Defending the rights of the child

MASERU – “I FELT I had harbored wounds of things I failed to attain in life just because I was a child and no one cared to stand up for me,” says Advocate Limakatso Mejaele, reminiscing on her troubled childhood.
Born “in the 80s” in Kolo, Mafeteng district, Adv Mejaele has now teamed up with other stakeholders to ensure that no child goes through the road she endured.

The determination gave birth to the Child Advocacy Centre Lesotho (CACL) in 2016, an institution that has become central to tackling problems faced by Lesotho’s children.
“Its mandate is purely to look into child issues,” she tells thepost.
Her own journey has been a rollercoaster that she does not wish on any child.

At Kolo Primary School, where she started her education, Adv Mejaele was one of the brightest pupils. Later, in 1997, she enrolled with Ts’akholo High School where she obtained a first class pass that paved her way into the National University of Lesotho (NUL)’s Faculty of Law.
Then things took a dark turn. From being the best performing student in primary and secondary school, Adv Mejaele began to struggle academically and was forced to repeat two academic years at the university before dropping out.

“In 2008 I failed one more time and due to financial struggles in my home and also the hurt from the trauma of failing for a number of times, I decided to drop out of school,” she says.
After leaving university, she tried a hand at different projects such as poultry without much success. Although the projects helped put food on the table, the income didn’t match her lofty ambitions.

She later landed a job at Metropolitan Lesotho as an insurance consultant, a move that helped put her life back on track.
“It was at that time when I decided to apply to the University of South Africa (UNISA) to complete my LLB, which I managed to complete,” she says.
In 2012, she took up a programme in Management Principles.
“It was obvious for me that employment was a struggle for many but I also had a long pending wish to make a change in society,” Adv Mejaele says.

“Also it was evident to me that children in Lesotho suffer terrible neglect and abuse and the focus is on those considered vulnerable. In my opinion, by virtue of being a child, every child is vulnerable,” Adv Mejaele says.
It is this desire to change the lives of children which saw her teaming with other professionals to establish the CACL.

It is a grouping of professionals such as legal practitioners, social workers, psychologists, statisticians, medical practitioners and private investigators who have pledged their time to advocate for the rights and welfare of children.

Their organisation, unlike others which mainly work on individual child cases, endeavours to tackle the root causes of all common neglect and abuse cases.
For example, they work with village chiefs and councillors to permanently uproot the problem of local bars that close late and create a dangerous environment for children in the locality.

“We have started taking training sessions to schools and some organisations working directly with children on child protection and participation. We feel it is best to educate people who spend most hours with children during their development such as teachers,” says Adv Mejaele.
She says the organisation is planning to extend such training sessions to churches and orphanages next year.

“We are currently looking into the issue of child maintenance in Lesotho. The truth is that people are gradually losing trust in the law because of the way the issue of maintenance is being handled in the courts,” she argues.
Adv Mejaele says the organisation is now embarking on phase two of the programme, where they intend to take full charge and responsibility by ensuring that strategies that are adopted by authorities are strictly in the best interest of children. The organisation is also helping materially.

“We have a programme called ‘smile more, conquer your world’ which takes toothpaste and toothbrushes to a few selected primary schools to students with specific cases of neglect or abuse,” she says.
Adv Mejaele says they are also trying to ensure that children are not forced by circumstances into criminality.

She says negotiations with other stakeholders are ongoing to find a solution to the long overdue problem of kids on the streets.
“It is very challenging but with focus and dedication we believe a new story will be told by 2020,” Adv Mejaele says.
Although they address child challenges from a holistic approach, Adv Mejaele says the organisation also handles individual cases “now and then”.

“Each case we take we use it as a window of opportunity to look into the violation of children’s rights in depth so that holes and gaps are filled to avoid similar cases in the future,” she says.

“We try as much as possible to liaise with all organisations dealing with children’s matters and we believe we are one step in the right direction in protecting and advocating for their rights and wellbeing.”
For Adv Mejaele and her associates, the adage that it takes a village to raise a child is taking a practical meaning.

Majara Molupe