Vodacom Lesotho donates 67 eco stoves to World Vision Lesotho
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By Retšelisitsoe Khabo
Vodacom Lesotho foundations have donated 67 eco stoves to World Vision Lesotho to help destitute families affected by heavy summer floods that had hit hard on rural communities.
Tšepo Chaotsane of Vodacom foundation said the families were left with a shortage of firewood that made their everyday life difficult.
He said Vodacom in partnership with World Vision found it important to extend a helping hand to those families living in the mountains of Lesotho.
He said Vodacom has decided to dive right in to try and see if they can normalize the situation to improve the lives of Basotho.
Chaotsane said they are issuing eco stoves to World Vision meant to help combat climate change and help in everyday lives.
He said the eco stoves are made in such a way that they reduce carbon emission when fuel burns.
He added the stoves are very easy to use and fuel-efficient.
Chaotsane said the eco stoves come along with solar panels that can also help to charge the batteries inside the stoves that also can charge cellular phones, laptops and also be used for lighting homes.
Chaotsane said they believe that the beneficiaries of the stoves will find them very useful.
Vodacom’s communication specialist Thato Mochone also said it is their sole purpose to help communities in times of disasters and hardships.
Mochone said they are working hard to implement strategies that can always be in place each and every time when there are disaster events.
She said they issued sixty-seven stoves to World Vision and each stove is worth M1 700.
Mamello Tsekoa of World Vision’s Humanitarian emergency affairs said emergency response always comes after the disaster has occurred but they are working hard to find measures that can help minimize the impact of disasters when they occur.
“We found it useful to partner with other organizations to help people who live in the remote areas of Lesotho in times of disasters,” she said.
She added that in their process of finding the partners they approached Vodacom and it introduced to them the brilliant innovation that is made here in Lesotho which is eco stoves.
She said the eco stoves will play a very huge role in the future for preserving soil erosion as there will be no longer too much cutting of trees for firewood.
Tsekoa said that trees act as windbreakers at times of heavy wind and they should be preserved.
“We are so happy for receiving these wonderful gifts from Vodacom foundation,” she said.
Tsekoa added that the eco stoves will also help with charging the cell phones of their beneficiaries so that they can get early warning when there is some expected floods and other disasters.
She said people who live in the remote areas of Lesotho struggle to have their mobile phones charged and these gifts will help them overcome those challenges.
She said this will also help in improving the education of the students who live in the remote areas as they will be able to read through the light provided by the eco stoves.
Tsekoa said the eco stoves will be given to people living in Mokhotlong in and council and Thaba Tseka district.
She said they will be working with DMA to assess the vulnerability of the families who will be eligible to get these gifts.
