--As His Majesty praises organisation
THE SOS Children's Village recently celebrated three decades of taking care of orphaned and vulnerable children, giving them an opportunity to grow up in a loving environment.
Not only does SOS give children a home, it ensures they get quality health care and education, preparing them for a brighter future.
The SOS Children's Village of Lesotho was founded in 1994 and has since raised scores of orphaned and vulnerable children.
The celebration of the facility's three decades of existence, took place at the Manthabiseng Convention Centre last week.
The event was graced by among others, His Majesty King Letsie III, the SOS Children's Village patron and keynote speaker for the day.
Also present were the Minister of Gender, Youth and Social Development, Pitso Lesaooana, as well as representatives of corporates that have supported the Village over the years, including Standard Lesotho Bank (SLB).
Addressing the event, the King expressed gratitude to the Village's staff (current and former) and its donors, who had ensured that the children thrived.
He said the village had been a sanctuary for orphaned and vulnerable children who desperately needed help.
He said Lesotho suffered from many social ills caused by adults. Unfortunately, innocent children bore the brunt of the pain resulting from adults' destructive behaviour.
"I am grateful, as I always say, for SOS Children's Village. As a Christian, I am grateful to God who has been with us for 30 years now. I am also grateful to the SOS Children's Village employees and ex-employees for their dedication, commitment, care and love for the vulnerable children who need help," the King said.
"You are aware of the problems we are facing as a country that make children vulnerable. Unfortunately, these problems are caused by adults and the innocent children are the victims. As the SOS Children's Village, please continue to care and protect vulnerable children, for them to have hope for the future and mould them into future leaders."
He added that he was grateful for the financial assistance they had received over the years, more especially the M450 000 that the Standard Lesotho Bank had donated on the day of the anniversary.
"I am grateful to our sponsors, especially the Standard Lesotho Bank as they have just handed over a M450 000 cheque to help with our operations. I hope that other corporates will take this as motivation for them to do the same, as we care for and assist vulnerable children crying for help."
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Minister Lesaoana echoed His Majesty's sentiments of gratitude to the SOS for "your commitment to caring for the vulnerable and orphaned children.
"I have known the SOS Children's Village for a long time. Long before I became a minister. And I am grateful to them for their 30 years' sterling job of creating future leaders out of hopeless children," Mr Lesaoana said.
"As SOS Children's Village celebrates 30 years and Lesotho marks 200 years of the existence of the Basotho nation, you must consider yourselves very lucky to be celebrating this milestone in this important year.
"I am grateful to His Majesty for being a father to these children, who call him their father because they see hope and a better life in him."
For her part, SOS Children's Village National Director, 'Malehana Mafisa, said that in 2023, they had reflected on their journey, recalling their challenges and achievements over the years.
Ms Mafisa said they had developed their 2024-2028 strategic plan, aimed at improving their work as they continued to mould children to be better versions of themselves.
"We identified our challenges, including that our children struggle to adapt when they are reunited with their families. We now help them to reintegrate into their communities through our public strengthening program. We ensure that they work for themselves, and that they attend school through to tertiary level," Ms Mafisa said.
