By Ndapile Bwanausi Kabuye
Lineo Makopano Kalebe a young Mosotho social entrepreneur with a passion for community development and social accountability is the founder and director of the Possible Dreams Foundation. The 29-year-old young visionary holds a BA (Honors) in Broadcasting & Journalism at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology. A certificate Programme in Community Based Work with Children and Youth through the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal and REPSSI majoring in Integrated Community Development. In addition to that, a Certificate in Civic Leadership through the Young African Leaders Initiative-Regional Leadership Centre (YALI-RLC) from UNISA Pretoria. Her professional journey has seen her working with organizations such as World Vision International Lesotho, Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) and GIZ-PISA Project on consultancy bases.
Possible Dreams Foundation is a community-based organization dedicated to the improvement and wellbeing of vulnerable peoples with the aim of building strong and vibrant communities. Lineo being a generational thinker aims to saw seeds for the future by creating and supporting community-led partnerships and capacity building initiatives. This, in turn, creates a sense of ownership building communities that are more sustainable and accountable. Through this, Possible Dreams Foundation ensures that the marginalized community groups including vulnerable children, disabled, youth and young mothers are educated and empowered for life.
The foundation's activity is centered around 3 projects. First is the skills development project which aims at providing opportunities and spaces for young girls and women which enables them to generate ideas and actions that improve their socio-economic status. Women in the community of Ha-Sekantši, a rural village in Lesotho have been trained in tailoring and as well as recycling of plastics. Secondly, the literacy project which focuses on promoting and providing quality education support for children. Through this project, reading and homework clubs have been established in order to create a reading culture and improve literacy and numeracy skills in the community. In addition to that, a preschool has been established in collaboration with the community of Ha-Sekantši.
Finally, the social accountability activities which aim at building strong communities that contribute to the improvement of their wellbeing through Civic Education. This promotes meaningful community participation, giving them the knowledge to lobby and advocate for service delivery. Communities take ownership of projects introduced to them, through social accountability approaches such as community dialogues, documentary photography and use of community scorecards.
Ha- Sekantši, is a small village in Thaba-Putsoa Constituency within Maseru District the capital city of Lesotho. The population of this village is estimated at less than 300 and that makes it a manageable target group with a clear measurable impact. The foundation's partnership with the community of Ha-Sekantši has empowered them significantly, equipping them to take ownership and find ways to solve community problems through collective action. Through skills development projects the living standards of both direct and indirect beneficiaries have improved, positively changing the economic status of families. Most importantly the community is now aware of the importance of skills development and the role it plays in breaking the dependency syndrome.
Despite the positive outputs, challenges are inevitable, and one challenged that has affected the implementation of the activities has been the distance that children must travel to school (over 2 hours walk) and long distances for communities to access essential services. Of most difficulty was crossing a river in the area where a bridge was not available. With the help of the foundation, the community was able to lobby and advocate for service delivery and hold those in power accountable eventually sourcing funding of the much-needed footbridge which is currently being constructed.
Possible dreams foundation envisions a future where communities in Lesotho have sustained wellbeing, where basic services (such as the footbridge) and rights exist with a minimal challenge, creating an enabling environment for individuals to make informed and beneficial socio-economic choices. As a changemaker, Lineo’s long term vision is to change the status quo of the dependency syndrome within our communities, as it is said: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Great work Ndapile.