Limpho Sello/Tokelo Rasephei
THE Chinese Embassy recently donated M40 000 to 20 vulnerable students from different high schools in the Butha-Buthe District who performed well in their studies.
Speaking at the handover of the funds at the Butha-Buthe Youth Centre, the Ambassador of China to Lesotho, Dr Sun Xianghua, said education was the most rewarding investment in the world and should be prioritised.
Dr Xianghua said Lesotho was one of the countries with a high literacy rates but bemoaned the high number of drop outs due to lack of finances.
For the past years, he said, the China-Lesotho People-to-People Friendship Action Fund has assisted thousands of Basotho students with educational scholarships and pledged to continue spearheading the grants.
“Over the years, the Chinese Embassy has provided financial assistance to students who have difficulties in paying their tuition fees,” Dr Xianghua said.
“We are going to finance 20 students with tuition fees for the whole year.”
He said education has for a long time been a key focus area for China and Lesotho’s cooperation.
He said among other infrastructural developments China had done in Lesotho, they have made sure that the construction of schools gets special attention, with China-Lesotho Friendship Middle School in Thuathe being the latest.
“China has become one of the largest training programme providers to Basotho. Every year, more than 300 Basotho go to China for training in a wide range of courses and more than 30 Basotho go to study in China backed by the Chinese government scholarships,” Dr Xianghua said.
He urged the students to work hard and maintain high grades so as to stand a chance to get scholarships in China.
For his part, Thabo Selokoe, the principal at St. Pauls High School, encouraged scholarship recipients to work hard and show gratitude to the Chinese Embassy.
Mr Sekokoe said, teachers and principals are challenged when students miss classes due to lack of funds and expressed gratitude to the Chinese Embassy for supporting pupils in Butha-Buthe saying the bursary would help them concentrate on their studies.
The students who were awarded the scholarships are from 11 high schools namely Ts’ekelo, Kolonyama, Boribeng, St. Michaels, Hlotse, Makoabeng, St. Paul, Botha-Bothe, Likila, Boitelo and Qalo High School.
Meanwhile, a team of Chinese doctors gave the community medical relief when it spent five days treating patients with various ailments for free at Butha-Buthe Hospital.
The doctors who have been in the country since October last year, use Chinese medicines and methods among them acupuncture and cupping therapy for orthopaedic and maternal health among others.
The doctors are expected to be in the country for one year and are going around different hospitals although they are stationed at Motebang Hospital in Leribe.
Speaking to the Sunday Express recently, one of the members, Jin Shuangshuang, said their work has been made easier by the accommodative staff at the hospitals who are all eager to learn.
Ms Shuangshuang said they have been receiving a huge number of patients with various ailments.
“The team offers both western medical services and the authorised Chinese medical services,” she said.
Acupuncture is a method of healing that is used to kill pain using sterilised needles instead of medicines in the form of tablets or syrup.
Cupping is a technique that uses small glass cups or bamboo jars as suction devices that are placed on the skin to disperse and break up stagnation and congestion by drawing congested blood, energy to the surface.
According to the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine-Acupuncture and Cupping, more than half of ailments are cured through acupuncture and cupping.
Most patients that received the services in Butha-Buthe said they preferred acupuncture because it was quicker and more effective than ordinary medication.
Speaking to the Sunday Express one of the patients, Mamorena Nkozo, said she had seen a friend of hers get relief after she got the service twice.
“Before the needles were inserted my arm was painful and I even struggled to move blankets when I went to bed but now I can move my arm without a problem,” Ms Nkozo said.
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