Last year was the most challenging time for Sentebale. We had to adapt and innovate to continue reaching out and supporting vulnerable children and young people across Lesotho and Botswana. Discover how in 2021 Annual Report below.
Sentebale works with vulnerable children and young people across Lesotho and Botswana so they are empowered, healthy, resilient and able to thrive. The last two years have challenged our ways of working, highlighting our resilience and commitment. We continue to review and adapt how we operate to respond to the immediate impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and most importantly the needs of the communities we serve.
Highlights from our Annual Report:
- Influenced policy decisions and amplified the voices of young people through our advocacy work
- Empowered 931 adolescent girls and young people through education, life skills initiatives and business support
- Delivered sexual health and rights education to nearly 27,000 children and young people
- Distributed 83,000 condoms
- Identified 1,300 children and young people living with HIV defaulting from medication and returned 85% to treatment and care
- Delivered our single largest fundraising event, the Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup
- Secured income of £3.13 million
Founding Patrons’ Foreword
Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex and Prince Seeiso
“Once again, the past year has proven to be deeply difficult for many people, and organisations such as Sentebale have faced multiple challenges. We are grateful that the whole Sentebale team has stepped up to keep delivering exceptional support for children and young people in need across Lesotho and Botswana.
The reality is that existing inequalities have either deepened or been exacerbated during the past two years. This has created a compounding effect, as the COVID-19 and HIV pandemics are intrinsically intertwined in many ways. Parents and carers have lost their jobs; young people can’t find work; children have missed out on schooling; gender-based violence has rocketed and young people tell us their mental health has deteriorated. Poverty is on the rise.
At Sentebale, our way of working has had to continuously adapt to effectively meet the most pressing and critical needs of those we serve.
Children and young people have always been at the centre of Sentebale’s work; we take care to listen and support them as best we can, and their priorities shape our priorities. When we founded Sentebale, we began by helping meet basic needs and – over time – our strategy has evolved to address some of the root causes of poverty and inequality. We work with vulnerable children and young people to ensure they have access to vital health services, receive care and support, and can build skills to be more resilient and self-sufficient.
Just as we’ve seen in the HIV pandemic, those who are in highest need are often the least resourced, and are amongst the last to receive COVID-19 preventive care. The global vaccine roll-out has been far too slow and far too many have been left at risk. Thankfully, vaccination rates across the Southern Africa region are picking up but as many in the HIV advocacy community have known for decades, we cannot just hope for a pandemic to disappear. It takes resources, investment, ingenuity, leadership, and access to solve a public health crisis.
Out of these difficult times we have also learnt some valuable lessons. It has shown us the potential of a new hybrid way of working, mixing face-to-face and virtual programming to help us reach many more children and young people as well as increase our capacity to provide one-to-one support. As we look ahead, we are working to best utilise technology to deliver our programmes whilst continuing to ensure young people feel safe and empowered.
In the face of adversity, we both continue to be inspired by the resilience and adaptability of Lesotho and Botswana’s vibrant communities. We are proud of all that Sentebale has achieved, and our personal commitment remains as strong as ever. We believe the organisation continues to be well-positioned and ready to play its part in helping children and young people thrive.”
