Help Educate 40 Bright Girls in Lesotho

This year with your help, Educare Fund has been able to raise enough money to afford a further increase in the support given to our young women in Lesotho to include book hire and book purchase. Reports from the schools’ principals and feedback they have received from the parents of the young women indicate that this extra help is highly appreciated.

During her last visit to Lesotho, Liphethiso visited a couple of the schools which have girls sponsored by Educare Fund. As on previous occasions, chatting to the sponsored girls confirmed the impact that the support is having on the individual young person’s performance at school. Over and over again Liphethiso heard the girls mentioning the fact that knowing that school fees can now be afforded meant that they no longer have to worry about being laid off school because of inability to pay.

Our efforts to further reduce the fee burden for the parents of the girls we sponsor continue on. With the recommendation of our sister organisation in Lesotho, Ithuteng Basetsana Educare Association (IBEA), it was decided that funding for at least one item of school uniform for each sponsored girl should be considered. Thus, from the beginning of 2015 this additional help will be offered. Again, this is only possible because of your continuing support of Educare Fund.

Ithuteng Basetsana continues to help Educare Fund with operational matters such as distributing the funds, collecting and collating feedback from the schools, the young women and their parents as well as attempting to follow up those who finished high school in previous years. These tasks take up a considerable amount of time for the secretary who up to now has been handwriting all the information and then had to do the whole thing over again when new information is available. It was decided that a laptop and printer would make it easier for the secretary to do the updates as well as email the information to Educare Fund when needed. Communication with the schools should also be easier whether it be my post or by email depending on the individual school’s available resources. This equipment was procured during Lipthethiso’s visit to Lesotho in August.

I was lost for words to express our gratitude for your generous support for Educare Fund when among the letters of appreciation by the young women I came across a poem written by one of them. Tlalane at Lesia High School decided to write a poem instead of a letter. Here is part of the poem she wrote:

                   Deep feelings of gratitude

                   For your companionate offer

                   Offer to be educated

                   This is a great opportunity to me

                   To my family

                  To my boon companions, and

                   To the nation as a whole

I definitely cannot put it better than Tlalane has done, but I would like to add that we at Educare Fund feel really honoured that you continue to help us to support these girls in their quest to achieve the best they can.

Once more, thank you for your kind help.

Liphethiso Harris