SLB donates winter clothing to inmates’ children

Rethabile Pitso

STANDARD Lesotho Bank (SLB) has donated clothing and blankets for toddlers living with their incarcerated mothers at the Female Unit of the Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS), as part of its annual winter outreach programme, Re Anetsa Mofuthu (We Spread the Warmth).

The donation, handed over yesterday, will benefit the 10 toddlers currently housed with their mothers at the correctional facility.

The initiative, now in its third year, forms part of the bank’s annual Winter Drive aimed at supporting vulnerable groups during the cold season through donations of warm clothing, blankets and other essentials.

This year’s campaign was launched on 9 July with an appeal to SLB employees, customers and corporate partners, who responded with donations that have enabled the bank to extend assistance to several institutions across the country.

Before visiting the Female Unit, the bank had already distributed donations to St Angela Cheshire Home for the Disabled, the Apostolic Faith Mission, a Social Development facility, and St Bernadette Resource Centre for the Blind.

Speaking during the handover, SLB Marketing Manager for Public Relations and Sponsorships, Manyathela Kheleli, attributed the programme’s continued success to the generosity of Basotho.

“This is our third year running this initiative and it has been well received by Basotho, who have consistently shown dedication through their contributions. When we started, it was only SLB staff participating, but we later extended the appeal to our customers and other members of the public,” Mr Kheleli said.

“We are pleased that this week alone we have already delivered donations to four other institutions, with the Female Unit becoming the fifth. Our vision is to eventually operate nationwide so that these opportunities reach vulnerable people in every part of the country.”

Mr Kheleli said the initiative reflected the bank’s commitment to improving the welfare of Basotho, particularly as SLB marks 30 years of operating in Lesotho.

“We have now reached the 30-year milestone of serving this nation and we remain committed to that responsibility. We are grateful to everyone who contributed to this initiative and pray that they are richly rewarded. We also hope the children here today will one day grow into the leaders of tomorrow,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the inmates, Moliehi Mphomela, thanked the bank for what she described as an act of genuine compassion.

She said the donation was especially meaningful because it focused on innocent children who, through no fault of their own, find themselves living behind prison walls because of their mothers’ circumstances.

Meanwhile, Lesotho Correctional Service officials used the occasion to raise concern over the increasing number of children being raised in correctional facilities.

Principal Rehabilitation Officer ‘Mamochone Mahase, Officer Commanding Senior Superintendent ‘Matšepo Tšalong and Assistant Commissioner and Regional Commander Tšepo Khemi said prisons were never designed to accommodate young children.

Ms Mahase said correctional facilities lacked the environment and amenities required for healthy childhood development, including safe play and recreational spaces.

She said one of the greatest challenges was the shortage of families willing to care for the children while their mothers were serving prison sentences, as well as the limited capacity of children’s homes under the Ministry of Social Development.

“According to the law, we are only allowed to keep children of inmates until they reach the age of two years. In practice, however, we are unable to enforce that because we struggle to place them in homes identified by Social Development or find relatives willing to take them in,” Ms Mahase said.

“As a result, they remain here under conditions that are unsuitable for children. When you look around, this is not a home for children. It lacks even basic amenities such as playgrounds, although some eventually leave when their mothers are released.”

Mr Khemi added that the correctional service’s budget made no provision for children living in prison.

“Our budget is strictly allocated for inmates and nothing extra. Unfortunately, the budget is already stretched, making it even more difficult to cater for children who were either born in prison or accompanied their mothers here,” he said.

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