“May the children of Lesotho be blessed by our presence in their beautiful country! Together, hand in hand, we will face and overcome the ravages of HIV/AIDS. In Him, we have the victory.”
We believe that by encouraging the vulnerable and orphaned children to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour, we give them that most precious of gifts – a living faith and an eternal hope.
We believe that faith and acts go hand in hand. By our acts, we display our faith. We will not grow weary in doing good.
We will listen, support, aid and encourage all the vulnerable children who cross our paths. We will help them to reach their potential.
We will humbly and happily be of loving service to children in need throughout Lesotho. We seek to be His hands at work.
Plant new churches in all the communities in Central and Southern Lesotho so that everyone has an opportunity of hearing the Gospel message and responding to the call of Christ.
We help empower the local communities through our ministry and training programmes. We focus strongly on education as an enabler to break the cycle of poverty.
Establish and equip children’s centres for orphaned children who have no other means of care and support.
We meet urgent needs through medical support.
Lesotho is an incredibly scenic country neighbouring South Africa. It is small and extremely mountainous with majestic landscapes. It is landlocked and entirely contained within South Africa. It is the only independent state in the world that lies entirely above 1,000 metres in elevation: over 80% of the country lies above 1,800 metres.
Lesotho relies on remittances from miners employed in South Africa – roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa. The economy is still primarily based on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock, although drought has decreased agricultural activity. Significant levels of child labour exist in Lesotho, and the country is in the process of formulating an Action Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (APEC).
We are currently involved in the Semonkong Highlands and in Pulane Village in the Southern foothills. Although only 45 km apart, there is no road between the two areas. It takes 9 hours by car or 3 days on horseback to travel from one area to the other!
A chance of a successful education for the children in these poverty stricken areas is slim. Children find it difficult to concentrate without a decent meal or sufficient nutrition. The climate in winter makes it very difficult to reach the schools. Most children walk 15 km a day without shoes to attend. We do everything we can to assist children with their educational needs.
One of our primary focuses is the education of young shepherd boys. Boys as young as 7 years old are sent off to tend to flocks for many hours at a time. The boys return hungry and remain uneducated. We have established shepherd schools that run at night to allow for these boys and young men to receive an education that will greatly benefit their futures.
TB, HIV/AIDS, dysentery and a host of other diseases run rife. According to the most recent census the average life expectancy for both males and females in Lesotho is 39 years. This has a direct impact on the ever increasing amount of orphans.
Together, Jill, Grant, Patrick and Tara are based in this rugged and beautiful country that is ripe for harvesting. They believe that God has called them to assist and address not only the severe physical needs but also to see lives of individuals impacted and transformed through the message of the Gospel.
Please contact Jenny Evans at jenny.evans@aog.co.za or alternatively, our church office.
Telephone
+27 (0) 21 557 3948
info@viewchurch.co.za
Fax
+27 (0) 21 557 3778
Address
Cnr Blaauwberg Road and Wood Drive
Table View
Cape Town
7441