The Hub’s 2023 Annual Report

In 2023, The Hub successfully continued to implement our aim of fostering a community of young people in Lesotho who are skilled, motivated and socially conscious. We have a long-term vision for The Hub of sustainability and skills transfer, with staff, participants and those who gain skills able to pass these on others and in so doing lift other members of the community.

View The Hub’s 2023 annual report below (may not be mobile-compatible):

thehub_2023_annualreport
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Click here to view the report on a mobile device.

Digital Arts for Climate Change Education

From July – December 2023, in partnership the Embassy of France in South Africa, The Hub took a creative, collaborative and participatory approach to raising awareness and seeking solutions to climate change and related social issues with digital arts for change – through animation, design, photography, and music production.

According to Help Lesotho: “Girls and women are the most affected during climatic shocks. The impact of climate change on females is intrinsically linked to gender inequity and violations of their human rights and dignity.

  • Droughts can mean that girls and women must travel further each day searching for water and firewood, increasing their workload, limiting their ability to attend school, earn income and invest in their careers, and exposes them to risks of violence.
  • Girls and women are more likely to be living in poverty and have less control over resources, making them more vulnerable to food insecurity. During food and water shortages, girls and women are more likely to sacrifice their own health (by choice and by force) in favour of providing for their spouses, children, or other family members.
  • The stress of natural disasters and food insecurity destabilizes patriarchal relationships, often leading to increased gender-based violence at the hands of stressed men.
  • Desperate families unable to feed their daughters often resort to early/forced marriages as a means of ridding themselves of another mouth to feed.
  • Environmental stressors lead to the rise of organizations that engage in human trafficking and extreme labour exploitation, most often targeted at girls and women who are vulnerable and desperate.”

The Hub strives to empower girls and women by narrating stories that emphasize the development of their resilience. The goal is to enhance their ability to navigate challenges and make optimal decisions for the well-being and safety of themselves and their families. Providing girls and women with confidence, effective decision-making strategies, and a belief in their leadership abilities makes them less susceptible to vulnerability, fostering individuals who persevere in the face of adversity.

Animation

Lehoatata (Desert) is a short claymation film produced during an 8-day workshop in October 2023, led by Matty Monethi and Thato Mokhali, with 4 high school students from Skills & Soup and The Hub’s interns participating in the production.

Lehoatata (Desert) was published on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and start of 16-Days of Activism Against GBV, and has 124,000+ views on Facebook.

Love the soundtrack? An original song was produced at The Hub for the soundtrack titled Phaphamang featuring youth from The Hub. Phaphamang features Thembi Mapefane, Black Dash and Tokelo the Young Prince, and was produced by Bow Lazer and T Mech.

The facilitators of the animation workshop were guests on the Hub Talk Podcast in November. Tune in for a captivating conversation that guides us through a creative journey and the unique experiences shared by Matty Monethi and Thato Mokhali.

Educational exhibition

The Hub also produced an outdoor exhibition with educational posters about climate change, climate justice and gender justice. The exhibition will be permanently installed on The Hub’s long high visibility and traffic fenceline. The exhibition is free and open for everyone to access!

The Hub will invite schools for tours of the exhibition in January 2024.

Wire art against single-use plastic

With extra wire from the exhibition, and to draw attention to issues around single-use plastic and lack of waste management in Morija, The Hub’s logo was created from wire and filled with plastic waste. The logo was produced by 16-year-old Katleho Nkakole, who builds electric cars and boats from wire and plastic that run on phone batteries. He is among 30+ youth from Morija for whom The Hub is currently raising funds for 2024 school fees.

Special thanks to the Embassy of France in South Africa for making these projects possible!

Empowering Dreams in Lesotho

This festive season, The Hub is reaching out to friends and supporters worldwide with an urgent appeal: help us to give the gift of education by providing high school fees and support in 2024 for 30+ of our Skills & Soup participants.

Our fundraising goal is 10,000 USD. Every donation, no matter the size, will contribute to breaking down barriers and opening doors for these bright and ambitious students!

Support today!

From our Skills & Soup cohort, we have identified 30+ young people who are academically gifted, but who come from severely disadvantaged economic backgrounds. As with many young people in Lesotho, these 30 young people come from families who cannot afford to send them to high school. 

In Morija, attending high school costs approximately LSL 2,000 (USD 100) per year, but this is unattainable for many families who are already struggling to make ends meet and to put food on the table. Additional costs include exam fees, uniforms, books, dictionaries, calculators, and even boarding fees for some—costs which many families simply cannot cover. 

According to 2021 MICS-EAGLE Lesotho Education Fact Sheets, about 80% of children in Lesotho complete primary education. However, the completion rate declines steeply for lower and upper secondary education, with only 33% completing lower secondary and only 14% completing upper secondary due to these unattainable costs. 61% of children from the wealthiest families complete high school, compared to 4% from poor families.

As The Hub, we are determined to help reverse these statistics by ensuring that the young people we work with have the educational opportunities they deserve to pursue their dreams for a brighter and better future for themselves and their families. 

Every donation to this campaign will go directly into a high school fees fund that will be managed by our trusted team to cover the costs of fees, exams, books, uniforms, school supplies such as a calculator, and any other additional costs that may arise for 30+ of our Skills & Soup participants. The Hub has been paying high school fees for a number of our participants since 2021, and we already have strong relationships with local high schools, as well as an established system to manage these bursaries for deserving high school students. 

Our system takes the responsibility for high school fees out of the hands of families, as we pay fees and associated costs directly to high schools in the community. We also communicate regularly with schools to maintain an understanding of students’ needs and progress. This greatly relieves the pressure on families and allows our high school students to focus on what matters most: their studies.

By supporting this cause, you are investing in the future of these young students and empowering them to reach their full potential.

Support today!

Skills & Soup in 2023

In partnership with Glasswaters Foundation, Dolen Cymru and Selibeng sa Thuto Trust, in 2023 Skills & Soup at The Hub continued to provide 100 children and adolescents in Morija and surrounding communities with weekly after-school tuition, nutritional meals and life skills.

Overview of The Hub’s Skills & Soup programming
  • 100 weekly participants ranging in age from 8-18 from Morija and surrounding villages. 55% of the participants are girls. The Hub is fundraising to increase the number of participants to 125 weekly.
  • The participants attend the programming free of charge.
  • Provides daily after-school tutoring in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) subjects, and mental well-being, as well as daily programming including sign language lessons during school holidays.
  • Provides each participant with a nutritious hot meal and a take-home ration daily.
  • Skills & Soup works toward lowering the incidence of gender-based violence through life skills and mental health programming which educates participants about the definitions of sexual abuse and where to find help if they are being abused.
  • Skills & Soup programming also emphasises gender equality, mutual respect and caring, and healthy coping mechanisms as ways of reducing the incidence of gender-based violence in future generations.
Skills & Soup in 2023

Through January – December 2023:

  • 252 sessions held
  • 10,080 meals served
Meals at Skills & Soup
  • Prepared by Cafe Mojo, a female-owned and run business.
  • Daily highly nutritious hot meal includes protein (mostly plant-based), fortified starch, and vegetables.
  • Daily highly nutritious take-home ration includes 2 loaves of locally baked fortified brown bread, peanut butter, boiled egg, and fruit.
  • The Hub has eliminated single-use plastic by having participants bring their own reusable containers.
Skills & Soup catering supports local businesses in Morija by purchasing:
  • 200 loaves of bread from a local female-owned and run bakery weekly.
  • Eggs and seasonal vegetables from local farmers weekly.
Recent M&E quotations from our Skills & Soup participants, reflecting the impact of our weekly nutritional support and educational programming:
Skills & Soup participants on their meals:
  • “Helps me in the case where there is no food at home, then I’m able to take the bread home and take as lunch while at school.”
  • “When I get home and there is no food, I am okay because I ate at The Hub.”
  • “I sometimes take food home to my siblings.”
  • “It helps at home when my parents have not yet bought bread then in that case we eat the bread I came with.”
  • “Sometimes there would be no food at home at all, so when I arrive with the food it’s then that we will be able to eat.”
  • “I provide food to my family.”
  • “I was always weak but after eating the food I have strength.”
  • “I can bring some food home if we don’t have any.”
  • “In the case where there is no food at home, we get to eat the bread that I got from S&S.”
  • “I get to have something to eat.”
  • “The take home food is helpful when there is no food at home we can eat.”
  • “When the is no food at home, I am able to eat the food from The Hub.”
  • “The food helps me a lot when there is no food at home.”
  • “In the case where there is no food at home, I get to eat here and be satisfied.”
Skills & Soup participants on educational tutoring:
  • “I enjoyed being taught multiplication by him, he makes it easy.”
  • “I loved his lessons on the skeleton system.”
  • “I enjoyed learning about gas particles in science.”
  • “I loved when he taught us a topic in science subject that we never did in school, so when we did it at school I was then familiar with it.”
  • “I like learning about climate change and how it affects our country.”
  • “I enjoyed learning about other countries and cultures.”
  • “I enjoy learning about Maths and Science.”
Skills & Soup participants on well-being tutoring:
  • “I’m able to control my emotions.”
  • “When I have a close person being abused I can help by reporting.”
  • “I am able to know when I am angry, sad or happy because of Ausi Thembi (facilitator) and how to avoid the bad emotions”.
  • “The self esteem lessons have helped me feel good about myself and love myself, do everything with passion.”
  • “They helped me become more kind and helpful to others who need my help”.
  • “When I have problems I am comfortable to approach Ausi Thembi (facilitator) and tell her my problems.”
  • “I learned not to be an abusive person especially to girls.”
  • “I have become more kind to others.“
  • “I am able to help other people when they are not well.”
  • “I am now able to pay attention and concentrate on my schoolwork.”
  • “I have learned how to control my anger.”
  • “I have learned how to manage anger issues.”
  • “I apply what I’ve learned to cope with the pressures of life.”
Skills & Soup Outreach:
  • 12 outreach sessions – monthly outreach to rural, digitally excluded schools providing an introduction to coding using tablets and Scratch, as well as mental well-being lessons.
Hub Talks at Skills & Soup:
  • 12 Hub Talks – monthly motivational talks by visiting entrepreneurs, artists, professionals and activists.

If you would like to partner with us on Skills & Soup programming, contact us!

Hair Salon Project underway at The Hub

From November 28-30, 2023 The Hub hosted a training for a Citizen Scientist Working Group, kickstarting the Hair Salon Project!

In partnership with Citizen Science Zürich and the Division of Clinical Epidemiology Basel, the Hair Salon Project will assess the acceptability and feasibility of promoting sexual and reproductive health services in hair salons in Lesotho. Visit the website for more information about the Hair Salon Project: hairsalonproject.com!

Why SRH?

It is not easy for young women in Lesotho to access Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services such as condoms, contraceptive pills (“lipilisi”), HIV prevention pills, etc. Innovative and accessible spaces besides traditional health centers are urgently needed.

Why hair salons?

Hair salons may offer an innovative and safe community space to engage young women and address barriers related to SRH services.

Why citizen scientists?

Hair salons may offer an innovative and safe community space to engage young women and address barriers related to SRH services.

Hair salons as an innovative community space to address sexual and reproductive health issues among young women in Lesotho: A first of its kind citizen scientist survey.

We want to thank Citizen Science Zürich and the Division of Clinical Epidemiology Basel for choosing The Hub for this project!