…as it marks HIV/AIDS Day in style
Moorosi Tsiane
SESOTHO Media and Development (SM&D) marked this year’s World AIDS Day in Mahobong, Leribe, with a vibrant celebration that blended cultural expression, civic education, and a renewed national call to implement the Counter Domestic Violence Act (CDVA) 2022.
SM&D is a civil society organisation that uses film and media to drive dialogue, challenge harmful social norms and promote human rights. Originally focused on HIV/AIDS, it now addresses gender equality, child marriage, human trafficking, Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR), child labour, Gender Based Violence (GBV), climate change, digitalisation and social justice.
SM&D works with local and international NGOs to deliver psychosocial, legal and sexual health services to underserved groups, including AGYWs (Adolescent Girls and Young Women), people with disabilities, sex workers, LGBTQI+ individuals, adolescent boys and young men, and abused children.
The commemorative event, held at Somololo (Mahobong) on Monday and funded by Bread for the World (BFTW), coincided with the opening of the Lesotho International Film Festival under the theme “Telling African Stories”, celebrating the power of youth-led storytelling in advancing social change.
The colourful World AIDS Day commemoration drew prominent attendees, including Mahobong Head Chief, Malikonelo Moima, Leribe District Commissioner of Police (DISPOL), Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mpolokeng Shale, Mahobong Legislator Nkhethoa Seetsa, and officials from the ministries of Health and Gender, Youth and Social Development, as well as World Vision.
More than 1000 community members took part, beginning with a two-kilometre fun walk from Ha Lori, culminating in traditional performances, awareness activities, and reflection on the community’s ongoing fight against HIV, GBV and child abuse.
It is at this event that SM&D launched Phase 3 of its transformative programme aimed at addressing harmful gender norms, improving access to survivor-friendly services, and reinforcing systems that protect young people — especially adolescent girls disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS.
A programme rooted in community and youth voices
SM&D Executive Director, Mamolefe Petlane, highlighted that their work in Mahobong dates back to 2019, driven by the alarming trend of rising HIV infections among adolescent girls aged between 15 and 20.
“We’ve been implementing this civic education project since 2019,” Ms Petlane said in an interview on the sidelines of the celebrations.
“Our focus has been how do we use film as a tool for providing youth with information so that they can make informed decisions.”
She explained that HIV prevalence among adolescent girls “skyrockets four times higher” between the ages of 15 and 20 compared to boys of the same age group, prompting the organisation to interrogate social and structural factors driving the vulnerability of girls.
“We are in a patriarchal society where the upbringing of girls, because they’re overprotected in a certain type of way, means they lack access to information.
“It’s not every day that a parent is going to sit down with a child and say let’s talk sex. So that gap of information — because they are now living in a different time than their parents — was a major factor.”
Phase 1 of the project (2019–2022) used youth-produced participatory films to foster open dialogue about sex, teenage pregnancy, and HIV prevention.
“It was also not only to just focus on those youth themselves, but also on the parents. We wanted to normalise parental conversations about sex and contraceptives.”
She said schools’ life skills programmes do not offer the practical, lived experiences that youth-created films bring, hence SM&D’s partnership with the Ministry of Education to extend these dialogues into communities and classrooms.
Engaging gatekeepers and creating safe spaces
A critical part of Phase 1 involved engaging community gatekeepers — chiefs, parents, religious leaders, and opinion shapers.
“We also had to engage gatekeepers. You hear your children saying we are talking about sex, but we need you to understand why. So data was the only thing that can convince them (parents) that look, your children are really getting involved in this kind of activities,” said Ms Petlane.
SM&D continuously conducted surveys during activities, demonstrating to community leaders the real magnitude of information gaps and risks among their youth.
Phase 1 was not designed to change the entire country overnight but to produce a “proof of concept” for effective youth engagement, empowerment of the girl child, and increased uptake of HIV prevention services such as PrEP and contraceptives.
“We teach them from a life perspective. Some of you have boyfriends, some of you have girlfriends — but please be aware that as long as you’re engaged in sex, you need to be looking for services.”
Phase 2
In 2022 they expanded the project after identifying barriers among service providers. Phase 2 ran until September 2025.
“We saw that the kids are going to the services but when it comes to the service providers… there seems to be a challenge,” said Ms Petlane.
“Attitudes of service providers were going to short-circuit the progress we had made.”
SM&D introduced capacity-building for health workers and law enforcement officers to strengthen youth-friendly service delivery. She said Lesotho lacks a national guideline defining youth-friendly services, contributing to inconsistent treatment of young clients.
Phase 2 also broadened inclusivity by engaging youth of diverse identities, people with disabilities, and female sex workers through partnerships with groups such as Key Affected Populations of Lesotho (KAPAL).
Baseline surveys were conducted to measure young people’s comfort levels with reporting GBV or seeking sexual reproductive health services.
“We were also looking at law enforcement,” she said.
Another milestone was discovering that schools lacked basic child safeguarding policies.
“In 10 schools, we found that there were no safeguard policies. How does the school identify if a child is being abused at home?”
Phase 2 therefore worked to pilot coordinated systems linking schools, police, health workers, community leaders and social workers.
After evaluating the phase, SM&D presented findings to stakeholders.
“We saw a tremendous change. One of our achievements was participating in consultations towards the development of the Counter Domestic Violence Act.”
A law passed — but not used
The CDVA, finalised in 2022, was designed to address gaps in previous domestic violence laws. However, SM&D found that despite being gazetted, the law remained largely unused.
“We found that the law was silent, no one is using it.Police hesitated to lay charges under the Act due to cases being rejected by the courts. The judiciary pointed to possible gaps in the law.
“Everyone was acknowledging that the law is not useful… but no one wants to take responsibility,” Ms Petlane said.
This failure prompted the design of Phase 3 (2025–2028), which focuses on norms transformation, strengthening CDVA implementation, improving access to survivor-friendly services, and building accountability mechanisms.
“We are coming in as Sesotho Media not to point fingers. We’re saying okay maybe the law has issues, but let’s all come together and say how do we make sure this law improves everybody’s welfare.”
Phase 3 will also engage large construction projects such as those under the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA), due to rising transactional relationships that put underage girls at risk.
Large construction projects pose new threat
Ms Petlane further spotlighted the impact of major construction projects in impoverished communities, where transactional relationships often arise between contractors and underage girls.
“Most of the workers are men coming from outside… These projects are a problem,” she warned.
Phase 3 will therefore include structured dialogues with agencies such as LHDA, emphasising that “you can’t blame someone for what they don’t know — you have to ask and then work together”.
Community applauds impact
Speaking on behalf of the Mahobong community, Mokhethi Motai, praised the programme’s success in transforming the lives of children and youth.
“Ever since Sesotho Media and World Vision started with these programmes, there has been so much change in this community.
“Our children are very busy so they do not have time to think about useless things such as indulging in drugs and alcohol abuse,” Mr Motai said.
He also highlighted survey findings from the event showing that 58 percent of attendees were unaware of the 2022 CDVA — underscoring the need for broader awareness.
“They have shown a lot of commitment. Sesotho Media does random checks in our homes to see how these kids are living… and I think it really works because they get to find the true sense of what they are looking for.”
He commended SM&D’s home visits, calling them crucial for identifying risks early and understanding children’s lived realities.
