“I started...inquiring about why [my students] are having sex, about what they understand about it, and that’s when I learned that there are a lot of abuses, a lot of rapes, and a lot of misinformation,” Matlakala says. “You would be surprised at just how many people do not even know that there are specific doctors who just deal with women's health.”
LESOTHO—When the majority of her female students at the Agritech Institute of Lesotho were becoming pregnant and dropping out of school, Lineo Matlakala knew she had to do something.
According to the most recent Lesotho Demographic Health Survey, 19 percent of girls ages 15-19 have given birth, an estimate that is widely considered to be conservative. Yet even with these high statistics, there is still a lack of reproductive health education and family planning for young mothers. Adolescent and unwanted pregnancy is a significant barrier for many girls in reaching their full potential. Matlakala had a vision for getting at the roots of this problem, and she began seeking ways to turn her vision into a reality.
“I started...inquiring about why [my students] are having sex, about what they understand about it, and that’s when I learned that there are a lot of abuses, a lot of rapes, and a lot of misinformation,” Matlakala says. “You would be surprised at just how many people do not even know that there are specific doctors who just deal with women's health.”
In 2013, she started the Barali Foundation, a non-profit organization whose name translates to “daughters.” Matlakala knew that she wanted to educate women and girls in rural villages about sexual and reproductive health and rights, because she knew that this knowledge is central to a woman's ability to make life choices. Like so many countries, reproductive education and services are much harder to access in rural Lesotho than in urban areas, and people are generally less open to discussing the topic.
“Teachers [in rural areas]...say they will not teach kids ‘silly things.’ Even for girls to go to clinics...to demand contraceptives...they are usually ridiculed and by the end of the day, the entire village will know that you went to a clinic to ask for contraceptives,” comments Matlakala.
“I had a vision...but I didn’t really know where to start, who to consult, who to partner with,” Matlakala says. “I needed to contribute in creating a generation of girls who can make informed decisions...I just didn’t have the direction for it.”Matlakala realized that a lot of the misinformation surrounding sexual and reproductive health and rights stems from the lack of conversation about it, so she started with her own school. She began talking about contraceptives with her students and keeping condoms in her classroom so that they could have easy access to them. Her work paid off: pregnancy rates in her school dropped, which motivated her to expand the scope of the Foundation’s impact.
She found that direction at the Young African Leaders Initiative Regional Leadership Center (YALI RLC) in Pretoria, South Africa, one of four USAID-funded centers that provides training, professional development, and networking opportunities to exceptional young leaders from 49 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Matlakala attended the RLC in 2017, where she was able to meet other young African leaders who shared her hunger for community involvement and improvement. She participated in the Civic Leadership track, which allowed her to, among other things, attend training that taught her how to set achievable goals and celebrate even her small accomplishments.
Today, the Barali Foundation works alongside various governmental and non-governmental institutions to educate girls and boys alike in rural areas about sexual and reproductive health and rights. Matlakala and her colleagues have found the arts to be the most effective way to disseminate information, so when they go to schools and churches in rural villages to spread their message, they perform skits, music, and poetry that guide ensuing presentations and discussions. Matlakala noticed that girls are more comfortable opening up about sex around other girls, so the Foundation separates girls and boys for programming. However, Matlakala makes sure that everyone knows how they can access the Barali Foundation and its services, as well as where they can go if they are abused or are in need of counseling.
“What [being at the RLC] did more than anything was build my confidence,” reflects Matlakala. “It reassured me that I’m [going] in the right direction, and when you are a civic leader...you need to know that your intentions and your dreams are valid. That is what being in Pretoria in 2017 did for me. When I came back, I refused to stop. I’ve been working, I’ve been advocating, I’ve been an activist.”
The Barali Foundation has grown immensely since its inception, and Matlakala has most recently expanded the topics she is addressing to include human trafficking. Her focus, though, remains on empowering women and girls through quality reproductive health education.
“It is very important to empower women because...they need to understand they are leaders and not just supporting characters,” says Matlakala. “Women must be empowered, and women must run the world.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Whitney Westbrook is an intern in USAID's Bureau for Africa with the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) team.
