In the far southeast of Lesotho, a small country completely landlocked in the northern territory of South Africa, lies the province of Quthing. It is in this sparsely populated (approx. 124,000 inhabitants, or 43 inhabitants per km2), mainly rural area, with an unemployment rate of 82%, that an SOS Children’s Village has been established.
The Hermann Foundation has chosen to take an interest and participate in this program aimed at helping young people to educate themselves (with a strong focus on young girls) to enable them to break out of the cycle of poverty. Their children will thus also have much better chances in their turn.
This village, somewhat modeled on the Pestalozzi village, has existed since 2010 and includes 12 houses for 9 to 10 children. In each house, there is an “SOS mother” who takes care of the children and provides them with a family environment. Each one of them has received comprehensive training to carry out this demanding mission. The children, of varying ages, all attend school, from primary school to university or vocational training. 114 children (currently 69 < 18 years old, and 45 > 18 years old) are thus cared for until they have completed their education and can support themselves independently.
“Giving young people a perspective” is the goal of the vocational training project in Quthing. Young people can pursue training in a variety of fields that are promising for their future and that of the country: construction (with its specializations), IT, tourism and hospitality, sewing and tailoring.
Grace, 17, seized her chance. She is one of the few young women to have chosen to train in the construction trade. At first she had no idea about electrical theory and circuits, but she quickly learned. She’s very proud to tell us more about the skills she’s acquired.
If I apply myself, I can go far, I can now establish the main wiring for a house and install connections for lamps and sockets, and I can check the voltage while protecting myself from electric shocks.
Atang, orphaned at the age of 9, lives with her grandmother 1 hour from Quthing, in the mountains. From 2009 to 2016, she lived with an aunt in South Africa, where she attended school. Back in Lesotho, she was unable to continue her schooling because she didn’t have the necessary “diplomas/grades” and couldn’t catch up. The South African school years were not recognized. In 2017, she started tailoring training in Quthing and graduated in 2019. She is also the mother of a baby boy. Atang plans to open a tailoring business in Quthing and would also like to open a tailoring school later. She wants to be independent to earn a living and provide for her family (food, driving license for her brother, school fees for her sister), with her grandmother looking after the little one while she works. Her child should one day be able to attend a good school. Atang doesn’t want him to have the same problems as her, and intends to give him an education that will ensure a better future.
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