Shelter from the rain

By Makopano Semakale
 

It is raining so heavily on the steel roof of Lironts’o’s home that her voice is drowned out. Yet, she’s smiling. 

Later, when the rain has died down a little, 16-year-old Lironts’o says she feels safe.

Not too long ago, Lironts’o and her family lived in a tin shack with a hole in the roof. When it rained, it would pour inside the home. The dirt floor would become muddy. The whole family would huddle in a corner.

“When it rained I used to feel very sad. We would feel very cold and our clothes got very dirty from the muddy floor. When it was windy, I would feel like the shack was blowing away,” Lironts’o says.

There were rats too, Lironts’o says, in that old shack.

“I hated them,” Lironts’o says with a giggle.

But the problem of leaky roofs, muddy floors and rats are in the past now.

World Vision helped Lironts’o and her family construct a new two room house built of cement blocks and steel.

Inside the new kitchen, the floor shines as if it polished every day. A table stands full of all dishes and cutlery neatly placed. Behind the door, three big pumpkins lay under the table.

“World Vision has given us some seeds. We grow our own vegetables,” reveals Lironts’o ‘s mother who is a domestic worker . In front of the house, there are keyhole gardens where they grow spinach, maize, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peas and green peppers.

“I want to thank World Vision for saving my family’s life. They have even built us the toilet. In the past, we used to go to the valley to relieve ourselves but now our lives are safe,” Lironts’o’s mother says.

Lironts’o says she dreams of being a carpenter when she grows up. She dreams about building kitchen cupboards, book shelves and wardrobes for her new house.

At school, Lironts’o is the top performing girl in her class.

When she is not studying, Lironts’o helps her mother clean the house and prepare meals. Her siblings Lebohang, 12, and Thato, 9, are still in primary school - in Grades 7 and 5 respectively.

“To the people who made it possible for us to get a new house, I want to ask God to bless them abundantly,” says ‘Malironts’o, the mother.

World Vision Lesotho has built new homes for orphans and vulnerable children across the country. In the last year, hundreds of children have benefited from newly constructed houses.

“We aim to make sure that the lives of vulnerable people change from being negatively impacted to being positively impacted,” says Mphosi Tjobo Mokanametsong, a World Vision development officer.