CRS Rice Bowl Story of Hope: Lesotho

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Rosa Maria Rametsi and her husband are raising their grandchildren. Courtesy photo/CRS

This is one in a series of Lenten stories from Catholic Relief Services’ Rice Bowl from those they help.

My name is Rosa Maria Rametsi and I live with my husband and six grandchildren in a small village in the mountains of Lesotho. My grandchildren came to live with us two years ago when their father passed away and their mother left the village to find work. My husband and I are getting older — we are now in our 70s — and it is hard for us to care for the children.

The Good Shepherd Sisters run an Early Childhood Care and Development center here in the village. CRS provides the teachers with special training on working with young children. We decided to send our two youngest grandchildren to the center. Malifomo is 3 years old and Molefe is 4. They have already learned a lot. Every day when they come home from school, they sing us the new songs they learned at the center. They have also learned prayers to say before eating meals. We see them counting to 10 and using stones to show other children how to do it. They can recite their vowels and are starting to use bigger words in sentences. We hope that this early education will help give them a bright future.

For information about CRS Rice Bowl, visit www.crsricebowl.com.

FACTS TO CONSIDER

Lesotho is a small country surrounded by the country of South Africa. Although it only has a population of around 2 million, Lesotho has the third-highest HIV prevalence rate in the world. As a result, the number of orphaned children continues to rise and outpace communities’ ability to care for them. Chronic poor harvests and high prices have left most people struggling to grow or buy enough food. Catholic Relief Services works with the Catholic Church of Lesotho to help address these issues. For example, CRS has started a farming project that helps families supporting orphans feed the children in their care.

In Lesotho, CRS works with the Good Shepherd Sisters to ensure the right of orphans and vulnerable children to high-quality early education opportunities. The Early Childhood Care and Development program focuses on five key areas of development: physical, mental, social, spiritual and emotional. As a result of the program, children are better prepared to follow instructions from teachers, sit in a classroom for several hours and socialize with one another.

• 75 percent of Lesotho’s population lives in remote mountainous areas, where limited infrastructure makes communication and transportation very difficult.

• Roughly 68 percent of people live below the poverty line, and Lesotho has the third highest HIV prevalence rate in the world. As a result of these factors, the number of orphaned children in Lesotho continues to rise, and communities often lack the resources needed to care for them.

• CRS and the Catholic Church in Lesotho are taking a rights-based, holistic approach to addressing the needs of these communities, including education and protection for children as well as training on improved farming techniques and proper nutrition for families.

• The CRS-supported Early Childhood Care and Development program in Lesotho focuses on holistic development of young children in order to prepare them for elementary and secondary school.

• Once they enter elementary school, many children in Lesotho are provided with uniforms, shoes and hygiene kits. In addition, CRS is helping community members to learn new gardening techniques so that children have better access to nutritious meals.