1 in 5 people in Lesotho work as a child
Children working in the fields and shepherding cattle in the mountains during school hours are common sites to see in Lesotho. The biggest threats to the protection and development of these children are poverty and food insecurity combined with HIV. These elements of extreme poverty in rural areas like the mountains of Lesotho force many parents and caretakers to send their children to work in order for their households to survive.
Orphaned Children
16% of the country are orphaned children below the age of 18. That is around 350,000 people.
HIV/AIDS Rate
Lesotho has the second highest adult HIV/AIDS rate in the world at 25% of the population.
$1 A Day Will Make A Difference in Their Lives
We work to empower communities with skills and resources to invest in their children. With your help, our kids at our orphan care centers can be cared for by the adults and church leaders in their communities.
Programs in Lesotho
Programs in each location are structured and developed to invest in the community’s young people, giving them the tools they need to be leaders in the community, and unleashing their potential by loving them, and by guiding them in their spiritual, emotional, and physical development.
Orphan Care Centers
Run and operated by local churches in Lesotho, the orphan care centers are a family to over 70 children in Lesotho. Each day, the children come after school to receive help with their homework, enjoy a hot nutritious meal, and receive the love and care that they so desperately need. Men and women from the church show up daily to care for the needs of these children, including the provisions needed to attend school and warm clothes and shoes for the harsh winters.
Sustainability Projects
Reclaimed helps to establish sustainable businesses which provide income to support the orphan ministries. These businesses include small scale chicken farms, small livestock (sheep and goats), and other agricultural projects. The church members also make handmade items like leather journals and beautiful hand woven baskets that are marketed and sold here in the US to support the orphan care centers. While these businesses do not yet totally support their ministries, it is our hope that they will one day be fully sustained by them, and independent from outside funding.
Skills Training
Reclaimed recently worked alongside our partner churches in the region and our partners here in the US to build a skills training center for all of the orphans in our program and other youth in the community. This skills training center will be an avenue for us to equip these children with the skills needed to provide for themselves in the future. They will learn a variety of skills including how to use a computer, auto mechanics, carpentry, masonry skills, welding, and more!
Church Planting and Discipleship
In all of our work, we strive to build God’s kingdom and make the gospel known. In partnership with our Basotho churches, we hope to share the gospel with every person in each community where we work. Reclaimed also works alongside IMB missionaries in the area to aid in church planting efforts. Our hope is that as the Kingdom of God expands in Lesotho, we will be a resource for the church to bring his goodness and justice to those living in the most vulnerable situations.
