Contacts

• Visit By PC(USA) JHAH Coordinator
• Meet Cindy Easterday, New Jhah Companion Facilitator
• Tebello Lehloenya Returns From International Peacekeeper Visit To Churches In The Usa
• Network Coordinator Attends International Commemoration Day For Disaster Reduction
• Upcoming Annual General Meeting
• Food Security Policies Workshop
• Mokhotlong and Qacha’s nek Workshop
• New Administrative Assistant
• Hunger Action Training - Training of Trainer Workshops
• Hunger Action Training Manual Nears Completion
• Executive Committee Retreat
• AGM Held 12-13 December 2003
• Aquaculture (Fish Farming) Training scheduled for Masitise
• ILRIG Globalisation School 2003
• Network meeting – 13 September 2003
• Director’s visit to Lesotho

Visit By PC(USA) JHAH Coordinator

Lionel Derenoncourt, the Presbyterian Church (USA) Coordinator for the Joining Hands Against Hunger program, visited Lesotho for 6 days in early October during which time he met with the Network staff, the Executive Committee, members of the Qachasnek Regional Committee and many of that district’s members during a visit to that area.  In Maseru he also met with Rev Kometsi, the General Secretary of the Lesotho Evangelical Church who, as a long time partner of the PC(USA), also act as a local link to assigned PC(USA) coworkers.

Mr Derenoncourt also introduced the JHAH Lesotho Network’s new Companion Facilitator, Cindy Easterday, who has taken up residence in Maseru for a three year term to facilitate and interpret information and activities between the local JHAH Network and the Los Ranchos Presbytery in southern California in the United States.  (See separate item and PC(USA) link for bio on Cindy)

(see 3 photos, one of Lionel & Phakisi at the Qacha’snek District Network meeting, one of some of the attendees (seated) and one with Lionel having lunch with some of the members of the Qacha’snek District Committee.

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Meet Cindy Easterday, New Jhah Companion Facilitator

(for profile see:  www.pcusa.org/missionconnections/profiles/easterdayc.htm)

Cindy first came to Africa as a mission person in 1994 with African Enterprise, a non-denominational evangelistic ministry with teams in ten countries across the continent.  After short terms in South Africa and Malawi, she became a co-worker with PC(USA) and was assigned as an assistant to Dr Michael Cassidy, founder and international team leader of AE.  In 2000 Cindy became more involved in HIV/AIDS in South Africa, particularly in the Church’s response to those infected and affected.  In 2005 Cindy’s involvement with a local HIV/AIDS response ministry led to her desire to equip and encourage pastors and church leaders to respond “as Jesus would” to those in need.

Having come to a new crossroads in her ministry, the opportunity to serve with the Lesotho Network in response to poverty and its causes “presents some new and exciting challenges and opportunities,” says Cindy.

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Tebello  Lehloenya Returns From International Peacekeeper Visit To Churches In The Usa

           Tebello Lehloenya, an active member of the Joining Hands Against Hunger Network from Maseru District and former Executive Committee Chairperson, was invited as one of fifteen international peacemakers who traveled to the United States as part of an International Peacekeeper delegation, speaking in over seventy presbyteries in a variety of settings about their ministries and their home countries. 

Since this year marks the mid-point of the PC(USA) Decade of the Child, the peacemakers brought a special focus on ministries with children.  As a caretaker for high school children and young adults, Tebello is also a member of a local association called Hlokomela Bana (“Save the Children”) in Maseru which caters to needy children, orphans, and the disabled. Tebello and her co-workers provide food, clothing and funds for school needs and organize parties for the children during festive seasons. 

Some topics Tebello addressed in her visits related to the following websites:

Basotho in Lesotho  -  http://www.sesotho.web.za/lesotho.htm
Political Instability in Post-Military Lesotho: The Crisis of the Basotho Nation  -               http://www.iss.co.za/pubs/ASR/5No3/PoliticalInstabillity.html
Drought and Famine in Southern Africa Countries (including Lesotho)  -  http://www.thewaterpage.com/drought_crisis_2002.htm
Lesotho (history, information) –  http://tinyurl.com/aqoec  

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Food Security Policies Workshop

Part of the Network’s 2005 program was to review and compile factual document on existing Lesotho government food security policies, which were then used to facilitate the Training of Trainer’s Workshop. In June, the Network held its first two-day workshop on food security policies, the aim being to encourage social inclusion on community matters. Sofonea Shale from Development for Peace Education facilitated the workshop. The Network invited the Disaster Management Authority and the Ministry of Agriculture with its different departments to participate in the workshop since they are major stakeholders in this matter.  Each JHAH District Network sent two representatives to the workshop, which was held at the Christian Council of Lesotho building in Maseru.

Mokhotlong and Qacha’s nek Workshop

Similar workshops on government food security policies, extensions of those held in June, have now taken place in two districts, those of Mokhotlong and Qacha’nek. Network Coordinator Lekhetho Phakisi and the Treasurer of the Executive Committee, Bokang Ramats’ella, facilitated the Mokhotlong workshop and Maseeiso Ramoholi and Bokang Ramats’ella facilitated the one in Qacha’s nek. The same workshops will be held in Thaba-Tseka and Butha-Buthe before the end of the year with others following in Leribe, Berea, Mafeteng, Mohale’s hoek and Quthing in early 2006.  

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Network Coordinator Attends International Commemoration Day For Disaster Reduction

The Network Coordinator, Lekhetho Phakisi, attended the International Commemoration Day for Disaster Reduction on October 26, 2005 at the Convention Centre. The theme for this year was Micro Finance and Disaster Reduction. Development partners, civil society, different government ministries, parliamentarians, government ministers and social movements attended and participated in this workshop. The day started with a march from Makoanyane Square to the Convention Centre where exhibitions, speeches and different Basotho songs and dances were the order of the day.

From this event, the Coordinator was able to identify and develop strategic partnership contacts with the Department of Irrigation from the Ministry of Agriculture’s office and ts’oaranang ka matsoho multi-purpose cooperative society that produces handcrafts.

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Upcoming Annual General Meeting

Kopano ke Matla Toants’ong ea Bofuma Lesotho Network will be holding its 4^th Annual General Meeting on the 10^th December. Representatives from organizations in the different District Networks will participate, where new Executive Committee members will be elected and the work of this past year will be reviewed. The representatives will also be providing input onto the planning of activities for the coming year and looking forward to what 2006 will bring.

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New Administrative Assistant

The Network is pleased to announce the hiring of ‘Maseeiso Ramoholi as the new Administrative Assistant for the Network. ‘Maseeiso brings administrative skills and enthusiasm to this role, as well as good knowledge of Development Studies through her training at the National University of Lesotho (NUL).

In her own words, ‘Maseeiso says, “I look forward to the prospect of working not only with numbers and papers, but people. I want to be a part of the solution to the problems which people are facing; social, economic, and even political. I also want to learn new things, including accounting.”

The Network office is very happy to have ‘Maseeiso as part of their team. She began work in April, and she is working directly with the Coordinator, Lekhetho Phakisi. 

Hunger Action Training - Training of Trainer Workshops 

(10 February 2004)

The Network has launched a series of training workshops in the mountain districts of Lesotho.  These workshops will be held in each district between January and March, 2004.  Facilitated by Lekhetho Phakisi, Network Coordinator, and Reithebetse Moroahae, Agriculturalist, these workshops are utilising the Hunger Action Training Curriculum developed by the network to introduce and reinforce alternative small-scale agricultural methods.  The Hunger Action Training manual is being used to train trainers from each of the Network member organisations, so that they can present this material and these ideas to the communities with whom they are working throughout the country.

Training of Trainer Workshops have so far been conducted in the following districts:

Mokhotlong, 27-28 January

Thaba-Tseka, 30-31 January

Qacha's Nek, 3-4 February

Quthing, 6-7 February

The tentative schedule for the remaining districts is:

Mafeteng, 19-20 February

Mohale's Hoek, 24-25 February

Butha Buthe, 27-28 February

Leribe, 2-4 March

Berea, 4-5 March

Maseru, mid to late March

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Hunger Action Training Manual nears Completion

(25 January 2004)

The  Hunger Action Training Curriculum, developed by the network is currently being printed by Morija Printing Works.  The printed 88-page booklets, entitled "Loantša Bofuma Lesotho: Bukana ea ho Koetlisa", are expected to be delivered by mid-February. Until then, photocopied manuals are being used in Trainer Training workshops. 

This booklet has been developed through the input of the network through workshops and through the research and writing of specific network members and outside consultants with particular expertise in the areas of:

• Alternative Agricultural Methods

• HIV/AIDS

• The Educational System in Lesotho (and alternatives)

• Livestock Theft - Conflict Management

• Lack of Partnership - "Matsema"

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Executive Committee Retreat

(10 January 2004)

The incoming Executive Committee had a two-day retreat 9-10 January at Assisi Mission at Marseilles in the Free State.  On Friday, Pastor Vernon Vera of Maseru United Church led a workshop looking at the Christian Perspective of Development.  Bob Franklin and Lekhetho Phakisi gave presentation looking at the history and structure of Joining Hands Against Hunger and the Kopano Ke Matla Toantšong ea Bofuma Lesotho Network.  On Saturday, Ntate Seeisa Mokitimi of the Christian Council of Lesotho led a session on Administration and Management

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AGM Held 12-13 December 2003

(22 December 2003)

The Network held its Annual General Meeting 12-13 December 2003 at the Christian Council of Lesotho.  Among the items covered were The Chairperson's annual report, the financial report and auditor's statement, the external evaluator's report, amendments to the constitution, approval of the proposed financial and employment policies of the Network, membership dues, and election of the Executive Committee.  A full report of the AGM will be distributed to the membership and will be posted on this site when it is finalised.  

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Aquaculture Training for Masitise Khobola Setho

One of the member organisations, Masitise Khobola Setho, has about 70 people in Masitise, Quthing District, who are involved in a community agriculture project that now includes fish farming. Bob Franklin met with them in July and was shown their pond, which is about 15 by 20 meters in size.  He was told that one of the main needs that the group had was for better training.  Franklin and Ntate Phineas Teele from the group met with Ntate Mofaba Behle, the Fish Pond Construction Assistant with Livestock Services (Min. of Agriculture), who agreed to schedule a training day for the group, to be held 28^th August, 2003, at the group’s fish pond (in front of Masitise High School.  Other needs which Masitise Khobola Setho have include a fence around their pond to prevent theft and a net for harvesting.  Ntate Behle said his department can loan a net, or teach the group how to make a simple net so that they can harvest the fish as they have need.

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 ILRIG Globalisation School 2003

For the second year, members of the Network traveled to Cape Town in September for the Globalisation School conducted by the International Labor Resource and Information Group.  This year, four individuals were sponsored by the Network.  The Globalisation School focuses on the impact of globalisation on the poor of developing countries, particularly Southern Africa.

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September Network Meeting

The network held a meeting on 13 September at the Lesotho Girl Guides Association conference room.  At the meeting updates on the following were presented:

• Year-to-date activities of the network, especially the Hunger Action Training curriculum

• Year-to-date financial status

Also, the Network appointed the auditing firm of Moleko and Associates to audit the financial records of the Network for this year and for 2004.

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Joining Hands Against Hunger Director Visits Lesotho

Lionel Derenoncourt, the Director of the Joining Hands Against Hunger initiative of the Presbyterian Hunger Program visited Lesotho in May 2003.  He met with the members of the Executive Committee and was taken on site visits where he had discussions with a few of the Network member organisations. Lionel was please with the progress made by the network and the diversity of our membership. 

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Last Updated: 29 January 2006