Sentebale was founded by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex and Prince Seeiso in 2006 as a response to the needs of children and young people in Lesotho. The name means ‘forget-me-not’ in the Sesotho language, representing a pledge to remember the most vulnerable children in the region.
We started by helping meet the basic needs of children and young people but, over time, began to address the root causes of poverty and inequality. There has been a strong focus on HIV/AIDS – especially through psychosocial support, outreach work into communities and our purpose-built centre where children living with HIV can attend week long camps and receive in-depth support. As progress has been made in tackling the HIV/AIDS epidemic we are increasingly addressing some of the wider challenges that children and young people have articulated. Although our working methods have evolved over the years our primary focus on children and young people has remained our consistent priority.
Sentebale continues to reach children and young people in Lesotho and Botswana living with or affected by HIV, especially the most vulnerable who are often challenged by issues of deprivation, exploitation, abuse or neglect. They may also be disadvantaged or marginalised due to mental health issues, sexual and gender-based violence, alcohol or substance abuse, sexual orientation, stigma or other challenges that affect their health and wellbeing.
Children and young people are at the centre of Sentebale’s work, we listen to their needs and expectations and always protect their rights. Sentebale empowers young people, ensuring they are safe and confident, able to lead and advocate for themselves and their peers. The work is rooted in values of compassion, respect, sustainability, and accountability.
Our Vision
All children and young people in Southern Africa are empowered, healthy and resilient.
Our Mission
To enable vulnerable children and young people to thrive.
Founding Patrons
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Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex
“In 2003 and 2004 when I was 19 years old, I took the opportunity to travel and work overseas before joining the military in 2005 for 10 years.
In Australia I worked as a jackaroo on a cattle ranch, in Argentina I worked on a polo farm, and in Botswana I deepened my understanding of Africa’s history and culture. I wanted to work with kids who had lost one or both of their parents from HIV, to better understand my mother’s work and see if there was a way to keep her legacy alive in the fight against AIDS. This is what took me to the small landlocked country of Lesotho, where I spent nine weeks, and in the end, it was the place that had the greatest impact on me as a young man.
Whilst there, I was lucky enough to have an amazing guide in Prince Seeiso. His knowledge and compassion for his country showed me that there could be a way of making a difference in Lesotho that would go far beyond the building projects I worked on.
I met so many children whose lives had been shattered following the death of their parents – they were so vulnerable and in need of care and attention.
Again and again, as we travelled around Lesotho we saw the same thing: great work being done in the community by amazing volunteers who weren’t able to attract support, because they didn’t have professional managers or accountants to show where the money was going.
To highlight the issues facing children and young people in Lesotho, we arranged to make a documentary called “The Forgotten Kingdom”. Prince Seeiso and I decided that we could make a long-term difference by starting a charity that could direct funds to the grassroots organisations, which were taking so much of the strain but finding it hard to get help.
We came up with the name Sentebale, which means “forget-me-not” in Sesotho, the language of Lesotho, and the idea seemed perfect.
This charity is a way in which Prince Seeiso and I can remember our mothers, who both worked with vulnerable children and people affected by HIV/AIDS. I really feel that by doing this I can follow in my mother’s footsteps and keep her legacy alive.
In 2007 we opened our office in Lesotho enabling us to work directly with grassroots organisations to transform the lives of children and young people. We started by helping meet their basic needs but, over time, began to address the root causes of poverty and inequality facing youth across Lesotho and, more recently, in Botswana. As progress has been made in tackling the HIV/AIDS epidemic, we are increasingly addressing some of the wider challenges that children and young people are experiencing. In listening to their voices, I’m proud the wellbeing of children and young people remains our priority.”
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Prince Seeiso
“As I grew up in Lesotho’s capital, Maseru, my late father was very conscious that my brother and I should, as much as possible, experience life in Lesotho just as our contemporaries did. Most children in Lesotho live in small villages or rural areas. My father did not want us to believe that we were any different from those children. Almost every school holiday he sent us out of town to Matsieng, our ancestral home.
In the hills I would go on horseback to my father’s cattle-post, tending his cattle, sheep, goats and horses. Sometimes I would live and work alongside the Basotho young men whose job it was to look after herds for weeks on end. Nevertheless it was not an entirely typical experience. The conditions at our cattle-posts are far better than many, and my father was very sensitive not to employ under-aged persons.
About a third of Lesotho’s young men are sent away by their parents every year to be herd boys – but often they are not young men at all, but boys as young as 10 years old.
It is the harsh socio-economic reality of life in Lesotho that forces families to send their sons away to work like this. They are sent to the remotest hill country where they endure extremely bleak conditions, living in primitive huts on their own. Unlike me, they aren’t able to go to school. The herd boy tradition denies them any opportunity to enjoy their youth and curtails their prospects of overcoming the cycle of poverty they are trapped in.
I took Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex to stay overnight in the mountains at one of our cattle-posts. From this mountain cattle-post the dream of Sentebale was born: to give the less privileged and often forgotten vulnerable children a chance of some schooling – and thus a ray of hope for a better future.
I know this will not be easy, nor will it happen overnight. We are committed for the very long term. Lesotho is a small, impoverished country. Its problems have been made infinitely worse since I grew up because of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. It has been said that we, as a nation, are facing annihilation. With this real possibility facing us I want to establish Sentebale as a vehicle that takes on the plight of the many marginalized vulnerable children of Lesotho. This must include not only children affected or infected by HIV/AIDS, but also the disabled, the traumatized and the abused, and especially the herd boys.
I hope this endeavour is, in some non-presumptuous way, honouring the efforts of my late Mother, and saying not only to Basotho people, but to all humanity, that we should not let ourselves forget who she was, what she did and achieved amongst her people. The mission is still to embark on that journey and continue the good fight.”
Board of Trustees
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Dr Sophie Chandauka MBE – Chair
Sophie became Chair of Sentebale in July 2023. Previously, she served on the Sentebale Board from 2009-2015.
Sophie is Chair and Co-founder of Nandi Life Sciences, a US based biotechnology company focused on developing therapeutics for rare cancers and auto-immune diseases. Sophie has held senior corporate roles leading strategy, legal and operations functions for complex, systemically important corporations in technology, retail and investment banking. Roles have included operating as Head of Americas Risk Management and Intelligence at Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram; Global COO of Shared Services and Banking Operations at Morgan Stanley; and Head of Group Treasury (Legal) at the Virgin Money Group. At Virgin Money, she led legal aspects of capital raising activity in excess of £13 billion in four years, including the UK prospectus approval process leading to the flotation of Virgin Money as a FTSE 250 on the London Stock Exchange. Prior to this, she was a Senior Associate at global firm Baker McKenzie, advising public companies such as Nike, The Body Shop, Citibank, Macquarie Bank and Alliance Boots.
As a campaigner for diversity, equity and inclusion, Sophie is a Founder Member of the Boston Chapter of Women Innovating Together in Healthcare (WITH Boston), Chairs the Race Equity Group for the 30% Club, serves on the Membership Committee of The Executive Leadership Council (ELC), and is Chair and Executive Founder of the Black British Business Awards (BBBAwards). The BBBAwards delivers value to significant multinational corporations including Bloomberg, Barclays, Cisco, Deloitte, Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, L’Oréal, Meta, Moody’s, Morgan Stanley, Ralph Lauren, Shell, Virgin, Visa and others. In 2021, Sophie was honoured by HM Queen Elizabeth II and awarded an MBE for extraordinary services to diversity in business.
Currently based in New York City, Sophie was born and raised in southern Africa, educated in Canada, the U.S. and U.K. Sophie serves on the Advisory Board of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame. She is a Paul Harris Fellow and has served on several non-profit boards.
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Tim Boucher
Tim Boucher was a senior finance executive at AB-InBev, the global brewer which recently acquired SABMiller plc. He is based in the UK and has previously worked at SABMiller operations in Europe and across its emerging market operations including Southern Africa. Tim joined SABMiller in 2004 from PwC where he was a Director in the assurance practice and worked in their London, Hong Kong and Johannesburg offices.
Tim is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He is married with three children and lives in London.
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The Rt Hon Baroness Chalker of Wallasey
After 18 years as an MP, in April 2017 Baroness Chalker completed 25 years in the House of Lords. A former Minister for Africa and International Development, she established a consultancy to encourage investment into Africa through Africa Matters Limited. Lynda has more than 30 years’ involvement in African issues, and is particularly keen to help companies develop sustainable corporate investment in their communities. She believes education and good health provision are essential to relieving poverty, alongside profitable business ventures. Lynda enjoys wildlife viewing, classical, jazz and African music, reading, driving and theatre.
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James Marshall
James Marshall is the founder and CEO of Berge Bulk, a world-wide award winning dry-bulk shipping company. He began his career in shipping in offshore supply vessels, before moving to containers and then dry bulk. In 2007, he started Berge Bulk, purchasing 12 ships from the old Bergesen fleet. Berge Bulk now owns and manages a fleet of over 80 ships with a carrying capacity of over 13 million DWT.
He holds an MA from Cambridge University and an MBA from IMD in Switzerland. James also sits on the London Steamships P&I committee as well as the Lloyd’s and DNV Shipowners committees.
As founder and Chairman of the Marshall Foundation, he supports philanthropic ventures in Africa and Asia, with particular commitments to education, and the protection and health of women and children. The Foundation is inspired by innovative leaders and entrepreneurs in the sector, and seeks projects they can grow with.
He loves kitesurfing and the mountains. With this comes a passion for the environment. He has committed Berge Bulk to be Carbon neutral by 2025 at the latest and is leading a number of innovative environmental initiatives to tackle Co2 reduction. The Marshall foundation also supports conservation and sustainability projects.
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Dr Tsitsi Chawatama
Tsitsi is a Consultant Paediatrician at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. She holds Postgraduate Diplomas in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene and Paediatric Infectious Diseases from the London School and the University of Oxford and a Masters in International Child Health (University College London). She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health and member of the Children’s HIV Association UK, and brings a wealth of experience in paediatric healthcare and treatment of HIV to Sentebale.
Tsitsi spent many of her formative years living in Zimbabwe, and worked in Ethiopia as a Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health/Volunteer Service Overseas Fellow on a UNICEF funded initiative developing an education programme, whilst contributing to the improvement of neonatal and paediatric services including HIV care.
Tsitsi comes from a close-knit family of six siblings and is the eldest child of Sifela and Elton. She has a love for music, travel and is a keen hockey player.
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Mark Dyer
On leaving school, Mark worked for Save the Children as an administrator in Ethiopia and Sudan during the 1984 famine. He went on to Sandhurst before joining the Welsh Guards, with whom he served in Germany, Belize, Australia, Northern Ireland and the UK. He also served as Equerry to HRH The Prince of Wales. Mark left the army in 1997, and began working for Allied Domecq. In 2000 he founded The Bar Management Company, followed by The DM Group, which now operates gastro pubs in South West London. Between 1997 and 2005 Mark worked as a part-time private secretary for The Prince of Wales, with responsibility for Prince William and The Duke of Sussex. Mark’s interests are travel, in particular in Southern Africa.
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Damian West
Damian was educated at Ampleforth College in Yorkshire with His Majesty King Letsie III of Lesotho and His Royal Highness Prince Seeiso, and has enjoyed close connections with Lesotho for more than 30 years.
He worked as Legislative Assistant to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington DC, before joining MJ Gleeson Group plc as head of joint venture development and contracting. After ten years at MJ Gleeson, Damian left to become a director of Thorncliffe Mining, a mining group with operations in sub-Saharan and West Africa.
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Audrey Kgosidintsi
Audrey Kgosidintsi is a professional nurse educator who graduated from the University of Wales in 1999. She is the founder and director for Audrey & Associates, a management consulting company in Botswana and a trustee for a pension fund. Audrey focused her interest and development in management and has post-graduate certificates in International Management Methods for Health from Boston University, and Sustainable Management Development from the Centers of Disease Control/Emory University, which she later became a Senior Public Health Advisor for.
Audrey is the co-founder of the Africa Health Leadership Management and Governance Network that has a presence in 35 countries across Africa. An activist at heart, she has held the positions of president of the Society for Women Against AIDS (Botswana Chapter) and was the co-founder of the Mental Health Association of Botswana and led the Botswana Secure the Future Community Initiative in the fight against HIV and AIDS among Women and Children. Additionally, Audrey was the lead consultant in the Circles of Support for Vulnerable Children in Schools Project in Botswana that was later adopted by Ministry of Education in Botswana. The project was later included in the UNICEF best practice protocol.
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Kelello L.M. Lerotholi (Dr.)
Kelly is a medical doctor who has been practicing as a public health specialist for the past 32 years. He qualified as a doctor from the American University of the Caribbean in October 1988. Part of his training entailed a two-years at the Colchester General Hospital.
Kelly has worked in various senior positions under the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funding public health, HIV/AIDS, and organisational capacity building initiatives. As part of Kelly’s work for the USAID-funded capacity development and support project, he has played a valuable role in helping build the capacity of Sentebale and position the charity to receive increased USAID/PEPFAR-funding.
As a proud Mosotho, Kelly has a passion and feels a responsibility for contributing to the future of the Basotho.
International Leadership Team
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Richard Miller - Chief Executive
Richard Miller started as Sentebale’s CEO in May 2019. He has over 35 years international development experience with a diverse range of community-based organisations. Richard began his career in the 1980s at CAFOD as an Africa Programme Officer – working in Ethiopia in response to the famine and in South Africa during the dying days of apartheid – before becoming CAFOD‘s Deputy Director. He subsequently worked as CAFOD’s Southern Africa Regional Representative, living in Zimbabwe for 6 years where he witnessed at first hand the devastating impact of the HIV and AIDS pandemic.
In 2004 Richard was appointed ActionAid UK Chief Executive and helped transform the charity from being a UK led organisation to a much more diverse globally led organisation. In 2015 he took up the role of ActionAid International Humanitarian Director and led emergency responses to the Nepal earthquake, Syria refugee crisis and East Africa famine.
Richard lives near Brighton, is married to Sally and has three adult sons, of whom he is very proud. Richard loves spending time with his family, has a season ticket for Brighton and Hove Albion FC and also likes to run, cycle and play tennis.
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Ntoli Moletsane - Country Director, Sentebale Lesotho
Ntoli grew up in Lesotho and holds a Bachelors degree in Education obtained at the National University of Lesotho. She has worked for Sentebale for more than 10 years as head of the flagship Clubs and Camps programme she helped develop.
Ntoli has experience with strategic development, design and implementation of programmes in the Southern Africa. She sits on national and regional technical working groups where she is able to influence programming and policy.
She is alumni of the IVLP (International Visitor Leadership Programme) of the US State Department
She is also the world’s best aunt.
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Graham Leigh - COO/Fundraising Director
Graham joined Sentebale in February 2019 from Restless Development, where he was Business Director and had been international lead for Sierra Leone, Uganda, Tanzania and the US. Graham has more than 20 years’ experience in income generation, operations, change management, programme design and leadership development in UK and international not-for-profit organisations.
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Ketlogetswe (K.T) Montshiwa - Country Director Botswana
K.T Montshiwa graduated from the University of Botswana with a BA in Sociology and Environmental Science, she proceeded to do an MPhil. in Town Planning at Edinburgh University. After several years working in the field of social development and HIV, K.T obtained an MSc in Social Psychology from The London School of Economics in 2002. Her dissertation was on HIV in Botswana Prisons. From then onwards, her career focused mainly on HIV and AIDS program management with special interest in children living with HIV.
She has extensive experience in program evaluation, strategic planning, organisational development and training of NGOs in governance. K.T has held several leadership positions in Botswana, Swaziland and South Africa. She has also worked in several African countries on a consultancy basis e.g, in 2010, she spent Five months in Namibia at the SADC Parliamentary Forum coordinating a regional UNAIDS sponsored project for MPs and civil society organisations.
In June 2016, K.T was appointed Head of Program for Sentebale tasked with the responsibility to establish the Botswana office. In just four years, the organisation is flourishing and it is held in high regard by the Government and other strategic partners. This has led to success in securing significant levels of funding from local and international donors.
Although she has only one child (and recently a grandson), plus some nephews and nieces, through her work with children over the years K,T is surrounded by many loving children who bring so much joy!
Ambassadors
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Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Figueras
Nacho Figueras is one of very few players who actively draw spectators and media attention to polo, the “Sport of Kings” – a sport with over two thousand years of history, an Olympic pedigree and an ever increasing fan base who recognise its addictive charm.
Nacho has long enjoyed an association with polo. Born in Argentina in 1977, Nacho developed a love for horses and the game of polo when he was nine. By the time he was 17 Nacho had begun his professional polo career, and today plays all over the world including Spain, the UK, Argentina, Brazil, Singapore, the Philippines, China and the UAE.
Nacho has played in several Sentebale charity matches with The Duke of Sussex across the globe including the US, South Africa and Abu Dhabi. Most recently he played in Miami where he captained the Royal Salute team in the Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup in May 2016. He has also been the face of Ralph Lauren’s Black Label line since 2005, and represents the entire line of Polo fragrances. Most importantly to Nacho, he is a family man and father of four.
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Laura Main
Laura Main first performed on stage as a child in her hometown of Aberdeen in The Sound of Music and Annie. She was trained in London at Webber Douglas Acadamy of Dramatic Art and went straight to the Royal Shakespeare Company to play in Alice in Wonderland. This was followed with a season at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre where Laura played Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and Phoebe in As You Like It. She has been seen in a number of roles on television including ITV detective drama Murder City, Doctors, and Is Harry on the Boat?
She has starred in six series of Call the Midwife in which she plays Shelagh Turner. In November 2015 Laura took part in the Call The Midwife Strictly Come Dancing Special for Children in Need, taking home the coveted Pudsey Glitter Ball trophy.
Laura made her first visit to Lesotho in April 2015 and returned in November 2015 for the official opening of the ‘Mamohato Children’s Centre. In December 2016 Laura Main kicked off the #BikeToBeatHIV 750m challenge at the 24th ICAP Charity Day against the Founder of mothers2mothers, Dr Mitch Besser. In April 2017 she will run the Virgin London Marathon in support of Sentebale.
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Joss Stone
Joss Stone is a BRIT and Grammy award-winning soul singer and songwriter. Securing a record deal at 15, and recording her star-making debut album, The Soul Sessions soon after, Joss has performed with some of the industry greats including James Brown, Smokey Robinson and Gladys Knight. She has also collaborated with the likes of Dave Stewart and Mick Jagger, and has sold over 12 million albums to date.
2014 saw her complete work on her seventh studio album and start out on her most ambitious project to date – the Total World Tour. Her mission is to attempt to play a concert in every country on the planet, also performing with homegrown musicians and working with a variety of charitable causes along the way including Sentebale. In April 2014, stage one of Joss Stone’s Total World Tour kicked off in South Africa. Following a performance in Johannesburg, Joss travelled to Lesotho where she was met by Prince Seeiso and taken to meet and sing for the children at St. Bernadette’s Resource Centre for the Blind and Phelisanong Children’s Centre.With music being a shared passion, Joss was a big hit with the children.
In November 2015, Joss performed at the opening of the ‘Mamohato Children’s Centre. In June 2016, she sang with the Basotho Youth Choir who travelled from Lesotho for the Sentebale Concert in the grounds of Kensington Palace.
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George the Poet
George Mpanga, better known as George the Poet, is a critically acclaimed recording artist, spoken word poet and social commentator. Born to Ugandan parents on St Raphael’s estate in Harlesden, north-west London, he began performing rap and grime at the age of 15. He attended Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet and studied politics, psychology and sociology at King’s College, Cambridge. It was at University where George decided to adapt his rap to spoken word in order to communicate more effectively with his audience.
Shortly after graduating, Mpanga embarked on a music career, culminating in the 2014 release of his debut EP, “The Chicken & the Egg”. The EP earned George a string of nominations, including the Brits Critics’ Choice Award, MTV ‘Brand New’ Award and BBC Sound of 2015 Shortlist.
George has written and performed poetry pieces for various commercial and corporate projects, including the Rugby World Cup 2015 opening ceremony and the Monaco Grand Prix 2014. He has also been involved in publicity initiatives including the ethical decision making initiative FHPC and the 2015 NHS Organ Donor drive.
George wrote a poem, to commemorate the opening of the ‘Mamohato Children’s Centre in November 2015, entitled ‘We Can Fight’, which was released to mark World AIDS Day 2015. He performed the poem, along with several other hits, at the Sentebale Concert in June 2016 in the grounds of Kensington Palace.
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Adam Bidwell
Adam Bidwell is the most recently appointed Sentebale ambassador. He played rugby for Cambridge University and London Welsh before starting a career in the city for the South African bank Investec. In 2010 he took a couple of months off to head to Lesotho as a guest of Sentebale, and enjoyed the trip so much has been back every year since. Adam has spent most of his time in Lesotho at orphanages that have been supported by Sentebale, including Semonkong and Phelisanong Children’s Centre. Over the years he has got to know many of the children well.
Adam has made significant contributions personally by raising funds for Sentebale and specific projects, and Investec has now also become one of Sentebale supporters.
Sentebale's Strategy
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