MASERU — Prince Harry says the people of Lesotho will be decimated by Aids if action to fight the disease is not intensified, British tabloid the Daily Express has reported.
Harry was speaking an event to celebrate the third anniversary of Sentebale, his charity foundation in Lesotho.
“Lesotho is such a wonderful country and is incredibly close to my heart,” said Harry.
“Beautiful as it is though, its people battle devastating problems,” he added.
“Unless we help Lesotho in its struggle to nurture and protect its children and bring them hope for the future, the Basotho will be decimated and their society destroyed. It is a stark thing to say, but it is the truth.”
Harry pleaded with non-governmental organisations, generous donors and other individuals who are interested in Africa to help Sentebale’s efforts in Lesotho.
According to Sentebale, nearly one third of Basotho are infected with HIV/Aids –– the third highest rate in the world.
There are an estimated 400 000 orphans and vulnerable children in a country of 1.8 million.
Life expectancy has plummeted to around 40 years, according to estimates.
Sentebale is a charity set up in April 2006 by Prince Seeiso of Lesotho and the Prince Harry to help vulnerable children and young people in Lesotho, particularly those who have been orphaned as a result of HIV and Aids.
Mosotho patient undergoes facial reconstruction
DURBAN –– Medical staff at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) are hard at work helping a Lesotho cancer patient have a more comfortable life through a facial reconstruction.
Tsasane Selata is from a rural part of Lesotho and has lost parts of his face to a cancer-related growth.
Scarlett Steer, from Operation Smile South Africa (OSSA), said they became aware of Tsasane’s condition when he arrived at a pre-screening assessment at a clinic in Mohales Hoek, Lesotho.
The non-profit medical services operation found that Tsasane’s condition was a result of a cancerous growth he had had on his face, which subsequently healed. OSSA then contacted DUT’s dental sciences department.
Tsasane was flown from Mohales Hoek to Maseru by the Lesotho Flying Doctors, and transported from Maseru to Durban by Partners in Health.
A DUT dental technician, specialising in the manufacturing of maxillofacial prostheses, Peter Furber, said Tsasane had arrived yesterday.
“We are busy with assessment. I have met him and taken a rough impression and secondary impression of his face. We are making a mould of his face. Tomorrow we will start moulding a wax replica of the nose,” he said.
Furber will be manufacturing a maxilla facial prosthesis with an artificial eye.
A prosthesis is a device designed to replace a missing part of the body or to make a part of the body aesthetically pleasing.
DUT’s head of dental sciences, Grant Somers, said the cost of the prosthesis will be covered by DUT’s dental sciences department, where Selata will receive specialist treatment.
“We try to accept as many unique cases as possible. This particular case is life-changing, where the patient’s life has been affected by his situation, as he will not go into society or face his family because of the damage,” he said. –– The Star.
