Disabled people are particularly vulnerable to poverty; many live in rural areas and are often hidden by their family. In 2001 a population survey in Lesotho stated that 79,794 people (4.2%), including 28,476 children under 15, were living with some form of disability, often with little or no support.
Stigmatism and inadequate social support for disabled people are a constant barrier to the reduction of poverty.
In Lesotho, disabled people face numerous barriers which violate their human rights and are a direct cause of poverty and isolation, including a lack of policies and legislation to protect their rights, a problem exacerbated by negative attitudes and stereotypes towards disability. |
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Amos Matsoso works in the bakery at St Angela Cheshire Home for disabled children in Lesotho, selling freshly baked products to the local community to earn an income for himself and the home.
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In 2007, Skillshare International placed development worker Adam Musgrave as an Advocacy Specialist with LNFOD. During his two-year placement, he worked with colleagues in Lesotho to plan a major advocacy campaign and develop a three-year strategy to establish national policy and legislation to protect the rights of disabled people.
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Wheelchairs and hearing aids have been provided to adults and children as part of the disability project.
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On 3rd December 2007, the celebrations for International Day for Persons with Disabilities were widely regarded as the biggest and best in Lesotho’s history. The Prime Minister, Her Majesty the Queen and six Cabinet Ministers attended the event, which involved a procession of 500 disabled people through the town centre and the launch of a major photo exhibition.
Advocacy and public education can play an important role in reducing poverty and protecting the rights of disabled people. Our disability project case study shows the impacts of advocacy activities, and the contribution that an international volunteer can make to building the capacity of the disability rights movement.
Nteboheng Kele lives at the St Angela Cheshire Home for Disabled Children, one of the eleven project partners. As an ambitious young woman her thoughts on the future revolve around equality, she says: “I wish to appeal to people to stop pitying others with disabilities and help them as they would anyone else. There is much hidden potential in people who have disabilities.”
To find out more about our work in Lesotho, please contact the Skillshare International office in Maseru or email lesothoinfo@skillshare.org.
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Tholang Raliete, a carpenter with a hearing impairment, made the wooden easels for the photo exhibition to celebrate International day for Persons with Disabilities in Lesotho: “The disability project practices what it preaches - the project overlooked my disability and asked me to make all these easels for the exhibition”.
Read more about Tholang's story...
Paseka has learning disabilities. His mother and father have joined a support group of parents with disabled children, set up as part of the disability project.
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