World Vision Lesotho (WVL) trained 30 community leaders in Kota ADP at a one-day workshop on Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) held in Leribe district on January 18, 2010.

The WVL Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Food Security Project Coordinator Mrs. Seloane Qhobela said the objective of the training is to familiarize community leaders with World Vision Lesotho M&E tool to be used to monitor progress and impact of OVC food security project among the benefited families.

Caption: Project Coordinator trains community on Monitoring and evaluation of the project

This tool among others monitors the presence of key hole or trench garden in the household, nutritional status of the family meals, care of plants, managing insecticides, and overall progress of the vegetables and crops. The monitoring will be conducted monthly untill harvest time.

The WV Kota Agricultural Officer Mrs. Mpho Sakoane appealed to participants to go back to the community and be the eyes and ears of World Vision Lesotho in their respective communities and report back about the project progress and its impact to the families.

The representative from the Community council thanked World Vision for inviting the council to this training saying it is an eye opener adding that from now on will work together with World Vision committee members in the village to monitor the benefited OVC in the area and also use the tool to monitor other OVC projects within the council.

Meanwhile one of the Care Giver ‘Mamolemo Sello thanked World Vision and Global Fund for helping OVC on their area with seeds and garden tools that will contribute to transform the lives of the children to the better. She promised that they will monitor the project regularly to ensure it achieve intended objectives to the lives of the children. 

The participants at the workshop were 30 community leaders ranging from chief, councilors, care givers, World Vision committee members and members of support groups. The workshop was facilitated by World Vision OVC Food Security Coordinator Mrs. Selloane Qhobela.              

After the training GFCU visited some OVC families benefited from the seeds and garden tools in Kota. One of the family is that of Mrs. ‘Matseneli Tsele 70 years, live with three OVC Matieho, Karabelo and Tselisa whose parents died. “Thank you for the seeds and garden tools that will use to produce vegetables and crops to curb hunger and improve our nutrition.”

The OVC food security project is funded by Global Fund Round 7 grant designed to improve the food security and livelihood of OVC in five ADPs namely Kota, Mapoteng, Malumeng, Sekameng and Taung. The total of 2500 OVC families were reached this farming season 2009/10 across five ADPs. Similar target of 2,500 different families were reached in the last year 2008/9.

The Main activities of the project are to produce trench gardens and up-scaling successful key-hole gardens and conservation farming in the project area.

Caption: Matieho Tsele an Orphan with her grandmother from Kota ADP also benefited from seeds and garden tools. Today she enjoys the green vegetables from her key hole garden.