Early literacy in Lesotho is in a state of crisis and needs much more donor support, which is why a R100 000 donation from Coronation Fund Managers is being put to put critical use at the Pitseng Education Centre to help improve the reading skills of 3 500 disadvantaged children from the region, says NGO Help Lesotho.
“We know from the latest UNICEF Lesotho education data that in Lesotho only 17% of children in Grade 3 have adequate reading and literacy skills, either in English or Sesotho and in Grades 2, 3 and 4, less than 10% have the expected numeracy skills at their grade level – and that’s just for those who are in school and can be assessed. This can be classified as a literacy and numeracy crisis,” says Help Lesotho NGO Country Manager Mamoletsane Khati.
“The reading and literacy skills of children who are not in school, are shockingly low. In Lesotho, literacy and numeracy gaps are directly correlated to socio-economic factors, including extreme poverty, low formal employment and education levels, and high family prevalence of HIV/Aids. In Lesotho one in four people is HIV+ and many children become orphaned and live with aged grandparents whom they have to support by working from a young age.”
The Pitseng Centre in northern Lesotho provides ongoing educational and psycho-social support to the rural Pitseng community. Its programmes bring vital early literacy and critical thinking skills to the community’s children, and build resilience, foster self-management, and develop leadership for social change.
The centre is managed by Help Lesotho, a Canadian-founded NGO that since 2004 has worked exclusively to uplift the people of Lesotho. The Pitseng Centre is a daily hub of activity and educational play for children after school and on Saturdays. The centre offers literacy and education programmes, arts and crafts programmes, an Afro-centered library, skills training and support, computer training, high school readiness programmes and more. Children play competitive chess, monopoly, scrabble and gribbage, and do physical activities. The centre has served 100 000 visitors, including school children, pre-schoolers, young adults, pregnant teens, young mothers, community leaders and grandmothers, promoting health, educational and social support in the community.
The NGO needs all the support it can get. “This is why it is so significant that Coronation Fund Managers – an organisation committed to the cause of early literacy – is donating R100 000 to our education and literacy-based programmes, and why more corporates need to get involved to do the same through targeted corporate social investment,” says Khati.
Pranay Chagan, Coronation Client Service Fund Manager, who visited Pitseng Centre, says Coronation’s donation will enable Help Lesotho to assist 3 500 children and youth in the coming year. “Early literacy is pivotal for all later learning and without this foundation, children can’t develop their other learning skills or reach their later milestones. Children who can’t read well by Grade 3 don’t do well in other subjects, including mathematics, and have a higher chance of dropping out of school entirely. Early literally sets up the socio-economic trajectory of a child’s life. That is why Coronation is investing in the cause – we can’t build strong and resilient societies if we don’t lay those early literacy foundations.”
The Pitseng Centre is the only educational and psychosocial support resource in the entire part of Leribe region. “The need for support is desperate. The Pitseng Centre does a staggering amount of pre-school literacy work and helps train the local pre-school teachers. Corporate support is critical,” says Khati.
