Minister of Tourism, Environment and Culture Likeleli Tampane
Limpho Sello
TOURISM, Environment and Culture Minister Likeleli Tampane will on Friday visit inmates at the female prison facility in Maseru along with ministry staff as part of African Women’s Month commemorations.
Ms Tampane told the Lesotho Times yesterday she, and female ministry staff, would hand over toiletries such as sanitary pads, bath soap, toothpastes and cotton wool among others during the visit.
The minister said the gesture was an initiative of the ministry’s female staff members.
“When I heard of the staff members’ idea of visiting the female prison to celebrate and make a donation, I was very much impressed and felt I needed to be part of it,” said Ms Tampane.
“I then asked them to postpone the visit to Friday so we can have enough time to make more contributions for the inmates.
“Since the money was coming from their pockets, we gave ourselves time to prepare, plan and budget. I also asked for more assistance from local businesswomen and, hopefully, more will come.”
She said the gesture was meant to foster the rehabilitation of the inmates.
“By donating these basic toiletries, our intention is to rehabilitate the inmates by showing them they are not alone and they are loved,” Ms Tampane said.
“As much as they are in prison, they are not necessarily bad people. They deserve to be given a second change in life so they can be fully rehabilitated and never want to repeat the crimes they were incarcerated for.”
