Supporting Change

By Lieketseng Sealela, Touch Roots Africa, Lesotho

Lieketseng works with Touch Roots Africa’s DREAMS Innovation Challenge project, which provides internships, psychosocial support, and peer networks to young women graduating from tertiary institutions in Lesotho, enabling them to achieve long-term employment.

I lost my father when I was 20 years old and doing my first year at university. He was the breadwinner, although he was not working a formal job. He had done casual jobs after being retrenched (laid off) from the mines in 1997.

His death meant there was nothing for our family to survive on. I got allowance from a government scholarship, but it was never given on time … and the money was meant for books and food. I nearly dropped out to work in the factories, so that my younger brother and sister could continue their schooling.

At home, we worried constantly about how we would get by. Thus, I went to the high school and asked the principal to take in my sister under the school's financial aid. Because I had been his best student, he agreed. I also saw that my university allowance could help my family. I used it for my brother’s schooling, and to meet our basic needs.

We did survive, and even better. I finished my university degree, and my brother and sister both finished college, with a certificate and a diploma, respectively. My brother has now built his own house and is working a good job. My sister is a teacher at a secondary school and has bought a car.

And me? After all my family went through, I wanted to change the lives of young people who have lost parents and are thereby losing hope for their futures. In my job, I work with them on community projects, sports activities, and debate and drama competitions. I also help train them on HIV and AIDS prevention. In Lesotho, HIV prevalence among girls aged 18 to 24 is high. We teach both girls and boys about the dangers of not using condoms, and encourage them to go for HIV testing, even though it can be hard for those in rural areas to access these services.

We also focus on challenging the common perception that girls who carry condoms and ask their sexual partners to use them are promiscuous. This taboo In Lesotho becomes even worse when girls initiate sex. Why should girls and boys not be treated and viewed as equals when it comes to sex? I believe this must change.