Rea Thusa Australia ABN 36 558 788 040

Building Schools

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) paid for the construction of five classrooms at Ha Molelle. The government has barely enough money to pay for the teachers' salaries and the food (maize) for lunches. The lack of funds means that many schools are literally falling down. The roof of one building at Molelle was propped up with a tree branch.

The new buildings were completed in 2018 and now keep the children much warmer, drier and safe. Before it was built, all seven grades of children were crowded into three cold, leaky, badly built and unsafe rooms. Now food, books and stationery are kept dry and secure. The new building has water tanks and is prewired for electricity (but it will be a year or more before the village is added to the electricity grid).
The classrooms need large whiteboards and we are currently raising funds to provide basic teaching materials.

The children at Kunyung Primary School in Mount Eliza made tile mosaics for the new classrooms at Molelle. They feature iconic Australian wildlife and are daily reminders that Australians care and want to help. They also symbolise the growing connections between the people in Mount Eliza and Lesotho. For more information please email us.

Teaching and Learning Resources

Most teachers in Lesotho rely on blackboards and chalk. Even basics like paper and pencils are in very short supply. We have shipped tons of books (thanks to our generous supporters) but so much more needs to be done. Whenever possible we buy supplies in Lesotho to support local businesses and jobs. If not, we buy from South African suppliers. We are currently sourcing basic teaching materials including

• Stationery
• Whiteboards
• Clocks
• Maps and number charts
• Rulers

Books

The Australian Council for Educational Research donated more than 10 tonnes of new books from their 'Action Literacy and Numeracy' series. These books support Lesotho's mathematics and reading curriculum.

Sponsor a Child Through School

for just $25 per month

Photo: some of the children being sponsored to complete their secondary education

Clothing

Lesotho is a highland country with temperatures as low as minus 10C in winter. Warm clothing, shoes and blankets are essential. We are grateful to the Mount Eliza Caritas ladies for their work and kind donation.

Food

About 25% of the population does not have enough to eat. Drought conditions have reduced crop yields so much that instead of being able to sell surplus food, many farmers are having to buy maize to live on (if they have any money to spare, many don't). Sadly many people have had to resort to eating the seeds set aside to grow the next crop.

Schools provide lunch and this is all many get to eat. School lunches are maize supplemented by food grown in school vegetable gardens (beans and milk are included when the budget allows).

Photo: Preparing Cabbage Soup for Lunch at Molelle Primary School.

The cabbages were grown in the school garden we helped restore by providing the fencing needed to keep out wandering animals.

Maize (corn) meal is provided by the government in large sacks. It is boiled and turned into a thick porridge. Fruit and meat are available in the markets in the bigger towns but they are mostly imported from South Africa and cost far more than the tiny school meal budgets can afford. A lack of funds meant Kolonyama High School actually had to cut out school meals on Fridays at one point.

Lesotho desperately needs more of its young people like these to complete school