The Voices of the Help Lesotho Girls

The following monologues were taken from children and youth known personally to Help Lesotho. The names have been changed to protect the identity of the individuals. Each child has a story. It is important that they tell their story.

When holding a “Pearl Bee” it is powerful for the participants to take a role and act as if he or she is this person. Please choose the ones which you think are the most appropriate for your audience. You can print them off one to a page.

Limpho

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Voices of Lesotho My name is Limpho. I am a Mosotho girl of 14 years.

I was born in Lesotho, southern Africa in 1992.

We are 5 in my family.

I have two younger sisters who are 8 and 11.

My older sister Ntsoaki is 16- years-old and my older brother is 15.

Our father used to work in the mines in South Africa. He returned home in January 2003 and died in November 2003.

My mother died in June 2005.

We are now alone in the hut.

My brother sometimes works as a herd boy but he does not make enough money for us all. He is very smart and his teacher said that he should go on to high school but there is not enough money for the school fees.

My older sister tries to find money and sometimes she has to go out at night to work in the local bar. She cannot work now because she had a baby last month. Her baby cries all the time and is very sick. We do not have the money to go to see the doctor.

I will finish Standard 7 at the end of the year and my dream is to go to high school. My sister says there is no money for school fees and so I must find a job. I am sad because I like to go to school. I want to become a doctor and help all the people in my village who are sick. If I became a doctor then I could make money and buy food and clothes for my sisters and the baby.

Majaro

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My name is Majaro. I am a Mosotho boy of 9 years.

I was born in the district of Thaba Tseka.

I don’t live in a hut like my friends but I live in a hospital.

My mother did not want me when I was born.

She tried to throw me down the pit latrine when I was about a week old but the door was bolted and so she left me at the door of the hospital.

The nuns who work at the hospital took me in and looked after me and gave me a special room near the kitchen. Sr Maria has a bed in my room and so I am not alone.

Last year I got very sick. I got Tuberculosis and had to take medicine. I could not go to school and I had to stay in my room all day. I know that the nuns were very worried about me. I wondered if I was going to die because I was sick for a very long time.

Sr Maria told me that I should get tested for HIV. There was new medicine arriving at the hospital that can make people with HIV feel better.

I got tested for HIV and I am HIV positive. This does not mean that I am going to die. It means that I have a virus in my body which stops my immune system from working properly.

I began to take Anti-Retroviral Drugs. They are new in Lesotho and I am one of the first people in my country to take them. They suppress the virus in my body so that my immune system can work normally.

I take one pill at six o’clock in the morning and another at six o’clock at night. I must always take my medicine. If I forget to take it then I could become sick again.

Voices of Lesotho I feel better since I have started taking ARVs and I can now go to school and play with my friends again.

I know that I am still HIV positive and that there is no cure for HIV/AIDS but I have hope that one day there will be so I don’t have to take medicine everyday.

I have a lovely sponsor in Canada whose name is ‘M’e Shelagh. I write letters to her and she writes to me and tells me she loves me and prays for me everyday. You see, I am not alone anymore.

Lerato

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My name is Lerato. I am a boy of 18 years. My name means love.

I live in the village of Seboche.

I do not have a job.

I am not allowed to go to school because my uncle did not pay my school fees.

I am living with my uncle, my sister and my four cousins. He said that he cannot even pay the fees for all his own children.

My father went away to work when I was five-years-old but he never came back. My mother said he is probably dead.

My mother died three years ago. She used to work in the factory and she was able buy us food and pay for me to go to school.

Then she got sick. Me and my younger sister looked after her until she died. We used to get the medicine from the clinic and give it to her. My sister used to cook the food.

I have been sitting at home for two years doing nothing. I have only one year left until I finish. My friends invite me to go and smoke marijuana with them but I do not go. I tell them that it is bad and that I am trying to find a job and save money for school fees. I don’t think I will ever save enough money for school fees. There is no one to help me.

I think that if I disappeared no one would notice and nothing would change. Why is life so difficult?

Ntsoaki

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My name is Ntsoaki. I am a girl of 16-years.

I live in the district of Leribe. I am a double orphan. My mother passed away in January 2006 and my father passed away in November 2004.

Family I live with my grandmother. We are eleven living in the house. My grandmother had two daughters and two sons. My mother was one of her daughters. All four of her children have died and so she must look after all of us. There is no one left.

I know that she is very old and I worry that she is too tired and that she will get sick like everyone else. If she dies then there will be no-one to care for us. I am the eldest girl and so I would have to look after all the smaller children. My grandmother says that I should not worry about these things but that I should focus on my studies. She says that I am a smart girl and I should try and attend university.

I am a student at Molapo High School and I am in Grade 9. I am able to attend high school because I received a sponsorship through the Help Lesotho Child Sponsorship Program. I have a Canadian sponsor who pays my school fees and buys my books and school uniform. Her name is ‘M’e Susan and she writes me letters every month. I also write letters to her. She is very nice and she recently sent me a photo of her family. She has a daughter and a son and a husband named Bob. Susan is my friend and I love her very much. I can tell her all the things that I think about. Her mother also died in 2006 so she understands that I miss my mother. I keep the letters she sends me in a special place. I read them over and over again when I feel sad and alone.

I know that I have a future and that my dream of finishing high school can come true.

Last month I joined the Help Lesotho HIV/AIDS club at my school. We meet each month to talk about HIV/AIDS. There are many people in my village who have HIV/AIDS and I know many people who have died. I used to be scared that I would get HIV/AIDS but in one of the club meeting they explained how the virus is transmitted and so now I know how to protect myself. I know that sex is the number one way that students my age get HIV. Many boys and girls in my school have sex. They don’t always use condoms and I know they are putting themselves at risk. When I have a boyfriend I am going to make sure we talk about sex and HIV/AIDS. If I decide to have sex then we will use a condom every time.

Ntabiseng

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My name is Nthabiseng. I am a girl of 17-years. I live in the village of Pitseng.

My mother died when I was 4 years-old and my father left when I was 5-years-old. I live with my grandmother and my younger sister.

My grandmother sells food at the bus rank. She leaves the house at 5am every morning and returns in the evening. She saved enough money to pay my school fees and I completed high school with a first class pass.

Through Help Lesotho I was chosen to be part of a group who is fighting AIDS in my community. The project I am a part of is called Youth Against HIV/AIDS. Thanks to Help Lesotho, I have met some good people.

I had three weeks of training and I learned a lot. ‘Actually, this training changed my life very much and I regard it very important I ever attend. Really, before the training I knew nothing about governance, leadership and I was wondering about HIV/AIDS, also gender equity and communication. But now I know almost everything about these things.

Carrying water I have learned that I can be a leader and that I can make a difference in my community.

I tell other girls like myself not to have sex and if they do they should use condoms.

I decided that I wanted to know my HIV status. I was very scared before I tested. I spent a long time talking with the counsellor and she explained about the HIV virus.

I am HIV negative and I want to stay HIV negative for the rest of my life. I have decided to practice abstinence until I get married and I will wait for a nice boy who will respect me and be faithful to me.

My country needs me to be strong and to fight against this terrible pandemic that is happening in my country. I know I can make a difference.

Itumeleng

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My name is Itumeleng. I am a girl of 17 years.

I come from the district of Thaba Tseka, high in the mountains.

I have four brothers, two are younger and two are older. I also have two younger sisters. I used to live with them and my grandparents in a small hut on the side of a big mountain. Both my parents have passed away.

I used to wake up at 5am everyday and collect water for the family. I would then collect firewood and make a fire and prepare the food for my family. My grandmother and grandfather are very old and they cannot help me.

I would then help my younger brothers and sisters to get ready for school. Sometimes there was not enough food and I had to send them off without any breakfast. Luckily they will receive food at lunch and so will not go hungry all day.

My older brothers work as herd boys but they do not make very much money. I know that they also want to go to school.

Student I used to be a student at Paray High School. My principal said I was very smart and so she allowed me to study in the hope that I would have a sponsor who would pay my school fees. I really wanted to study but I could not do my homework in the evenings and so I was failing.

When I came home from school each day I had to do all the washing and cooking for my family. By the time I could study there was no light. My grandmother said I could not use the candles to study as we did not have enough money to buy more. This made me very sad because my dream is to finish high school and attend the nursing school in my district.

One day my brother came home with one of his friends. His friend said I was very pretty and he wanted to marry me. When we were alone he tried to kiss me. I said I did not want to be married but that I wanted to become a nurse. At first I did not let him kiss me but he kept telling me how much he liked me. He said that if I married him that he would take care of me and that he would pay for my school fees. He was nice to me and so I thought about what he said.

When I returned to the hut and looked at my four brothers and sisters who were already asleep on the floor of our hut I realised that there would be no way that they could attend high school unless I worked to pay for their fees.

I decided to marry Thabiso so that I could get a job and care for my brothers and sisters.

I have been married now for one year. I had a baby two months ago and I think that I may be pregnant again. Thabiso did not keep his promise he did not pay my school fees because he said he did not have enough money. I thought my life would be better after I got married but now I must care for my husband and my baby. My baby is very sick all the time but there is no money for a doctor.

I think about my brothers and sisters. My younger sister is now taking care of the family. She can no longer attend school as there is too much work and no –one to pay the school fees. She is 13 year old.

Mpho

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My name is Mpho.

I am a girl of fifteen years. I live in the district of Leribe.

I live with M’e Anna. She is not my real grandmother but that is what I tell people.

I never met my real grandmother. My mother left her home when she was young to marry my father. My grandmother did not like my father and so they never spoke after she got married.

My father died in 1999 and my mother died in 2003.

I have two sisters and one brother. They live with M’e Anna also.

M’e’ Anna has four of her own grandchildren and we all live together. Two of them came to live with us last year when their mother got very sick. We all tried to help look after her but she died two months after she arrived. M’e’ Anna cries sometimes. When she sees me looking at her when she is crying she tells me to go away and she tells me she cannot feed me that there is no money. I wish that I could go away but I have nowhere to go. Sometimes I think that if I disappeared it would be better.

I miss my mother. I remember the time before she got sick. She used to sell apples at the bus rank and I would go with her.

Some other students in my school have specials friends in Canada who pay their school fees and write letters to them. My teacher, Auss Pulane, says that perhaps one day I will have a sponsor and so I must wait and study hard at school. My dream is to be an English teacher like Auss Pulane.