News & Events

April 2010 - Sentebale, UNICEF and the Department of International Development have launched the first Letsema Directory of Service Providers for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Lesotho.

The directory is a binder which holds a profile and detailed information on more than 300 OVC service providers in Lesotho; there are copies in both English and Sesotho.

88 people and 47 organisations attended the launch where there were speeches from the Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare Dr. Karabo Mokobocho Mohlakonana, Sentebale's Executive Director Bahlakona Manyanye, and UNICEF Deputy Country Representative Dr. Naqib Safi. Two children from a local support group read a poem.

The Principal Secretary's speech:

"His Majesty King Letsie III, The Right Honorable Prime Minister, The Deputy Prime Minister, Honourable Speaker of the Senate, Honorable Speaker of the National Assembly, Judges of High Court, Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament, Head of Diplomatic Corps, heads of non-governmental organisations, heads of faith-based organisations, heads of civil society organisations, caregivers and service providers of the children of Lesotho, ladies and gentlemen,

It is indeed an honour and privilege for me tonight to have been invited to launch this very special directory, the Directory of OVC Service Providers for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in this country.

Ladies and gentlemen, many children continue to be at risk of neglect, abuse and exploitation and are in urgent need of proper care and protection that is consistent with the latest international treaties and standards that Lesotho has ratified.

The directory was first published in 2005 by the Department of Social Welfare of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. This directory was developed in response to the increasing number of orphaned children. Additionally, this directory was established with the aim of identifying OVC service providers countrywide, by identifying who is doing what, where, and with what resources. In 2007, the Department of Social Welfare in conjunction with UNICEF developed a strategy to update the directory. Sentebale came on board and committed to this project through its Letsema initiative. The word Letsema as it has been said before traditionally means working together and this is the backbone of the work Sentebale is doing through the monthly forums that have been mentioned where OVC stakeholders meet.

Letsema's objectives are:

• To foster communication, cooperation and coordination between international and national organisations and initiatives working with OVC.

• To enhance the capacity of all service providers for OVC in Lesotho by giving access to a network of NGOs through a printed directory, online directory, monthly forum, and quarterly newsletter.

• To provide development partners, stakeholders in government, civil society and the private sector easy access to a directory of service providers.

• And lastly, to encourage a sense of ownership of the Letsema Network among participating organisations.

The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare would like to acknowledge the contributions made by UNICEF, DFID, Sentebale, and other organisations that have been vital to the success of this project. UNICEF has been a strong proponent of Letsema, promoting collaboration and cooperation, and encouraging organisations and government to utilize Letsema as a source of information. Letsema has been supported by UNICEF using DFID funds. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare would therefore like to thank DFID for its continued investment into worthwhile projects in Lesotho.

At this juncture, I would like to call on all individuals and organisations represented here tonight and, of course, those not present to continue to work together in support of orphans and vulnerable children throughout Lesotho. We must ensure that we provide OVC with quality, consistent care, support and protection. One of the key principles in service provision of children is their involvement. In fact, Me Chisepo, I came wearing my dancing shoes because I had this feeling children would be here and when they are here, things just go right. We are very disappointed that they could not be here. Child Participation must be encouraged with children represented in all decision making processes.

Letsema has achieved big milestones over the last two years:
1) The Letsema website has been online for two years now. And recently, the website has become bilingual with nearly 350 organisations profiled in both Sesotho and English.
2) Over the past two years, the Letsema Network has been meeting monthly to discuss issues surrounding OVC. Letsema has continued to expand with the number of organisations attending the forums growing to an average of 60 organisations each month. Letsema has also begun to expand outside of Maseruwith outreach to Semonkong and Mohale's Hoek.
3) The reason we are here tonight is another milestone for Letsema. Profiles of 308 organisations have been updated over to the last year and compiled into the 2010 Directory of Service Providers for OVC.

As mentioned, the backbone of Letsema is information dissemination. The information in the OVC Directory and on the Letsema website could be used even to attract donor funding. In the future, the National OVC Coordinating Committee, which we normally refer to as NOCC, which I am proud to chair, should find it fitting to use Letsema as a vehicle to disseminate its information throughout the OVC community. I strongly encourage the Department of Social Welfare, other departments in the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, as well as, all line ministries to use the Letsema website, the Letsema Forums, and the Letsema Team to disseminate accurate and reliable information through the Letsema Network.


I appreciate the hard work and strong efforts of all service providers who have been overstretching their already limited resources to make it possible for Basotho children to develop to their full potential. Making the tough realities in their lives less catastrophic. Even though the directory reveals 308 service providers of OVC, we are fully aware that the efforts may be more than what is in this book. We know of many persons of goodwill organisations, some of which are informal, that do a lot for the children of this country. Let all of you come out into the open, register with the Department of Social Welfare and with Law Office as we need you all. We need each other as the Sesotho saying emphasizes that Unity is Strength, kopano ke matla.


At this time I would like to call on our distinguished partners from UNICEF and Sentebale, to join me in this memorable moment of launching the 2010 edition of the Directory of Service Providers for Orphans and Vulnerable Children. And hope that the relationship between us and all other development partners will grow from strength to strength.

Thank you. This directory is from now officially launched.

Khotso, Pula, Nala!!"

Read a report from a representative from Touching Tiny Lives