Lesotho

Lesotho: Raising Resilience on the Rooftop of Africa

Explore Lesotho:

Discover how children in this mountain kingdom are growing up amid HIV, orphanhood, and school barriers — and meet the local changemakers making sure no child is left behind.

The Situation for Children in Lesotho

Lesotho is a breathtaking country of highlands and hope. But for too many children, daily life is shaped by poverty, loss, and exclusion. From isolated villages to crowded townships, these are the three most urgent challenges children face:

Orphanhood Due to HIV/AIDS

Nearly 1 in 3 children in Lesotho has lost one or both parents — most due to HIV. Many live with elderly grandparents, head households alone, or are forced into informal labor to survive.

Barriers to Schooling in Remote Mountain Areas

Harsh terrain, poverty, and long walking distances prevent many children — especially girls — from attending school regularly. Schools often lack materials, trained teachers, or sanitary facilities.

Stigma Around Disability and Mental Health

Children with disabilities or trauma-related challenges are often hidden at home, excluded from school, or treated as burdens. Mental health care is limited, and cultural silence deepens their isolation.

Despite these challenges, Lesotho’s children remain full of hope, dreaming of education, health, and opportunities for a better tomorrow.

Key Contributor #1: Touching Tiny Lives Foundation

Feeding, Sheltering, and Supporting Children Orphaned by HIV/AIDS

In rural Lesotho, Touching Tiny Lives cares for the youngest and most vulnerable: babies and children who’ve lost parents to HIV or are themselves HIV-positive. Through a mix of emergency shelter, home-based care, and community nutrition programs, they support survival and emotional healing.

Staff and volunteers deliver formula, medicine, and counseling to remote villages — often traveling on foot or horseback. Children stay in family-style shelters while guardians are trained and prepared to care for them long-term.

Their impact is quiet but profound: helping the smallest lives grow stronger.

Key Contributor #2: Lesotho National Federation of Organizations of the Disabled (LNFOD)

Promoting Inclusive Education and Disability Rights in Every District

LNFOD works across Lesotho to ensure that children with disabilities are not left out of school or society. They provide mobility aids, classroom accommodations, and community workshops to reduce stigma and train educators.

In areas where children with disabilities were once hidden, LNFOD helps them return to classrooms — with pride, support, and belonging. They also advocate for legal reform and inclusion at every level of public life.

For families who once felt alone, LNFOD offers visibility — and community.

Key Event #1: Mountain School Access Drive – Thaba-Tseka

Delivering Supplies and Hope to High-Altitude Classrooms

In 2023, Touching Tiny Lives launched a School Access Drive to support orphaned children in Lesotho’s highest mountain villages. Volunteers distributed warm clothing, school kits, and food parcels to more than 200 students — many of whom walk hours each day just to learn.

Teachers received supplies and mental health resources to better support children facing grief and hunger. Local leaders pledged to maintain safe routes and community study groups during the winter.

The campaign made education feel reachable — even above the clouds.

Key Event #2: Disability Inclusion Week – Leribe District

Creating Awareness and Access for Every Child

In 2024, LNFOD coordinated Disability Inclusion Week, a multi-day series of forums, school visits, and family events focused on ending stigma and building support for children with disabilities.

Children led performances using sign language and mobility aids. Teachers participated in accessibility trainings. Parents shared stories of love, frustration, and the breakthrough moments when their children were finally seen — not as problems, but as people.

In a country where silence still surrounds disability, this event was a joyful call to action.

Top Grassroot Nonprofits Across Lesotho