Lekhetho Ntsukunyane
When 30-year-old Ernestina Ramathinyane obtained a Diploma in Secondary Education at the Lesotho College of Education (LCE) in 2011, she could only foresee a better life for herself and her loved ones.
Born physically disabled but with unparalleled determination, Ms Ramathinyane had conquered many odds to qualify as a schoolteacher—a profession she had always admired and vowed to be part of as she grew up in Mafeteng.
On graduation, Ms Ramathinyane had thought she was not going to be a burden to anyone anymore because she would now be earning a salary and paying for her own upkeep, but four years on, she remains unemployed because no school or company is prepared to employ her due to her disability.
Ms Ramathinyane, who is wheelchair-bound, says at 34 years of age, she is now losing hope that she would ever find formal employment, and feels she has become an even bigger burden to her family.
When this reporter visited her yesterday, Ms Ramathinyane was seated at the entrance of her two-roomed rented flat near the LCE in a small village known as NTTC. She was basking in the morning sun, while her aide was doing domestic shores for her.
Born in a family of five siblings in Mafeteng, Ha Lumisi, ’Me Ernie, as her friends call her, said she had lived at the same NTTC apartment since 2008—the year she was admitted as a trainee teacher at LCE. This after successfully completing her education at Motsekuoa Primary and High School in Mafeteng.
“My family, which has always supported me, expected so much from me when I graduated in 2011. In our family, I am the most educated yet I am the only one physically disabled. I believe my parents invested a lot in me considering that I am the most vulnerable in the family.
“I have continued my stay in Maseru even after my graduation with the hope of getting employment here. The reason I have stuck around Maseru is that schools here are many, but most importantly, it is convenient to apply for teaching posts around the country from the city because even the vacancies are published at the TSD (Teaching Service Department) in Maseru,” she said.
After specialising in Sesotho, English and “a little” French”, ’Me Ernie aspired to become a good educator in cultural values and life-skills, and help produce tomorrow’s leaders. However, that hope is fading by the day, while her challenges continue to increase as she grows older.
“At my age, I have never had a feeling of how good it is to earn a salary. People of my age, including fellow students I graduated with in 2011, are building themselves houses and buying cars, and getting married. And all I can think of is where am I going to get my next rent and money for my personal assistant, never mind the groceries.”
’Me Ernie pays a monthly rent of M230 for the apartment, and pays the aide M400 a month. She gets M250 per month from government’s social grant, which is meant for the poor and vulnerable.
The grant is however paid out after three months by the Ministry of Social Development.
“My mother still takes care of most of my expenses here even though she is also not employed. Thanks that at least she is not a lazy woman. She always finds ways to earn a living through farming and other means. Depending on how much she would have earned, she then buys all the household items for me, including my clothes. My father retired from the South African mines way back, and I feel like I have become a burden to my family now than ever yet I am supposed to be working and helping them in their old age.
“Since the NMDS (National Manpower Development Secretariat) stipends which I used to receive back then when I was still at college, the only money I know is the M750 social grant which I receive after every three months from the government. Maybe if I was born in other countries I could also be earning a disability grant, which in Lesotho, of course, does not exist,” she said.
’Me Ernie says she has applied for employment in almost all the country’s secondary and high schools, while she also tried her luck at primary schools, the Ministry of Communication’s Radio Lesotho and Lesotho Television, among other workplaces, to no success.
Not even ’Mabathoana High School, which she says was kind enough to accept her for her attachment programme in 2009, could have space for her after she successfully completing her studies despite “a recommendable record” and “promises” the management made.
Yet what hurts ’Me Ernie most, she said, is some “depressing” remarks she receives during job interviews she has been through.
At one school in Maseru (name withheld), she said she was asked: “How are you going to actively move around with the students during lessons? Do you think you can cope in emergencies such as students’ strikes?”
“I can forget the panelist, but will never forget her questions which continue to haunt me. But in a way, I believe it was a wakeup call that look Ernie, there is no hope for you finding a job in your status. Try something else,” she said.
“I think through the Grace of God, I am a brave person because despite the challenges I face on a daily basis, I continue to hope, although I am beginning to wonder if I am ever going to be lucky. I sometimes meet high-ranking people in government and ask them to help me. I meet ministers who only offer me promises. One official in the Ministry of Education (and Training) openly told me there was no a special grant through which people with disability like me could be assisted.”
’Me Ernie says she now spends most of her time at the Lesotho National Association of the Physically Disabled (LNAPD)—an advocacy group for physically disabled persons under the umbrella of the Lesotho National Federation of Organisations of the Disabled (LNFOD).
On her part, LNAPD secretary, ’Malerato Moeketsi, yesterday told the Sunday Express there were many “highly qualified” people with disabilities who are unemployed simply because of their status.
Ms Moeketsi said she recently sent “a long list” of physically disabled qualified teachers who are unemployed to the Ministry of Education, “upon their request.”
“We are hoping that by sending the list, the ministry is going to see how best it can help them. These are qualified people. People should not judge them by their disability but their capability to teach. It is unfair to judge disabled people by the way they look.”
For his part, LNFOD Executive Director, Nkhasi Sefuthi yesterday told the Sunday Express about the 2014-2018 Social Protection Strategy document of the European Union, which he said was launched in Lesotho in February this year, “to make way for a disability grant.”
Advocate Sefuthi said: “We expected that the Minister of Finance (Dr ’Mamphono Khaketla) would include that in the budget speech she presented in parliament on 22 May 2015, to no avail. This means as LNFOD, we will have to go back to government and inquire about this document and when it is going to be implemented. It should be effective this year.”
Advocate Sefuthi further talked about the Disability Equity Bill of 2014, which he also said was pending parliament approval.
“This Bill seeks to offer equal opportunities to everyone because people with disability continue to face serious challenges,” he said.
Efforts to get a comment from government on Ms Ramathinyane’s plight, and the schools she mentioned, were fruitless yesterday.