Africa-Press – Lesotho. Friday saw the sod turning event of the construction of five hub schools project at Seboka Primary School, Ha-Matala. Action Ireland Trust (AIT) in collaboration with Relationship Inspiring Social
Enterprise (Rise) International and the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) will build the much needed running water toilets, school kitchens, green houses/food
gardens for five schools in Lesotho. The five schools are Seboka Primary, Makoanyane Primary, Leqele Primary, Lithabaneng Primary and Lithabaneng High school.
Speaking at the ceremony the Rise International Executive Director and Co-founder Daniela Gusman stated that Rise is very proud to be the implementing partner of the project because it
aligns perfectly with some of their core values which are community driven development and social enterprise. “The Ministry of Education and Training identified these schools as a high priority,
right here at Seboka Primary there are no toilets and it is a very big problem, the kitchen; there is not even a shack where they can use as a kitchen – they just cook outside.
We realised that there are a lot of schools with the same problem but the ministry identified these 5 and what makes it great is that they are fairly close to each other,” she said.
Gusman further said through Participatory Design Workshops, they facilitated and encouraged the engagement of the community in the planning and designing of the
schools to grow their own vegetables for feeding schemes and for income generation. The community also has the opportunity to work on the construction
sites ensuring that they benefit from this project. “The construction process is being done by our in loco graduates called pioneers – giving young Basotho the opportunity to practice all they learnt during our
fellowship program,” she added. On Behalf of the principals of the five schools, Seboka Primary School Principal ‘Mapakalitha Mafaesa said they humbly extend their gratitude to AIT, MoET and Rise as they witness the project
together. She said they believe that these developments came at the right time as their schools were faced with terrible situations regarding learners’ and
teachers’ hygiene and nutrition. Speaking at the sod turning event the Minister of Education and Training Hon. Ntlhoi Motsamai said she is honoured to officiate the ceremony for the construction of
water, sanitation and hygiene wash facilities that include toilets, water taps and hand washing stations. “Through the five hub schools Action Ireland Trust project aims at ensuring that schools
are safe and have adequate sanitation for all children. This project tackles issues that include hygiene and corporal punishments in schools. More than 100 teachers from the five hub schools have received training on the child friendly school initiative on alternatives to corporal punishment,” she noted.
