Dolen Cymru-Lesotho’s Health Chair, Aaron in conversation with Moeketsi Lethoko of Lesotho Red Cross.
Moeketsi is an active and longstanding member of the Lesotho Red Cross and is formerly LRCS’s Master Trainer in First Aid. In 2019 he worked with health partners from Wales on the Moyeni Responders project in Quthing and has since worked with Dolen, leading the training of remote responders in Thaba Tseka district and becoming a Master Trainer in Mental Health First Aid.
Thank you so much Moeketsi for taking the time to chat about your role and experience working alongside Dolen Cymru-Lesotho/Wales-Lesotho Link…
May I start by asking you how you first became involved with the Lesotho Red Cross?
Moeketsi: I first got involved with Lesotho Red Cross as a youth member mainly with the interest of sensitizing youths in the communities about HIV prevention and home-based care. Also portraying the messages that had helped to fight stigma and misconceptions around HIV through theatre.
What aspects of your roles with the Red Cross have you found to be the most rewarding?
Moeketsi: Having been playing a bigger share as forefront activist, I was able get a vast experience and series of leadership skills where I found myself leading a team of Lesotho Red Cross youth in representing the National Society at a Southern African Red Societies consultative meeting that was held in Johannesburg in 2007. Here the different approaches used to combat HIV/AIDS were documented to strengthen the fight against HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa.
I further got exposure in disaster management activities such as responding to wind-storms and relief activities like food distribution, gardening and crop production for vulnerable communities.
People often think of the Red Cross’ work in teaching and training life-saving skills, but a lot of your work has also concentrated on injury and illness prevention. Can you tell us a bit more about this preventative focus?
Moeketsi: Prevention earns quite a bigger share in the disaster management cycle and is key in preparedness; when people are prepared, they are able to avoid danger since their behaviour and attitude attributed by the knowledge the have enable them to tackle problems at developing stage. For instance, if you train a person swimming and water safety you have ultimately contributed to preventing death that could happen through drowning. Also, if you teach people about the types of injuries and illnesses, how the occur, that also contributes in preventing their occurrence in future because you activate the prevention sensitivity behaviour.
When did you first work alongside Dolen Cymru-Lesotho?
Moeketsi: I worked with Dolen Cymru-Lesotho in 2019 at Quthing where we were training two groups of people being, Village Health Workers and the other one was ambulance drivers from Quthing hospital, traffic police, correctional officers and a Lesotho Red Cross driver on medical first response and enhanced first aid.
Do you think partnerships, like those facilitated through Dolen can help strengthen healthcare systems between countries and if so, in what ways?
Moeketsi: Partnerships that are facilitated by Dolen can help strengthen the health care system between countries very much, in particular Lesotho since the country doesn’t have emergency medical care and response, so by having personnel from essential services and a certain group of people in the communities trained on First Aid and integrating them in the health system the recovery rate of casualties and patients can increase. Moreover, if these people after being trained can be given the opportunity for exchange visit to Wales to enable them exposure in the developed world, it can really improve our health system drastically.
Thank you so much for your time and insights, Moeketsi.
Moeketsi: Thank you very much for this conversation and I hope it will contribute towards shaping Dolen Cymru-Lesotho initiatives.
