Sexual and reproductive health is not only vital for the social well-being of a girl child but also for her physical and mental health. Most people from rural areas lack information on how to take proper care of themselves. For example, during my first menstruation, I was so naive that I fumbled through the basic steps of maintaining good hygiene. This was because I had no prior knowledge of what it was about. Not just menstruation—terms like safe sex, HIV prevention, mental health, and sexually transmitted infections were also very foreign to us. 

With support from the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and Lesotho’s Ministry of Gender, Youth, Sports and Recreation (MGYSR), a decent two-roomed house was built and handed over to Ts’osane family in the Butha-Buthe district where the Ts’osane family lives. Youth volunteers and the community members assisted with the construction of the group of houses.

I have had the privilege and pleasure of practicing as a UN Volunteer Medical Doctor in three different countries. My first experience was in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (2009) with the United Nations Organisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC). This was my first opportunity to learn how the work of a UN mission is conducted, attending at the same time several important training sessions. During this assignment, our Level 2 Clinic treated many cases of malaria and other medical problems.

On the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, the UN pays homage to the victims of hunger and social exclusion to encourage multilateral partnerships that are based on solid, compassionate responses to their struggles. Poverty has numerous repercussions: hunger and food insecurity, increased crime and child mortality rates, political instability, corruption and dysfunctional governance. We are seeing now that poverty is a prime driver of violent extremism, breeding and intensifying conflicts worldwide.

In order to improve conditions for young people in Lesotho, a ground-breaking partnership between the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), German Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ), Lesotho National Youth Council, Office of the Director of Youth at the Ministry of Youth, and youth-focused VIOs in Lesotho, builds the employment skills of young people, provides them with greater access to information on health and