The Lesotho Association Teachers (LAT) has partnered with the NGO Alternatives Action andCommunication Network for International Development with the intention of building global relationships and expanding its educational network. Alternatives (Canada) is a Canadian organization based in Montreal, Quebec that works to promote human and environmental rights worldwide. Through this partnership, the LAT has been able to take advantage of internship opportunities. As of 2021, the LAT has been fortunate enough to have had two interns based in Canada, who conducted large scale research on resource mobilization, potential partnerships, funding opportunities, and other ways to improve the LAT and expand its global reach. Meet our interns:
At the time of the internship, Aurora was a third year undergraduate university student studying Conflict Studies and Human Rights at the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Canada. Through this program she studied a multitude of topics relating to politics, economics, development, ethics, and international relations. Her work with LAT through Alternatives comprised of searching for funding opportunities and building LAT’s global network through educational and beneficial partnerships. Aurora revised and created project proposals for funders on topics such as the empowerment of young women, gender-based violence prevention, and Covd-19 response plans. She initiated connections between the LAT and teachers in Ontario, Canada who in the near future are planning on sharing educational resources with educators in Lesotho. She is dedicated to promoting global solidarity and to giving developing countries the same opportunities that she is privileged enough to have living in a first world country. Through her work with LAT, she was honoured to have the opportunity to broaden her understanding of the different concepts and ideas that different countries and cultures bring to the discussion of development, and more specifically the development of educational resources and organizations.
Oghenevwogaga was a student at York University (Toronto, Canada) who was studying International Studies as her major. In her final year, she took part in this internship program as part of her academic credit for her Bachelor’s degree. Through hands-on experience, she was able learn how grassroots organisations like LAT help to bring about social change within the community. Using both her academic background and her experience from her country, Nigeria, she was able to develop some community-based projects that would contribute toward the achievement of the UN Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs) on education in Lesotho.
These projects were focused on a range of subjects from empowering women within the LAT to programs/initiatives that deals with addressing School-related gender-based violence (SRGBV); promoting girl’s participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses; and helping young girls who have been sexually assaulted, forced in early marriages, teen pregnancies and with HIV/AIDS. Also, she undertook tasks related to researching International organisations that can not only partner with LAT but also fund these new projects.
Lastly, her work with the organisation extended towards developing a detailed strategic plan that included the Union’s short and long term goals that it wants to achieve in the next three (3) years, the plan of action to reach them and the key performance indicators. Her involvement and contribution to LAT reflect her enthusiasm and dedication towards raising awareness about human rights issues and zeal to create social impact within the society at large.