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Aussie Teachers Loving Lesotho

by Nonikiwe - Editor on 16 May 2011   |   

“We came to teach and ended up learning.”

That was the comment of two Australian teachers, Lydia Mancini and Kaye Young, who travelled to the highlands of Lesotho to help with the education of local youngsters.

The directors at Maliba Lodge, Australians Nick King and Chris McEvoy, and Lesotho engineer Stephen Phakisi, have established a community trust in the area both to improve and protect the environment in the Tsehlanyane National Park and to improve the living conditions of local villagers.

Lesotho’s literacy rate of 85 percent is one of the highest in Africa but this small country has major problems, with high levels of HIV, poverty and malnutrition. It is estimated that 60 percent of the population live below the poverty line.

The Maliba community trust sponsors a work programme for the five local schools and experienced teachers are being flown in from Australia to help with tuition and to improve the skills of local teachers.

Mancini and Young, who are from Peninsular Grammar in Melbourne, have spent a month at Maliba Lodge, running workshops and helping teachers and pupils at the schools.

“We hope this programme will continue, with at least two groups of teachers travelling to Lesotho from Australia each year,” said McEvoy.

Both teachers described their experiences as “amazing”.

“We thought we were going over on this noble quest to teach all these poor people but we ended up learning so much about ourselves,” said music teacher Mancini.

“The children and teachers were very accepting and warm. The musical experience was phenomenal and really moving. They are in their element when they are singing and I am so excited that I can now sing in Sesotho.”

Young was taken with the enthusiasm of the children and their ability to work in the most demanding conditions.

“The children were so affectionate and love school and learning. Honestly, the whole experience exceeded our expectations and it has changed the way I teach.”

Young said one of the best ways to learn something was to teach it to others.

“That is one of the great things about our job. In teaching the students in Lesotho, and working with the teachers to provide them with ideas to improve their teaching methods, I found that I was also learning myself and improving my teaching skills.” Young said she had to produce creative ideas and activities for teaching students in their second language – English – and under difficult circumstances. The classes were large and there was a lack of resources and equipment.

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100 Creatives in Lesotho Come Together to Write Children's Books

by Bontle on 28 Jul 2010   |   

Illustrated and photo books were among the products when 100 artists, journalists, photographers, graphic designers, animation and music composers, NGOs, young people and education specialists from all over Lesotho came together to produce local media and communication material for children. The initiative is part of a UNICEF and Lesotho Ministry of Education and Training drive.

“Our products show the importance of living together and caring for each other despite our differences, whether it’s a father caring for his orphaned child, a grandmother taking care of a disabled child or a deaf mother loving and caring for her child as best as any other mother” said one of the participants.

The products include illustrated and photo books, posters, animations and TV and radio spots, focusing on promoting positive customs and demystifying the conventional image of children and caregivers with special needs. Particular emphasis was placed on addressing the most vulnerable children aged 0-6 years.

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