A little bit about Lesotho

Lesotho is a small land locked country situated in South Africa. It is a mountainous country (the lowest point in the country is higher than Ben Nevis!), with only 10% of the land being arable.

In summer the weather is hot & wet while in the winter it is cold and dry. The economy is still primarily based on people growing their own food, especially livestock, although drought has decreased people’s ability to farm.

The unemployment rate is estimated at 45%. The extreme inequality in the distribution of income remains a major challenge. As a result of this and other factors including the local / international economy and politics a lot of the people are very poor with 49% living below the poverty line.

A little bit about the people

Lesotho is severely afflicted by HIV / AIDS. According to recent estimates the prevalence is about 29%, one of the highest HIV rates in the world.

Given this situation the life expectancy is 43yrs for men and 42yrs for women (UN). Children under the age of 18 make up 50% of Lesotho’s population of 2.2 million and according to the UN 17% of them are orphans, and half of the orphaned children are as a result of HIV / AIDS.

That means there are over 370,000 orphaned children in Lesotho. As a result of unemployment and poverty people cannot afford to take care of their own children as well as children left orphaned after the death of family members.