Because of you…

Different groups of young people are served and ministered to, mostly within Maseru (capital city).

1. Christian young people
2. non-Christian young people
3. pregnant young people
4. street kids

Meeting the needs of these young people via different projects and ministries:

1. Youth Centre: a place to come, hang around. Activities: recreational and educational, counselling and courses like Youth Alpha.
2. Crisis Pregnancy Centre: a ministry that will help young people that are in a crisis pregnancy. Activities: pregnancy counselling, post abortion counselling & abstinence program.
3. Buddy program: a program where young people are visiting inmates of a juvenile training centre on a weekly basis. Activities: bible study, games, chats.
4. 4Uth: a program where every young person can come and hang around at the sport fields of a high school. Activities: team building games, sport games.
5. Streetkids: a ministry that is building up relationships with a group of kids that do live on the streets. Activities: contacts at the street & home-link work.
6. SHAPE: a sort of a discipleship program. Activities: monthly topics with teachings & games.
7. Coaching: we offer coaching to young people in order to find God’s purpose and plan for their lives.

Youth for Christ has a team of 7 people serving the different groups of young people in Maseru.

Prayer Needs

• Continued development of a committed team of full-time and part-time workers. This remains the biggest challenge.
• Deepening of relationships with the local church.
• Pray for all the staff: to stay motivated and committed and involved with the ministry. Pray that they will be spiritually strengthened.
• Financial base to be established for ministry activities, staff salaries and rent.

About Lesotho

Lesotho

Introduction

Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. The Basuto National Party ruled for the first two decades. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990, but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and was reinstated in 1995. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after seven years of military rule. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody intervention by South African and Botswana military forces under the aegis of the Southern African Development Community. Subsequent constitutional reforms restored relative political stability. Peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002, but the National Assembly elections of February 2007 were hotly contested and aggrieved parties continue to dispute how the electoral law was applied to award proportional seats in the Assembly.

Geography

Location

Location: Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

Geographic Coordinates: 29 30 S, 28 30 E

Area

Total Area: 30,355 sq km Rank: 141

Land Area: 30,355 sq km

Water Area: 0 sq km

Comparison: slightly smaller than Maryland

Land Boundaries: 909 km

Bordering Countries: South Africa 909 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Climate

temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers

Terrain

mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains

Elevations

Lowest Point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m

Highest Point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m

Natural Resources

water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone

Land Use

Arable land: 10.87%

Permanent Crops: 0.13%

Other: 89% (2005)

Irrigated Land: 30 sq km (2003)

Renewable Water Resources: 5.2 cu km (1987)

Total Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): 0.05 cu km/yr (40%/40%/20%)

Freshwater Withdrawal Per Capita: 28 cu m/yr (2000)

Environment

Natural Hazards: periodic droughts

Environmental Issues: population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and redirects water to South Africa

Environmental Agreements: Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

Geography Notes

landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 m above sea level

People

Population: 2,130,819 Rank: 142

Note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2010 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 years: 34.8% (male 373,159/female 368,271)

15-64 years: 60.2% (male 629,346/female 654,054)

65 years and over: 5% (male 42,074/female 63,915) (2010 est.)

Median Age: 22.6 years

Population Growth

Growth Rate: 0.116% (2010 est.) Rank: 189

Birth Rate: 24.14 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) Rank: 74

Death Rate: 22.2 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) Rank: 2

Net Migration Rate: -0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.) Rank: 112

Urbanization

Urban Population: 25% of total population (2008)

Rate of Urbanization: 3.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Life and Death

Infant Mortality Rate: 77.4 deaths/1,000 live births Rank: 22

Life Expectancy at Birth: 40.38 years Rank: 222

Fertility Rate: 3 children born/woman (2010 est.) Rank: 70

Health and Disease

HIV/AIDS - Adult Prevalence Rate: 23.2% (2007 est.) Rank: 3

People living with HIV/AIDS: 270,000 (2007 est.) Rank: 26

HIV/AIDS Deaths: 18,000 (2007 est.) Rank: 24

Nationality and Culture

Noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)

Adjective: Basotho

Ethnic Groups: Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,

Religion: Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%

Languages: Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa

Education

Literacy (Meaning, age 15 and over can read and write): 84.8% Male: 74.5% Female: 94.5% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): 10 years Male: 10 years Female: 10 years (2006)

Education expenditures: 13% of GDP (2006) Rank: 2

Government

Country Name

Conventional Long Form: Kingdom of Lesotho

Conventional Short Form: Lesotho

Local Long Form: Kingdom of Lesotho

Local Short Form: Lesotho

Formerly: Basutoland

Government Type: parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Capital: Maseru Geographic Coordinates: 29 19 S, 27 29 E

Administrative divisions

10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka

Independence: 4 October 1966 (from the UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 4 October (1966)

Constitution: 2 April 1993

Legal system: based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive Branch

Chief of State: King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); note - King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne from November 1990 to February 1995 while his father was in exile

Head of Government: Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998)

Cabinet: Cabinet

Elections: according to the constitution, the leader of the majority party in the Assembly automatically becomes prime minister; the monarchy is hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution that came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a "living symbol of national unity" with no executive or legislative powers; under traditional law the college of chiefs has the power to depose the monarch, determine who is next in the line of succession, or who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age

Legislative Branch

bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (120 seats, 80 by popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

Elections: last held on 17 February 2007 (next to be held in 2012)

Election Results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LCD 61, NIP 21, ABC 17, LWP 10, ACP 4, BNP 3, other 4

Judicial branch

High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch acting on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal; Magistrate Courts; customary or traditional court

Politics

Political Parties and Leaders: Alliance of Congress Parties or ACP (including the Lesotho People's Congress or LCP [Kelebone MAOPE], the Basotholand African Congress or BAC [Khauhelo RALITAPOLE], and a faction of the Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Ntsukunyane MPHANYA]); All Basotho Convention or ABC [Thomas THABANE]; Basotho Batho Democratic Party or BBDP; Basotho Congress Party or BCP; Basotho Democratic National Party or BDNP [Thabang NYEOE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justin Metsing LEKHANYA]; Basotholand African National Congress or BANC; Christian Democratic Party or CDP [Enerst RAMOKOENA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Pakalitha MOSISILI] (the governing party); Lesotho Workers Party or LWP [Macaefa BILLY]; National Independent Party or NIP [Anthony MANYELI]

Political Pressure Groups and Leaders: Media Institute of Southern Africa, Lesotho chapter [Thabang MATJAMA] (pushes for media freedom)

International Organization Participation: ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Flag Description: three horizontal stripes of blue (top), white, and green in the proportions of 3:4:3; the colors represent rain, peace, and prosperity respectively; centered in the white stripe is a black Basotho hat representing the indigenous people; the flag was unfurled in October 2006 to celebrate 40 years of independence

Economy

Economy Overview: Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho relies on remittances from miners employed in South Africa and customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union for the majority of government revenue. However, the government has recently strengthened its tax system to reduce dependency on customs duties. Completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 permitted the sale of water to South Africa and generated royalties for Lesotho. Lesotho produces about 90% of its own electrical power needs. As the number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years, a small manufacturing base has developed based on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries, as well as a rapidly expanding apparel-assembly sector. Despite Lesotho's market-based economy being heavily tied to its neighbor South Africa, the US is an important trade partner because of the export sector's heavy dependence on apparel exports. Exports have grown significantly because of the trade benefits contained in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. The economy is still primarily based on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock, although drought has decreased agricultural activity. The extreme inequality in the distribution of income remains a major drawback. Lesotho has signed an Interim Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility with the IMF. In July 2007, Lesotho signed a Millennium Challenge Account Compact with the US worth $362.5 million. Economic growth plunged in 2009, due mainly to the effects of the global economic crisis. Lesotho's budget relies heavily on customs receipts from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU).

Gross Domestic Product

GDP (purchasing power parity): $3.155 billion (2009 est.) Rank: 173

GDP - real growth rate: 1.6% (2009 est.) Rank: 92

GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,600 (2009 est.) Rank: 196

GDP - Composition by Sector: Agriculture: 7.1% Industry: 34.7% Services: 58.1% (2009 est.)

Labor Force

Labor Force: 854,600 (2007 est.) Rank: 145

Labor force - by occupation: Agriculture: 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa Industry and Services: 14% (2002 est.)

Unemployment Rate: 45% (2002) Rank: 188

Poverty

Population below poverty line: 49% (1999)

Electricity - production:

502 million kWh

country comparison to the world: 159

note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2007 est.)

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: none

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