Credit : Trinidad Carreno Pineda
On September 11th, the Lesotho Association of Teachers (LAT) welcomed two new interns from Canada, Odile Mujawimana and Kathleen Wanna Ricot, thanks to the association’s continued partnership with Alternatives, a Canadian organization based in Montreal that advocates for justice and equity in Quebec, Canada and around the world.
Odile is a recent graduate of McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Political Science. Having completed much of her primary and secondary education on the African continent, partly in Kigali, Rwanda, and predominantly in Kampala, Uganda, she experienced firsthand the effects of educational inequity, as well as the ways in which teachers’ working conditions can directly influence student outcomes and, ultimately, the strength of a nation’s education system. In Canada, she worked with an organization promoting equitable education as well as an organization advocating for the rights of Montreal’s homeless community. These experiences shaped her commitment to social equity and led her to LAT, an organization whose work extends beyond the interests of its members. Through its efforts to strengthen the teaching profession and improve the education system, LAT contributes to shaping a stronger future for Lesotho and its people.
Kathleen is a recent graduate from the University of Montreal with a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology. For as long as she can remember, she has voluntarily served on committees focused on improving the community. Her most recent participation was with the Committee for the reflection on the outreach of anthropology (CRRA), which made her realize the importance of a discipline’s visibility to ensure its sustainability. From her perspective, education is much more than access to knowledge; it equips people with the critical thinking skills to understand the social and economic structures that shape their lives, empowers them to advocate for their rights and enables them to become active agents of change within their communities. She was drawn to LAT’s commitment to the decolonization of education and its emphasis on locally driven solutions.
LAT welcomed its first on-site interns last year and has decided to renew the experience. As Resource Mobilization & Gender Equality Interns, Odile and Kathleen each have their own working subjects. Odile will mainly work on organizational growth, while Kathleen will focus on the national agenda. Both will also work on resource mobilization and social media management.
Organizational growth
Since its establishment, LAT has grown its membership and played an important role in advocating for teachers’ rights and quality education. Strengthening membership is essential to reinforce LAT’s organizational capacity and representation. Their work will focus on membership growth, particularly by helping the LAT team with recruiting both government and privately appointed teachers through school visits.
National agenda
Lesotho has made significant progress in access to education, with primary education nearly universal. However, the education system still relies heavily on memorization, with limited emphasis on critical thinking, creativity and innovation. A decolonial approach to education is therefore needed to support meaningful curriculum reform. Together with the LAT team, they will focus on advocating for a decolonized curriculum through developing an advocacy strategy and conducting a stakeholder analysis.
Resource mobilization
Lesotho faces significant economic challenges; low teachers’ salaries and high indebtedness make increasing LAT’s monthly subscription difficult. Some teachers already struggle to afford the membership fee, limiting LAT’s ability to rely solely on membership contributions to advance its mission. To fully implement its strategic plan, LAT therefore requires stronger external resource mobilization. This includes financial, material, intellectual, and human resources, with a particular focus on securing financial support through partnership proposals. Kathleen and Odile will work on identifying and developing partnerships, both locally and internationally, that can support LAT’s activities and strengthen its capacity to achieve its strategic goals.
Social media management
Strengthening LAT’s visibility and public presence is essential to building greater awareness of the Union and its work. Social media provides an important platform to reach teachers, increase engagement and strengthen LAT’s identity. They will work on improving the Union’s visibility across social media platforms, mainly its Facebook page and the website, increasing followership, strengthening branding, and exploring branded merchandise to reinforce LAT’s presence.
Aluta Continua, the struggle continues, and so does LAT’s commitment to advancing teachers’ rights and strengthening education in Lesotho. As the Association pursues its mission, it remains grounded in the belief that supporting teachers is an investment in the future of Lesotho. And while the work may be demanding, there is no better place to pursue this mission than the beautiful Mountain Kingdom.
We look forward to working with the amazing LAT team to advance the association’s mission. Follow LAT on our social media pages to stay informed about our work, initiatives, and opportunities to get involved.
By Kathleen Wanna Ricot and Odille Mujawimana.
