The Malealea Development Trust (MDT) operates in the Malealea Valley which is situated in the south western district of Mafeteng in Lesotho. This remote rural area is characterised by poverty, unemployment, malnutrition and a lack of resources and basic services. About 4000 people live in the valley, excluding the population of migrant workers living and working in South Africa.
The primary objective of the Trust is to advance the educational, economic and social quality of life of the Malealea community through undertaking a range of education and development projects.
To date, projects undertaken by the Trust include:
- Enviromental projects such as water harvesting and sanitation, reforestation, and reclamation of environmentally fragile areas.
- Entreprenerial projects that support members of the community to generate income. The MDT has supported more than 20 small businesses as well as a community craft project which itself provides income to about 35 families.
- Infrastructure development has included the construction of primary school classrooms, a pre-school, a community centre, a sport field, toilets, dams, roads and bridal paths. In partnership with a British school we have also electrified the local highschool by means of wind turbine.
- Education projects include raising funds for school scholarships, establishing libraries in the primary and high schools, raising salaries for 3 pre-school teachers, and setting up adult learning communities in 14 villages throughout the valley.
- Health and well-being projects include taking care of orphans, supporting HIV positive people with nutritional supplements, and the promotion of food production gardens.
Developed by Gillian Attwood
