COUNTRY / PROBLEM
Lesotho is a country in southern Africa, enclaved within South Africa. It is the only country in the world located entirely at an altitude of more than a thousand metres above sea level. More than half of the population of Lesotho lives below the poverty line, and every fourth inhabitant of the country is infected with HIV, which is the second highest rate in the world after eSwatini. As a result, almost every family in Lesotho is affected by the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Life expectancy here is one of the world’s lowest – only 53 years, while HIV and AIDS epidemics is the most common cause of orphaning children.
ORGANISATION
SOS Children’s Villages, established in 1949, is a network of organisations operating in 135 countries of the world, which aim to help children who have lost their homes and families, as well as those suffering from various forms of social exclusion, including extreme poverty.
In Lesotho, there are two SOS Children’s Villages: one in Quthing, and one in Maseru. Both facilities take in orphaned and abandoned children, including children whose parents cannot afford to send them to school.
As part of a Family Strengthening Programme (FSP), SOS Children’s Villages Lesotho helps families that care for children who are orphaned or at the risk of abandonment. One of the available forms of aid are loans, thanks to which it is possible to start one’s own small business enterprise.
PROJECTS
Kulczyk Foundation supported a fund through which SOS Children’s Villages Lesotho helps families that care for children who are orphaned or at the risk of abandonment to establish their own business enterprise.
