Making Jewellery, Making Disciples
1 Jan 2010
When Paballo was 11 years old and in Grade 5 at school his mother became mentally ill and had to give up her work in a bookshop. As a result Paballo became completely dependent on his father. He was devastated when his father died just four years later. As there was now no means of raising the fees required for his schooling, Paballo dropped out of school.
Three years later, one of his old School Principals paid the fees to enable him to go back to school. It was at this time that a local church became aware of his situation and Paballo was invited to join the Jewels of Hope project. There he learnt to make jewellery, giving him a means of earning an income to assist him as he continued his studies. With the financial assistance that he was given he was able to finish his secondary education and went on to study Home Economics at College.
Graeme and Dawn, Pioneers workers, spent three years in Lesotho and during that time Graeme mentored Paballo and taught him many skills. These skills included renovating and maintaining his house. At the age of 21, Paballo was still sleeping in the same room as his mentally ill mother – two other rooms in the house where unliveable. Graeme helped Paballo to repair and restore these two rooms. He now has a bedroom of his own and is able to rent out the other room to bring in some income.
After completing the three-year Jewels of Hope program, Paballo became a trainer and worked with a group of five children to disciple and mentor them as well as teaching them how to make the jewellery. He has gone on to be a Teacher’s Aide at the American International School in Maseru, the capital city of Lesotho.