Maltese volunteers in Lesotho: Teaching, learning, doing good
Agara Foundation, a Maltese notfor-profit foundation has partnered with Rise, a US social enterprise piloting a programme in Lesotho, an enclave in southern Africa.
Agara seeks to invest in relationships within communities and to empower individuals by cultivating a sense of growth, self-reliance and collaboration. In October 2017, while searching for new projects to partner with, Agara’s team leader, Adrian Cassar, met with Daniela Gusman, herself a Maltese native and founder of Rise – Relationships Inspiring Social Enterprise – who in turn was looking for volunteers to go to Lesotho to participate in a design-and-build training programme called In Loco, which includes setting up a community computer centre.
That is how a group of seven incredibly committed, passionate and hard-working Maltese volunteers ended up in Lesotho during the month of August, when it’s blistering hot in Malta but the dead of winter in the high-altitude Kingdom of Lesotho, which is, incidentally, the only independent state to lie entirely above 1,000 metres, having the world’s highest lowest point of 1,400 metres and boasting Africa’s highest pub at 2,873 metres.
During their two-week stay, the Agara volunteers have been training 11 youth leaders and community members who will be running two new computer centres, one which will be located at God’s Love Centre Orphanage in Sekamaneng, a town located about 15 kilometres outside of Lesotho’s capital, Maseru, and the other at Paballong HIV/AIDS Care Centre, giving their local communities access to the internet and a whole programme of computer training.
“We are really grateful to Agara for all the long hours of incredible hard work they have put into making this programme possible. We could not have set up the computer centres without their generous donation of 14 laptops and all the training they have given to the youth leaders here in Lesotho who will be running the computer facilities. It has also been really fun to have so many fellow Maltese in Lesotho!” said Gusman.
Equally grateful is the Paballong Centre, which has expressed its appreciation for the content and commitment of the volunteers. Gerard Mathot, Paballong’s founder, says: “Now we can really start to develop the computer hub.”
“Our sixth project from the PoléPolé (step by step) campaign gave us the opportunity to work in Lesotho, along with the opportunity to reuse second-hand laptops from Malta. Throughout our stay with this community we shared basic computer skills with a group of local trainees. We also brainstormed plans for an IT facility in two different centres. From the very first day, our team managed to build a good relationship with the eleven trainees. Together we visited the community to gain a better understanding of its needs. We were then able to discuss and help them design a vision for the running of the centres. Here in Lesotho, thanks to Rise, I believe we have found the perfect set-up to run a long-term, sustainable project,” said Agara’s team leader.