Federer speaks

THABA-BOSIU – Tennis legend Roger Federer said his three-day trip to Lesotho has been a special one and he is pleased to see how far the schools his foundation is helping have come.

Federer arrived in Lesotho on Monday on his first-ever trip to the Mountain Kingdom to check on his School Readiness Initiative implemented by the Roger Federer Foundation in partnership with Network for Child Development in Lesotho (NECDOL).

The programme runs in six Southern African countries namely; Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Here in Lesotho, the programme started in 2020 and the Roger Federer Foundation has committed to investing M60 million into it until 2025.

The vision is to achieve school readiness in line with Sustainable Development Goals 4.2 targets, by making sure that all, or at least 70% of the children, get a good start into education.

By 2025, the programme plans to have reached 800 primary schools and early learning institutions across Lesotho and it wants to build stimulating early learning environments and enhance the quality of learning for about 24 000 Basotho children.

Speaking at a press conference held in Thaba-Bosiu Cultural Village, Federer told reporters that through education one can inspire families, even a village. He said education is something no one can take away from another person.

Born to a South African mother and a Swiss father, Federer is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks. He is also a winner of 20 Grand Slam titles, the second most in history.

“I was very fortunate to learn very young, travelling to South Africa with my parents. I came onto the (ATP) tour when I was 16-years-old; my dad always said if this doesn’t work out, remember you always have to go to school, and I told him dad I think I can make the breakthrough,” Federer said.

“He said yes, but education is important, because we know what it means to have great education, it’s something you cannot take away from somebody,” he said.

Federer’s tennis career worked out well for him and, at the age of 19, he was already ranked in the world’s top 100 players before going on to become the world’s number one at the age of 22.

In addition to becoming one of the world’s greatest sportsmen, Federer also became a UNICEF ambassador before his retirement in September last year.

“At the time (during my career) I did a few trips for them (UNICEF), in one of them I went to see relief efforts for the tsunami in India at the time and I felt it was making me very happy. It made me learn from that angle but I always thought why don’t I start something of my own?

“Today, we are celebrating 20 years anniversary of the Roger Federer Foundation, I hope we can look back one day and see what we have accomplished,” he said.

“I am very proud of our progress but I would like to do more now that I have more time. Now that tennis is sort of dropping away, it’s about impact and for me that I can make such a change for people I don’t know, for countries I don’t know so well is an incredible honour. I am very happy to do it,” he said.

During his trip, Federer met with the King and Queen, the prime minister, ministers and MPs. He has been to Mafeteng and Semonkong at schools benefiting from the initiative.

He said the altitude reminded him a little bit of Switzerland, as did the high mountains with a lot of snow. He said he also tried the local cuisine like lipabi, chakalaka and moroho and loved it.

“It was very special for me, what I found (such as) the natural playgrounds was fantastic and to see how far the schools have come with our partners it has really been nice. It’s my first trip to Lesotho ever, I am very excited,” Federer said.

Tlalane Phahla