March at TTL

Happy April! Mokhotlong is beginning to cool off and we’re beginning to see the first signs of fall!

Safe Home Success

Neo and Thabisang* are twins who came to TTL after both were found to be malnourished. Neo was one standard deviation below average while Thabisang was three standard deviations below average and classified with severe acute malnutrition. The twins stayed in the TTL safe home for nearly a year, arriving in late March of 2018 2018 and leaving early March of 2019. During their time in the safe home, both boys faced different challenges. Neo, who came in bigger and stronger, had more trouble gaining weight than his brother and at times, even had to be hospitalized. Thabisang, who came to TTL clinically malnourished, gained weight easily, but made slower progress in his developmental milestones. With steady care and support, both boys reached health and stability and caught up both weight and developmental averages. They were reunited with their parents and are now enrolled in TTL’s outreach program. You can see their before and after photos below!

*names changed to protect privacy

Breastfeeding Workshops

This month we partnered with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and FNCO to deliver vital information on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding to local villages!  Mme Nthabeleng spoke with community advocates nominated by local chiefs on how best to deliver information about breastfeeding and childhood nutrition to communities. We trained 190 community advocates across 8 clinics. We plan to host a workshop at the Libibing Health Center in April. We will have follow up meeting at all 9 clinics in June!

A Visit from the Lesotho Nutrition Initiative

This month we were visited by Dr. Scott Rosenberg from the Lesotho Nutrition Initiative! The Lesotho Nutrition Initiative supplies TTL with Nutri-Plenty meals that we distribute among our clients both in our outreach program and within our safe home. Dr. Rosenberg was able to see how we identify clients to receive Nutri-Plenty meals, how we run the safe home, was able to witness our work with local preschools, and more! We presented Dr. Rosenberg with one of our original TTL blankets to thank him and his team for all of their hard work. We were so happy that he was able to see TTL and are incredibly for the partnership between LNI and TTL!

Annie Fort

Lumela, hello! My name is Annie Fort and I am the current fellow for the Touching Tiny Lives Foundation. I graduated with a degree in sociology from Wittenberg University. As a student at Wittenberg, I worked with the Lesotho Nutrition Initiative, a non-profit that packs and ships meals to organizations all over Lesotho, including TTL! Through my experience at Wittenberg and in my current position at TTL, I have learned about Lesotho’s history and the complex issues the nation faces today. I am honored to work with TTL and cannot wait to see what this year brings!