2023 Projects
Community Development Projects
In 2023 FOL continued to support community based projects in Lesotho.
Paleng Place of Stories
Founded in 2015, Paleng is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting literacy. Their vision is for every young child in rural areas of Lesotho to have access to books - picture storybooks in their native language that reflect their lives and surroundings. At Paleng they create bilingual picture storybooks specifically for students in rural communities. All of their books are written, illustrated, translated, and produced by the Paleng team. The books in both Sesotho and English are given out to children for free.
An MOU was approved by the board to send a $3,000 donation to Paleng Place of Stories.
Have a look at the organization’s colorful and informative website at: https://palengplaceofstories.org/
The Molete Reading Club is sponsored by the Molete Foundation. This year, Friends of Lesotho served as Fiscal Agent on behalf of Jan Brabham and Keefe Kalil for a project to collect and distribute funds for the Molete Foundation to buy land and build a literacy center directed by Monica Letsoha.
Help Save Lives: Mankoe Foundation
Friends of Lesotho sent funds of $1,571 to the Mankoe Foundation to build an animal shelter and to purchase chickens and pigs to feed orphans and other youth. The chickens and pigs will be taken care of until they are ready to be sold in the market. The animals will be replaced after every sale to sustain the programs to pay for the student fees, books, uniforms, and other essentials.
Peace Corps Partnership Program - Lesotho Country Fund
Friends of Lesotho’s contributions to the Lesotho Country Fund continue to support sustainable, community-driven projects in Lesotho that are led by Peace Corps Volunteers. There are currently 47 PCVs in Lesotho, mainly in Education or Health related positions. In 2023, FOL donated $2,000 to Lesotho’s Peace Corps Partnership Program.
Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)
Sixty scholarships to help High School students in Lesotho through the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) were awarded in the past year. Funding TAP was a challenge since there were no Peace Corps Volunteers serving in Lesotho since 2020 due to the Covid pandemic. FOL was very fortunate to be able to partner with the Rotary Clubs of Maloti, Matsopa, and Maseru to reach out to principals across Lesotho and help identify students for the scholarships. TAP funds were also sent to Monica Letsoha at the Molete Foundation for additional scholarships. The success of the TAP program has largely been due to the generous contributions from the Taipei American School each year as well as from members and friends. Since its inception in 1992, FOL has sent over $200,000 to Lesotho to support TAP. TAP has been FOL’s longest standing and most successful program and is now entering its fourth decade.
