Maseru
Another great milestone has been achieved this week with the completion of the
construction of new school toilet blocks for Lithabaneng Primary School. This forms part of the 5
Hub Schools project in the Leqele – Lithabaneng area of Maseru in collaboration with the
Ministry of Education and Training, who identified 5 high-priority schools in need of assistance.
Those schools being Seboka,Leqele, Makoanyane and Lithabaneng Primary Schools and
Lithabaneng High school.
The new flushing toilets that come with hand wash stations are a replacement of the old and
unhygienic toilets which the students and the teachers had been using for many years.
Unhealthy toilets could easily hinder children from enjoying their education and the teachers and
staff can be discouraged to be at work. This is also very important for young girls to have clean
hygienic toilets, to ensure they do not drop out of school. All these circumstances are to be a
thing of the past at Libananeng Primary School.
Action Ireland Trust (AIT) and rise take a holistic approach, which is centered around the needs
of the students, teachers, principals and community members. This approach equips
teachers and principals with the right tools thus, achieving the mandate of making schools
child friendly, safe and providing an improved learning environment to greatly enhance the
students learning experience.
Francis Whelan, CEO of Action Ireland Trust, said,
“Without the support of the Quinn Family, Foundation, Shamrock Gift Company, Electric Aid, Choice Hotels, and Forsa, this project would simply not be possible.
Over the past week, over 65 volunteers from Ireland have worked on a range of projects; with the communities and the schools in the Leqele and Lithabaneng area.
We are delighted we have now completed the second school toilet blocks and we hope to continue
with the program, in the remaining 3 schools”
Lithabaneng Primary Schools’ Principal, David Ralebese said, “On behalf of Lithabaneng
Primary School, we are delighted about the completion of our newly constructed water system
toilets. We are thankful to our development partners; Action Ireland Trust and rise for their
efforts toward improving our sanitation facilities mostly. We are in dire need of toilets, so the new
toilets will give our learners dignity, especially the adolescent girls”
On the other hand, the Ministry of Education Chief Education Officer, Thuto Ntšekhe-Mokhehle
expresses the thrill to be working with, “our valuable partner, Action Ireland Trust in striving to
meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a specific focus on SDG 4.
Their investment in education in Lesotho is significant and crucial in our journey towards realizing
SDG 4. This goal aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong
learning opportunities for all. We are incredibly grateful for their unwavering support and
dedication to improving education in our country.”
Rise international’s Country Director, Reitumetse Nthako, says they, “are so excited to hand
over the new ablution blocks to Lithabaneng Primary. It is always so heart-warming to see the
student faces beam with pride and joy seeing the new infrastructure that positively impacts the
students learning experience.
This is the third school where construction work has been completed since the inception of the 5 Hub School project, the first completed project being at Leqele Primary School, which was a new kitchen and extensive vegetable gardens providing fresh and healthy vegetables for the learners. As well as much-needed infrastructure improvements.
This project also includes teacher training and equipping learners with additional
life and entrepreneurial skills. Rise looks forward to bringing change in the lives of thousands of
children.
Lastly, we are thankful to all our partners, the Quinn Family Foundation and other sponsors from
Ireland for their sponsorship, and the Principals of the 5 schools for all their tireless work in the
progression of this project.”