund was created to assist high school level students at Molapo High School. We didn’t want to be another program that simply gave funds. We sought to create a student family that supported each other and learned together in a lifelong and meaningful way. We established a program that incorporates teacher mentoring and peer tutoring as a central aspect. The students meet on a regular basis to discuss educational issues but also personal issues that they are facing.

The greatest moments I saw of the program becoming a family were when the students themselves started organizing support for each other relating to tutoring support from older students to younger ones and peer support when gathering for funerals in support of a student’s personal loss at home. In addition, I was moved when we would have the end of the year BBQ (Braii) and see all the family come together to cook and clean and just plain dance and have fun.  It was truly inspirational. I took a great interest in helping the other G.R.O related projects get off the ground and am committed to making them a success.  I look forward to sharing more stories about the students and the work that The G.R.O Foundation is doing in Lesotho.  There is so much potential and we hope to make an impact in creating a healthier world. Until then much love.

Posted under The Mission