Organisation News

K4L launches Maseru Street League
With funding from GTZ's Youth Development Through Football (YDF) initiative, Kick4Life has launched its first Street League in Maseru, capital city of Lesotho. Aimed at engaging orphans and vulnerable youth who live on the streets, the league consists of an ongoing 7-a-side Under 17’s league (mixed gender teams).

Each month the youth play football and take part in interactive curriculum activities conducted by K4L peer educators. This includes HIV prevention, stigma reduction and life-skills development. The league also creates a social network that provides youth with an opportunity to interact with others in a healthy, safe and supportive environment.

The support of GTZ has also enabled Kick4Life to train more volunteer coaches in three districts of Lesotho which have prioritised sport as a key tool for development.

GTZ is a German based international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations.

UNV Volunteering - Inspiration in Action - School Feeding
MDG Goal 4. ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION

The Government of Lesotho is committed to the provision of basic and quality education to all its people. Though enrollment in primary schools had fallen since the mid-1980s, to 76 percent in 1990 and further to 51 percent in 1999, in 2000, the Government embarked on a programme of Free Primary Education (FPE), introduced gradually over a 7-year period, beginning with Standard 1. As a result, primary enrolment increased to 69 percent in 2000 and further increased to 85 percent in 2003. In support of the programme, 184 new schools have been constructed, while 1,105 new classrooms were installed. More than 1 million textbooks and other teaching materials were supplied to 1,300 schools.


The country continues to have a higher level of primary enrollment for girls than for boys. This is unique in the developing world, where it is customary that girls are discriminated against in accessing primary schooling. In Lesotho the norm has been that boys from young ages tend to herd livestock and later in life migrate to take up work in the South African mining industry. Recently, the advantage of girls over boys in primary education seems to be narrowing.

This WFP led project aims to provide food assistance to 80,000 primary school children mainly in the remote and economically-disadvantaged highlands and mountainous regions to retain them in school, improve their attendance and attract more disadvantaged children to school. The project supports the Government’s priorities as defined in the Poverty Reduction Strategy. The assistance is in line with Lesotho’s efforts to halve hunger and Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 1 “eradicate extreme poverty and hunger” and MDG 2 “achieve universal primary education” as well as the strategic objective to support access to education.

The school feeding programme also serves as a platform for related activities and amongst others is expected to result in increased HIV-awareness and knowledge among school-age children. School gardens are established and lead to more diversified school meals and raise the students’ awareness of agricultural practices and environmental concerns.