Nthatuoa Koeshe
ECONET Telecom Lesotho through HigherLife Foundation Lesotho (HLFL) is holding boot camps for 50 students from different local schools who will sit for Form E exams this year.
The highflying students have been selected by their different schools and their Form E results at the end of the year will determine whether or not they qualify for the scholarships to study in Zimbabwe for A Level and first degrees.
Higherlife Foundation is a philanthropic organisation founded in 1996 by Strive and Tsitsi Masiyiwa and since inception the foundation has been supporting orphaned and vulnerable children in Africa through education and material support. The foundation was however, introduced in Lesotho in 2011 operating under Econet.
HLFL has been offering a needs-based scholarship called Capernaum Trust since 2011 but will next year expand to being a merit-based scholarship.
Econet public relations officer Puleng Masoabi told the Lesotho Times that Ms Masiyiwa recently assessed the progress of the foundation during her debut trip to Lesotho earlier this year and suggested that it was time to take the initiative a notch higher.
Ms Masoabi said the boot camp will have presentations by Econet management and a few other outsiders among them Topollo Putsoane from Maseru Toyota.
“We want to introduce the participants to different topics which include communication and finance so that they have a broader view of their career choices going forward,” Ms Masoabi said.
She said they would also have Econet’s Human Resource Manager to explain to the participants on the most marketable careers which they can consider.
“We want to introduce them to a world full of different possibilities because unlike in the past when everyone dreamt of being a teacher or a doctor, the world has evolved and there are many other careers they can consider,” she said.
Ms Masoabi said they have separated the participants into two groups to ensure maximum concentration of the participants.
She said if the students qualify for the scholarship, they will get an opportunity to study their A Level and their first degree in Zimbabwe.
“This new scholarship will resemble the Joshua Nkomo scholarship that HLF Zimbabwe offers and it will have a noble name that we shall reveal later as we await the approval.”
She said each student is required to score a minimum of seven As to qualify for the scholarship.
One of the selected students, Sempe Ntaote, from Ntaote High School said the programme has inspired him adding that he would work harder to ensure that he gets the scholarship.
“I am honoured to be part of this programme and I am willing to work hard to qualify for the scholarship next near,” Mr Ntaote said.
