The Hub

The Entrepreneurship Expo

On Thursday 17^th November, The Hub volunteers spent the day at The Entrepreneurship Expo in Maseru. The event was organised by The Entrepreneurs Network (TEN), a platform of programs and initiatives aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship in Lesotho. The Expo featured a range of presentations, discussions and stalls where local entrepreneurs displayed their products and services.

Here is what The Hub volunteers had to say about their experience of the Expo:

“At the Expo I learnt to be open-minded, to stand out from the rest, to see an opportunity where others do not see it and to share my skills. I am willing to share my skills with other Hub members. My favourite speaker was Manthati Phomane: she was straight to the point, and she sees entrepreneurship as a skill, not just as a career.” — Mats’eliso Moruthane

“I learnt that as individuals we should be memorable: this means that we should have something unique about ourselves which people can pinpoint as good. We should believe in ourselves in anything we do before we act on it. We should make the best of any opportunity we get, as such opportunities do not come around very often. We should share what we’ve learnt with other Hub members: it is going to open their eyes, especially for those who can’t see a way forward, or who can’t see how much better Lesotho can be for them. We have a lot of skills as Hub members, but these are useless if we just learn skills without taking action. It’s high time that we use our photography and graphic design skills to make something big out of what we have at The Hub. My best speaker of the day was Manthati Phomane: she taught us how to pitch our business ideas, how to work hand-in-hand with other people, and how to make something big out of our partnerships. She also mentioned that there is no one who is shy; one is just being selfish. She did not point me out when she said this, but that talked to me privately, because I used to be kind of shy, but not anymore.” — Ts’episo Mahooe

“I thought that I was going to see foreigners leading at The Entrepreneurship Expo. I was very surprised to see a lot of Basotho, trying to support each other in businesses, trying to start their own thing locally. I’m really thankful for the access given to us to go to the Expo. I learnt that pitching is not easy at all. You have to make a good first impression, because there is no second chance. When you pitch an idea, you need to make sure that you explain the functionality of your company and the specialty of what you and your company can offer. You need to make people care about your ideas and make it easy for them to join you. You should tell them about the things you’ve already done and make them want more. Try to be direct and tell them exactly what you do. I will use every skill I learnt at the Expo, and also the things that I learnt at the other places we’ve been to as Hub volunteers. Dr. Thamae from the National University of Lesotho was my favourite speaker. I was very excited when he told us that they designed a machine that they are going to use to make their own brand of yoghurt, and that this would be the first yoghurt made in Lesotho.” — Thabo Mohloboli

“I was very happy to be at Expo. I learned how to be an effective entrepreneur, how to be a good pitcher, and why it is important to make a good pitch, especially when one is in a rush. I’m planning to motivate Hub members who are interested in entrepreneurship. I will encourage them to work hard, and will share the skills that I learnt at the Expo. Because I’m a facilitator I was inspired by ‘M’e Manthati Phomane in the morning workshop – she has amazing facilitation skills!” — Selebao Molefe

We would like to thank The Entrepreneurs Network and Tangerine Inc. for giving the volunteers access to the expo, and to Selibeng sa Thuto Trust for providing funding for our volunteers to travel to such events.

Photos from the day:

Winning WIR essay by Moiloa Maleshoane

Moiloa Maleshoane

Form E

MORIJA GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL

Women in Lesotho are very strong. Even if they are poor, they don’t easily give up. It is significant to say that women are to be cared for and respected in the whole world. ‘Mateboho Lerotholi, ‘Mareitumetse Mokhoro and ‘Makatleho Pitso captured my imagination, and showed me how one should face and win the challenges brought by life.

‘Mateboho Lerotholi is the founder of Khathang Tema Bait’sokoli. She is very important to Basotho. In view of this concern, she helps to protect street vendors against bad conditions. Again, she is also a member of a women’s association that helps to save money.

‘Mateboho is one of the women who believes that “out of sight, out of mind”, because she is a single woman who was divorced and kept going. It is known that “least said, soonest mended”, so she took care of her family, paying school fees for her children. She also built her own house.

When I look at ‘Mateboho Lerotholi, it comes to my mind that life is not all about education. To add to this: I am a student who sells vegetables after school to raise money for my school fees. I am proud to say that ‘Mateboho inspires me as a student.

Turning to ‘Mareitumetse Mokhoro, who is the organiser for the Lesotho Clothing Allied Workers’ Union (LECAWU). ‘Mareitumetse inspires me because she seeks to represent the rights of factory workers who are women. She said that, in some factories, only men get promotions.

‘Mareitumetse went out of her way to speak about the problems that women factory workers face. She left her job as a factory worker to fight for women’s rights outside, so that the factory management had no control over her. She hated the fact that in some factories only men get promotions and men earn more than women, even when they are doing the same job.

To quote Chinua Achebe: “Eneke the bird says that since men have learned to shoot without missing, he has learned to fly without perching.” ‘Mareitumetse has shown the same resilience and adaptability. She left her work to fight for equality between men and women. She is a single mom raising four children.

Here is a piece of news: my mother is also a single woman raising three children, and she also works at a factory. I sometimes get expelled from school because of outstanding school fees. When this happens I have to stay out of classes. My mother wakes up early and works hard for nothing. It is my contention that all women must rise up, struggle and fight for their rights. In a nutshell, I do believe that I will finish school, because my mother is a fighter.

As already stated, ‘Makatleho Pitso is another woman who should be remembered. She educates people about HIV/AIDS awareness, gender equality and a range of life skills. She was raped, but for a long time she did not talk about the incident. As ambitious as Lady Macbeth, ‘Makatleho wants every woman to understand that men are not superior to women. Likewise, women also need to stand up for themselves and for others. She goes on to say that women should be able to say “no” to men if they don’t like their ideas.

‘Makatleho wants young people to understand the importance of speaking out about rape. She says: ‘’the person who has been raped should never be blamed.” ‘Makatleho says that there will never be an end to gender-based violence if people do not speak out whenever they see or hear about rape happening in their communities.

Speaking out about rape helps the victim to get medication and to get tested for other diseases. This reminds me of a friend of mine who was raped. She told me about it, but I didn’t tell older people about it. I have made it my own secret and have not spoken out about it, even until today. As a result, my friend did not get tested and did not get medicine, so she fell pregnant and her child was born HIV positive. Today, I say that my life has been useless, but I have seen everything in it. Today, I am able to speak out about violence.

Skills Session: Comic books

Big thanks to Douglas Holgate for spending time with us on Friday October 28 for a Skills Session on comic books. He is an Australian illustrator and comic book artist, our members were especially excited about his work on the Regular Show comic. After Douglas gave a presentation on his work, and showed us work by other comic book artists, Hub members had a chance to create their own comics.

The Skills Session was part of Job-ready Fridays. We would like to thank our friends at Glasswaters Foundation for supporting Job-Ready Fridays.

Prize giving for WIR essay competition

In April and May 2016, Primary and High Schools were invited to bring classes for guided tours of the Women In Resistance exhibition at Morija Museum. An essay writing competition was held for High School students based on the exhibition.

We held a prize giving for the essay writing competition today, with first place going to Moiloa Maleshoane from Morija Girls High School. Second place essay was by Kojang Mofoka, also from Morija Girls High School. Third place essay was written by Moliehi Moetsana from Emmanuel English Medium Secondary School. Congratulations to the winners!

The three students won Vodacom phones, while Morija Girls High School received M5,000 from Vodacom Lesotho Foundation.

Special thanks to Vodacom Lesotho Foundation for their continuing support of our programs.

Click here to read the winning essay.

Infograph – History of the Hub building

Below is an infograph on the history of The Hub building, which dates back to the 1850’s. The infograph was researched and designed by Letsitsi Mokoma, our graphic design intern from Limkokwing University. He was at The Hub from February until May 2016, and during his time completed several design projects and also taught graphic design workshops to our members.