Help Educate 40 Bright Girls in Lesotho

Let me start this report by expressing our huge gratitude for your support for the work of Educare Fund during this year. I would especially like to thank you all for supporting our fundraising campaigns on GlobalGiving. This has resulted in a number of new unique donors, both on a one-off as well as a recurring basis. In the last two months, the matching fund campaigns we participated in raised a total of £338 ($513.48). In the local currency in Lesotho, this money is enough to power up to 7 girls through one year of high school when added to what their families contribute. How amazing is that!

The girls continue to work hard toward achieving their dreams for a bright future and in their own words; the support with school expenses represents a huge weight off their young shoulders, enabling them to concentrate on their school work without the constant fear of being laid off school. Many of the girls rely on their grandmothers’ pension (about $40/ 550 ZAR a month) for all their needs, including school fees.

 Liteboho is in the final year of high school this year. Here’s what she says:

 'I’m really grateful for your support. My parents are both not working and were struggling to pay my school fees. If I hadn’t been lucky enough to be sponsored by Educare Fund, I would not have got this far with my education. Now I’m really optimistic about achieving my dream of becoming a medical doctor in the future.'

 Palesa is also in the final year of high school and dreams of becoming an accountant in the future. She writes:

'I’m very happy to have this opportunity to write and thank you for your support and to tell you my hopes and dreams for the future. I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for having given me financial assistance since 2013 up to now. Being an accountant is my dream. I plan to work hard to make it happen.'

 It is such an honour to be part of these young people’s support system through enabling them to continue their paths toward a bright future.  In her letter Kananelo says:

'Your gift of sponsorship means I no longer have to worry about whether or not I can continue with my education. This also helps my parents who previously struggled to keep up with the payment of school fees. Now I can see my dream of becoming a teacher in the future becoming a reality.'

 Trawling through the ‘thank you’ letters the girls have sent reveals that the most popular future career this year is accountancy. This is closely followed by medicine, with one or two girls thinking about teaching, mechanical engineering and air traffic control as possible careers to pursue. They all voice their joy at being given the opportunity to change their own lives.

I hope I can speak for you too in saying that it is such a joy being part of this process of life changing effort. Not only is it a joy, but it is also a privilege.

Thank you again for supporting Educare Fund. I will be visiting Lesotho in Next month and I hope to have a chance to meet and talk to some of these young ladies. Watch this space for feedback on their progress!

Liphethiso Monica Harris