Success Stories

By providing a resource space and learning opportunities, The Hub seeks to address the social and economic injustices that young people in Lesotho face, namely: poverty, high unemployment rates, and limited access to technology, the internet and resources for creativity and learning. The Hub creates opportunities to utilize information and communications technology for research and artistic expression. In particular, it is a venue for young people to receive training and to practice using digital media equipment for the production of visual art. Below are some of The Hub’s success stories:

Building scholars

In December 2022, former Hub volunteer and student Tšepiso Mahooe graduated from the Advanced Photography Program at Market Photo Workshop in Johannesburg. Tšepiso first picked up a camera at photography workshops run by The Hub, and gained access to the Market Photo Workshop as a result of her hard work and determination. The Hub also assisted Tšepiso financially for the duration of her studies.

Countless thanks to Tšepiso for her grit and determination, as well as to everyone who, through The Hub, supported her studies! We are certain that her future is bright!

Building skills for employment

Several of The Hub’s former volunteers have used the skills gained at The Hub in the production of visual art to gain employment and educational opportunities beyond The Hub.

Former Hub volunteer Liteboho Molato has worked at Soofia International School since 2021 as a digital content creator. Follow their social media to see his work @soofiainternationalschool!

Building agents of change

Limpho Thoahlane attended a photography workshop with a focus on climate change, and a Media and Information Literacy workshop at The Hub in 2019. As a result of the workshops, she became interested in environmental issues and began using social media with a purpose, which turned into an opportunity to open a plastic recycling company. This company, Pheha Plastic is located in Morija, and not only recycles plastic and reduces plastic pollution, but also creates beautiful products for sale, made from recycled plastic.

Congratulations to Pheha Plastic for making it to the top 2 of Prime Minister Sam Matekane’s Sebabatso youth entrepreneurship initiative!

Stream the podcast episode: https://www.uncensored.org.za/limpho-thoahlane-a-portrait-of-resilience-and-environmental-stewardship-episode-1/

Mentoring changemakers

The Hub has acted as a mentor for a Matsieng based NGO, Heal Our Land Organisation, which works to promote and protect education, human dignity, gender equality and public health in Matsieng and surrounding communities.

Capacity Building

The Hub has organised capacity building workshops on topics such as fundraising, financial management, monitoring and evaluation, with other organisations in attendance as a way of sharing resources and building capacity. Many thanks to our partners who make such events possible!

SADC Production Lab 2.0

In March 2023, DW Akademie invited The Hub to take part in a SADC Production Lab. From August 14-18, we joined their Production Lab 2.0 with 11 organizations from 7 SADC countries participating in another week-long production lab in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The aim of the week was to explore digital campaigning together for better audience engagement, by telling our stories, and visualising our ideas. A week of storytelling, scriptwriting, and visualising activities produced content on:

  • Access to information: Inclusive, high-quality education
  • Freedom of expression: Free speech and social media campaigns
  • Human rights and cyber safety: Sextortion
  • Fight the fake: Navigating through information disorder, practicing information verification and creating social awareness.

The participants of the Production Lab were split into teams. With one day for scriptwriting and one day for production, The Hub’s team produced the above script and poster about access to information. Based on the script, our team produced the below video with voiceovers in Sesotho, Oshivambo, Khoekhoe and isiZulu.

This exercise was a true team effort, with MiLLi* and Namibia Media Trust in Namibia and The Hub in Lesotho assisting with voiceover and sign language recording!

A lack of equal access to education makes us uninformed citizens who suffer from corruption and high unemployment. 

Free quality education builds a skilled workforce and informed citizens who are able to speak truth to power. 

Well-funded and resourced schools lead to a better living standard for all.

Media and Information Literacy (MIL) is essential because it helps people understand the messages that are being communicated to them. With so many sources of information today, media literacy can help people identify reliable sources and filter through the noise to get to the truth.

Do you want to learn more about MIL? For open-source MIL content, visit the MIL Content Hub. The Hub is part of a group of organisations from SADC countries that together with DW Akademie are passionate about empowering our citizens with open-source MIL content. We strongly believe that these skills will enable the citizens of our countries and communities to make informed decisions that can enrich and better their lives. We therefore strongly advocate for MIL in our societies!

We’re grateful to DW Akademie for inviting The Hub to take part in SADC Production Labs!

We Believe

As part of Skills & Soup programming, the participants recite a creed each day, reinforcing their affirmation and commitment to being the best version of themselves. In partnership with Dolen Cymru, The Hub held a series of scriptwriting, filmmaking, and animation workshops to turn the creed into a short film titled ‘We Believe’, featuring Skills & Soup participants and facilitators.

‘We Believe’ was created during workshops:

Watch ‘We Believe’ below:

Skills & Soup creed:

The Hub and the creed take inspiration from Urban Prep Academies.

Harnessing the Power of Visual Storytelling

The Hub is dedicated to promoting social change and addressing global issues, has adopted a unique approach to bring the stories of clients to life. By fostering collaborations between professional filmmakers, photographers, and Basotho students, The Hub leverages the power of visual storytelling to create impactful narratives. This indication explores the reasons why The Hub embraces this collaborative model and highlights the benefits it brings to both the clients, the creative individuals and students involved.

  1. Amplifying Impact:
    a) Professional Filmmakers and Photographers: By partnering with experienced filmmakers and photographers, The Hub ensures that the stories of clients are captured and presented in the most compelling and professional manner. These experts possess the technical skills and artistic vision needed to produce high-quality visuals that effectively convey the mission and impact of the clients they work with.
    b) Students: Involving young Basotho students in these collaborations allows them to learn from seasoned professionals, gaining hands-on experience in visual storytelling while also contributing their unique perspectives. This collaboration fosters a mentorship environment where students can refine their skills and expand their creative horizons.
  2. Sustainable Collaboration:
    a) Capacity Building: The Hub’s collaboration model is designed to empower young Basotho creatives and build their internal capacity for visual storytelling. By involving the students in the process, they gain valuable work experience, and insights into crafting compelling storytelling that aligns with the client’s goals.

The Hub’s decision to bring together professional filmmakers, photographers, and students in collaborative projects is driven by a commitment to harness the power of visual storytelling for social change. This innovative approach amplifies the impact, emotionally engages audiences, expands reach, encourages diverse perspectives, and builds sustainable storytelling capacity. Through this powerful synergy, The Hub and its collaborators create visuals that inspire, educate, and motivate individuals to join the collective effort for a better world.

See some content produced by The Hub below:

‘Play 4 SRHR’ short film produced for the Embassy of France in South Africa:

‘I Walk 4 Tomorrow’ short film produced for the Network of Early Childhood Development of Lesotho:

Video series on mental and physical well-being for Dolen Cymru:

World Environment Day produced for the Delegation of the European Union to the Kingdom of Lesotho:

‘We Are The Future‘ song and music video produced for Sentebale:

EU Green Week 2023

From June 2-9, 2023, The Hub partook in a week of activities for EU Green Week and World Environment Day.

We started EU Green Week on June 2 with the opening of our photography exhibition “Through the Lens at The Hub: Our Changing Climate” at Alliance Française de Maseru. Many thanks to Director Elisabeth Douillet for hosting the exhibition, and to Pheha Plastic for providing guided tours of the exhibition!

On June 5, which is World Environment Day, The Hub started a week of environmental documentary screenings with Skills & Soup.

On June 6 Pheha Plastic facilitated guided tours at Alliance Française de Maseru for 200+ students from four schools of our climate change photography exhibition.

Special thanks to Alliance Française de Maseru for hosting us for EU Green Week!