HISTORY  

Centre for the Poor and the Less Privileged (CPLP)

Background:

The Centre for the Poor and Less Privileged was established in February 2000 by the Sisters of Charity Lesotho as a centre to serve orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). This was done in response to the growing need to provide shelter and food to the Basotho who are without these basic daily needs, due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The Centre is located at Sekamaneng, near the National Union of Mineworkers building, in the district of Maseru, on the way to Teya- Teyaneng.

Current Situation:

The Centre currently has 71 OVC ’s in residence between the ages of 3 and 18 years of age.The children are brought to us by concerned relatives, neighbours and local officials aware of their desperate situations. The children are from all the districts of Lesotho. They are provided with pre-school within the Centre and attend primary and high schools in the local area. The children are encouraged to maintain contact with their home villages and interested relatives during school vacations.

In addition CPLP also cooperates with the Department of Social Welfare for children found in the streets. They are given free accommodation and meals until their next of kin can be located (if possible). The Centre also supports another 42 children in the Maseru and Berea districts with food and medical aid.

Summary:

CPLP provides care for children of all denominations who have lost one parent or both through sickness, accident or imprisonment. The Centre is very aware of the incidents of HIV/AIDS in Lesotho as a demand for our services begin to grow. We will continue to care for the children’s physical and spiritual needs as well as to prepare them for a fruitful life outside CPLP.

Partners:

CPLP works in partnership with many other organisations whose stakeholders are interested in OVC and many other individuals. These include -non-governmental and governmental organisations inside Lesotho and outside. Among these, there are those who fund our institution and our centre is very thankful to all of them. These include Help Lesotho (www.helplesotho.ca), and 11 oaks (www.11oaks.org)