Lesotho

Malealea Development Trust

The Malealea Development Trust (MDT) operates in the Malealea Valley in Lesotho’s southwestern district of Mafeteng. This remote rural area is characterized by poverty, unemployment, malnutrition and a lack of resources and basic services. The MDT envisions an environmentally and socially sustainable life for residents of Malealea Valley. Staff believes that the area’s high HIV/AIDS prevalence has its roots in poverty and environmental decline, which can best be addressed through participatory learning circles that draw on the knowledge and resources of residents of the Valley to form solutions to the challenges they face. Thanks to MDT, 15 such circles have been active in the area, involving around 5,000 local residents. 

SLF support currently helps MDT work intensively with five learning circles in five different villages that promote HIV/AIDS education, offer psychosocial support training for orphans and their guardians, provide nutritional supplements to people living with HIV (which has provided an important incentive for local residents to undertake HIV testing), and subsidizes transportation costs to access treatment. The psychosocial support training is especially interesting because of MDT’s use of “Clowns Without Borders,” a programme that offers tools for resiliency through drama, interactive games, play therapy, story-telling, and stress reduction techniques. The SLF also provides some administrative support.

Touch Roots Africa

Touch Roots Africa (TRA) was started in 2004 by a group of former Save the Children U.K. staff, with a vision of strengthening care and support for orphans and vulnerable children in Lesotho. Touch Roots Africa builds the capacity of small, community-based child-focused organizations in the tiny landlocked kingdom, and assists with the formation of new grassroots organizations and children’s support groups wherever gaps have been identified. 

With SLF support, Touch Roots Africa conducts training workshops on psychosocial support for children and adults, undertakes mentoring visits and provides direct assistance to needy households. As a result of these activities, participants learn about child health and protection issues and are able to address and report children's problems to relevant social services. Caregivers are also trained in parenting skills, with special attention to adult-child communication. Participating children receive psychosocial support and practical skills, with priority given to child-headed households. Stipends are offered that cover basic food, school-related expenses and household items. Overall, participants report that the training and support they receive from Touch Roots Africa makes a big difference in their ability to live with dignity, cope with loss and bereavement, and meet the challenges they face.

• Project descriptions last updated April 2011