Heading into their final exams for the year the students of the Family Scholarship Fund have been very busy. The Family Scholarship Fund provides an additional learning environment and social support network based at Molapo High School in Leribe, Lesotho. The regular classes are supplemented by additional study sessions and support as well as an after school Leadership Club to participate in life-skills activities and confidence building. We were able to sit down with Abuti Kali, Abuti Tsoanyane, and Aussi Marahaba. These are their collective answers.

(Abuti means ‘brother’ or ’son’ and Aussi means ’sister’ or ‘daughter’ in Sesotho)

Students of the Family Scholarship Fund at Molapo High School 2010

Why is the FSF program important for students?

Not only does it offer educational support and the sponsorship to needy and vulnerable students but also provide students empowerment and the learning opportunities.

How has being a GRO Scholar helped you in your studies? How has it helped at home?

Being a G.R.O. Scholar has helped in many ways. It has given us an opportunity to attend school, relate with others in a good way and we have learned skills such as making decisions and working as a team. As GRO Scholars we have also been helped in the family in a way of supporting with human needs such as groceries and clothes during the winter.

What is your favourite FSF activity?

Leadership clubs especially team work activities. This is the most favourite FSF activity; it doesn’t only provide a refreshing environment, but also a very good way to relax and be in an enjoyable atmosphere for students.

What do you hope to do after you finish secondary and graduate as a GRO Scholar?

We would like to do social work, accounting & engineering. These are the careers which advocate for the country’s development.

Aussi Marahaba

Abuti Tsoanyane

Abuti Kali

Posted under Notes from Lesotho

The G.R.O. Artisans Collective has faced a number of challenges with business expansion and an increasing number of mothers working as both jewelry designers and producers. The Collective gives these women a chance at financial stability and independence for themselves and their families. This opportunity, as great as it is, necessarily comes after their most important role of being a mother. With an influx of mothers comes an rush of young children and as the Artisans expanded their production and retail space they searched for a solution to the increasing number of infants that quickly became an office responsibility which is bound to happen with a roomful of carrying mothers. Recently, the Artisans and G.R.O. Lesotho came up with the solution of G.R.O. Care a small daycare centre supported by both parties and open to all other small businesses in the Hlotse BEDCo compound - a small business centre where the G.R.O. offices are located - to increase the productivity of all surrounding local business. G.R.O. Careis run by ‘Me Rose an incredible woman, mother, and grandmother who took the time out of her day to talk to us a bit more about the daily activity of the centre.

Posted under Notes from Lesotho, Uncategorized

Career role models speak to students about their futures

Hlotse-Leribe, Lesotho – May 7th 2010 –  This past Friday over 25 Leribe high schools attended the first ever ’LEAP’ Career Fair, held in Leribe District.  The event, funded and organized by local non-profit organization ‘The G.R.O. Foundation Lesotho’, provided Leribe’s Form D and E students with career information and inspiration for their future academic pursuits.  Over 30 Lesotho based tertiary institutions, technical colleges and professional representatives were made available to discuss career options and academic opportunities with the students.  In addition, career and community role models presented 40 minute discussions to students highlighting the activities and benefits of specific careers. These included; police work, military service, nursing and medicine, health counseling, accounting, business and several other attainable career choices.

The G.R.O. Foundation Lesotho presented the event as part of the newly launched LEAP initiative (Lesotho Educational Advancement Program).  This program focuses on ‘bridging the gap’ between high school and tertiary education by providing students with information on academic and career resources available to them in the Kingdom of Lesotho.  Many Basotho students, although successful in completing their COSC exams, fail to move on to higher education due to lack of information or direction in planning their next steps.  Through the provision of academic leadership clubs, a career resource manual, and via district wide career fairs the LEAP program seeks to assist students in making the jump to further education.

The Leribe district career fair, held on May 7 2010, was the inaugural LEAP career fair event aimed at connecting students with academic institutes and Lesotho’s business leaders.  The event was hailed a success by all in attendance – with many calls for the event to be replicated in neighboring districts.  Teachers, students and presenting guests described the event as ‘well organized’, ‘rich in information’, and an ‘invaluable resource for students planning their futures’.

The G.R.O. Foundation Lesotho and its’ local partners would like to extend their sincere thanks to; the Lesotho Ministry of Education, the Lesotho Ministry of Youth, Gender and Sports, the Leribe office of the Ministry of Education, the Office of the Leribe District Administrator, the office of the Leribe Chiefdom, the Leribe District Council, the Lesotho National Security Service, the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (Leribe District), Nedbank Lesotho, the Lesotho Agriculture College, Kick 4 Life, Sunrise Theatre Group, and all of the students, teachers, volunteers and presenters that made the event a success.

The event’s slogan was ‘A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step’ and it appears through the LEAP Career Fair, many Leribe based students have taken a step towards a more positive future.

Students from 26 Leribe district schools attended the Career Fair

GRO Artisan, Mamabula, speaks to eager students about being a jewelry designer

Posted under Notes from Lesotho

This Friday, The G.R.O. Foundation will be hosting 26 Leribe district high schools and 20 tertiary institutions at the first-ever Career Fair.  The event will feature presenters from Lesotho colleges, schools, training institutes, and universities as well as Career Role models who will speak on behalf of their profession.

LEAP (Lesotho Educational Advancement Program) is an education initiative set to help graduating high school students bridge between high school and tertiary education.   The first of its kind here in Leribe district, the Career Fair concept quickly gained interest and momentum.  The Ministry of Education Leribe, in partnership with G.R.O., is featuring the Career Fair as part of its Education for All celebration.

Graduating high school students often lack the academic and personal support needed to make educated decisions about their futures, as well as the tools and resources to put future plans into action.  A significant hurdle in Leribe for students is the lack of career-centered programming focused on comprehensive education and career counseling.  The LEAP initiative sets to address these needs through four program areas:  monthly career seminars, a district career resource center, a career resource manual, and the career fair.

More to come as we build up to the big day on May 7!

Posted under Notes from Lesotho

For the second time this year The G.R.O. Artisans Collective have received national attention and publicity from the business sector of Lesotho. The first was an article published in the SMME Support Network Lesotho’s SMME News with an piece entitled ‘Building Communities – One Enterprise at a Time’ and now from The Public Eye, nationally distributed newspaper. Yesterday, the article was released as part of a special insert feature ‘One Nation, One World’ to mark World Aids Day this coming Tuesday. Thank you to Tsepo of The Public Eye for his support. You can read the article in full below.

G.R.O. Artisans: Building Livelihoods

At 8 a.m. the door to The G.R.O. Artisans Collective is open where the morning chatter of women can be heard as the warm summer wind sweeps through the BEDCO compound in Leribe. Perhaps uniquely, this collective of artisans was formed with the primary purpose of providing economical empowerment and livelihood building for women affected by or living with HIV/AIDS. The G.R.O. Artisans face the daily realities of this national epidemic in their own personal lives and their community. Undeterred by the overwhelming challenges, these women have banded together in a collective effort to shatter the stigma of HIV/AIDS and demonstrate both the emotional and economic power of a collaborative effort. In accordance with the laws of Lesotho an HIV workplace policy ensures equality in their membership and any visitor, whether a paying customer or not, has access to both male and female condoms and printed sexual health information. Finally, the Artisans are actively engaged in promoting the skills and talents of HIV positive women in their community and you will often see them at festivals and the Maseru Bazaar.

This month, the women have begun to prepare for a move to a larger BEDCO office where they will increase the size of the current retail space and have room to expand the number of members from four to ten by end of year 2010. Designing and producing handcrafted fashion jewelry ‘Majoyce, ‘Mathabang,’ Mamosebetsi, and ‘Makhotalang prepare for both national and international markets with sales distribution that spans Lesotho, South Africa, Canada, and The United States. The fledgling jewelry business is one of the many Basotho success stories across Lesotho in the small business sector. The Collective operates on a business model known as a social enterprise, a not-for-profit company that provides its members with a steady income, ongoing business training, social programming, as well as family and healthcare support. The healthcare coverage, which is one of the unique qualities of this business model, ensures a percentage of the Collective’s profits are invested into a comprehensive plan for the members, which provides for drug coverage, childcare and funeral plans.

With an aim to advance The Collective’s socially-oriented mandate of community development and the empowerment of women the members are committed to actively searching for a local professional Mosotho woman to coordinate and assist in managing the business mid-January. This project was made possible because the women were able to secure the initial start up capital as well as business and leadership training from the Canadian-born Lesotho-based G.R.O. Foundation, which currently bases all of its operations out of Leribe. The G.R.O. Foundation, founded in 2005, is a Non-Profit Non-Governmental Organization working for the advancement and empowerment of individuals and communities by providing grassroots assistance to promote sustainable social development. With the continued support and strong bond of partnership between the G.R.O. Artisans and G.R.O. Foundation Lesotho the artisans have successfully established lasting ties with other Basotho small business initiatives and leaders including Mr. Raleche of Business Development Trust and Ms. Makama of SMME Support Network, both based in Maseru. These ties amongst the national business community will ensure the ability of the G.R.O. Artisans to connect with other small enterprises and allow for expansion and support of community-based business trainings.

Looking ahead to the Christmas season you will be able to purchase the handcrafted jewelry of The G.R.O. Artisans Collective at the monthly Bazaars in Maseru and the Maseru Christmas Craft Fair on December 5. Year round the jewelry is available to all fashionable women at BEDCO Leribe, Setsoto Weavers in TY, The Leribe Hotel, Leribe, The Blue Mountain Inn, Teyateyeng, and Mohale’s Hoek Inn, Mohale’s Hoek. To contact the G.R.O. Artisans by phone +26658132695 (Majoyce) or by email artisans@grofoundation.org

Posted under Letters from Lesotho

The heat of the tarmac as I descended the stairs from the small prop plane was a frank testament to my departure from the winter months that had begun to descend on Ontario. After a few months of Canadian summer I was again facing months of sun with heat by day and the light chill of evening after the sun has been eclipsed by the mountains. Walking into the Moshoeshoe International Airport, just outside of the Capital Maseru, I was greeted with a feeling of confidence that was in direct contrast to the nervous excitement of my arrival last April on my first trip to Lesotho. Driving north toward Hlotse the browns and reds of the surrounding landscape have been concealed in tones of green to a far greater extent than I could have imagined only a few short months ago. Although the seasonal tones had changed the public transport vans, known as combis, continued to race along the highway merging on and off the road in the staccato manner of my last visit while people shuffled to and from the hundreds of villages into the towns of Teyateyaneng and Maputsoe.

“Coco!” I shouted to announce my arrival to both Jean and Jamie as I stepped out of the car.

“Welcome back, how was your trip?” they both responded as I walked through the back door.

All of the notes and preparation for the implementation of our recently awarded CIDA grant would have to wait until tomorrow. Three continents in about as many days is enough to tire the most seasoned traveler. Aside from my immediate desire for a solid nights rest I had been looking forward to this moment since my stomach felt the aircraft take flight from the Moshoeshoe runway. We sat around and tried not to talk about the work of the upcoming week as the day gave way to the Maluti mountains. It sure felt good to be back.

Jason Clark

G.R.O. Lesotho Operations Coordinator

Posted under Letters from Lesotho, Notes from Lesotho

On August 28, 2009 Leribe district challenged HIV and AIDS stigma and discrimination.   The festival, the first of its kind, was brought together by local and international NGOs and the government of Lesotho.  G.R.O. Foundation hosted the “Kids Corner” with a jumping castle, face painting and frisbee games. The G.R.O. Scholars, all high school students affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, demonstrated their support by volunteering all day at the event.  The G.R.O. Artisans, a collective of HIV positive mothers, challenged stigma in their own way by teaching kids how to make bracelets.   The Olympic Youth Ambassador Program and Kick 4 Life joined us in offering HIV prevention and Life Skills games to the over 1,000 people who attended the event.  We would like to thank our community partners and friends who helped make this powerful and important event possiblem and we stood up and said ‘no’ to stigma and discrimination.

Posted under Letters from Lesotho