Help Educate 40 Bright Girls in Lesotho

With the pandemic hopefully well behind us, I hope you are all doing okay. We continue to appreciate your generous support for the education of young women at high school in Lesotho.

This year Educare Fund will see the highest number of girls we’ve ever helped graduate from high school – 27. This is partially because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in some exams having to be postponed from previous years due to sporadic school closures. On top of this, a local change in the national curriculum led to some students reaching the end of high school a year earlier than expected. Thanks to your kind support, we were able to manage the exceptionally high spend. Your generosity means everything to us and to the community we serve.

As previously reported, last year we appointed Puseletso, one of Educare Fund’s previous beneficiaries, to the role of volunteer local coordinator. One year on, she is doing a really good job, and her lived experience has helped us to better understand the needs of the girls still in school. Recently, Puseletso has been joined by another Educare Fund beneficiary. Tlalane completed her chartered accountancy qualification last year and is now volunteering her accountancy skills. Both young women are embedded in the new local organisation we are now partnering with in Lesotho. Tlalane has told us she is very happy to be getting involved with Educare Fund. Here’s what she says:

‘Educare Fund has changed my life, so it is really an honour to be part of it. If my skills can help change a life, I am excited and proud.’

It is clearly an honour for us too that she in her turn has chosen to support Educare Fund. She says she has learned from you, our donors that ‘every little thing that one does for someone else counts.’

We expect the current arrangements to help ensure that our project runs much more smoothly. Our new partner organisation has helped identify our students’ other needs, apart from school fees. These include life skills training, careers advice and, where necessary, counselling. We aim to have workshops on these issues included in our annual funding plans. The first of these workshops is planned for the end of July.

I would like to conclude by reminding you that we simply couldn’t do what we do without amazing people like you. Thank you for your support and for your belief in doing good.

We are forever grateful for your continuing generosity.

Warm regards

Liphethiso Monica

I know it’s now well into 2023 and that it’s no longer a brand-new year, but I hope it has started well for you. During my visit to Lesotho at the end of 2022, I had the pleasure of meeting with some of our former beneficiaries who have since graduated from university. The older ones now hold quite good jobs and were able to share their experiences with the younger girls.

Your kind support during 2022 and earlier has meant that our current cohort of high school girls in Lesotho managed to continue their schooling, despite the hangover problems brought on by the pandemic and the frequent teachers’ strikes that preceded it. Amazingly, and all thanks to your exceptionally generous donations during 2022, Educare Fund is now able to sponsor 60 girls each year. This is in spite of a large number of students who will be writing final exams this year, meaning that the exam fee burden will be substantial.

Eight girls wrote the final exams in November 2022. Because of the challenges of the previous 4 to 5 years which resulted in a lot of disruptions to the school year, many of the girls struggled to keep up with their learning. Most of them obtained good enough grades to enable them to access further education, but a few need to resit one or two subjects in order to do that. In the circumstances, we feel it is reasonable to offer support for them to re-write.

Despite all those setbacks, we are happy to report that Nkhuba, one of the girls who wrote final exams last year, achieved really good results. She was in the Top 10 First class pass students at her school.

Basetsana who also finished high school last year says:

This amazing gift has brought me a step closer to achieving my dreams. With that said, this sponsorship is not only about fees being settled, but it is also an eye-opener for me as a student to drive myself and excel in my academics. Not only is this sponsorship great, but it also serves as a calming reassurance that my future is indeed bright.

As always, the girls remind us what a great job you are all doing giving them hope for the future. Many of them express gratitude not just for themselves, but also on behalf of their parents who carry the full burden of securing a better future for their children.

We are forever grateful for your continuing generosity.

Warm regards

Liphethiso Monica