Pastor James Quobela | Bracelet of Hope Lesotho Representative {Nov 28th, 2013}

 In Guest Speakers

Bracelet of Hope

Moetsuoa Qhobela James was born in Lesotho in 1963, celebrating his 50th birthday this month. He attended St. Agnes High School in Teyateyaneng and went on to Fort Cox College of Agriculture and Forestry in King William’s Town in South Africa. He served in the Department of Forestry in the Government of Lesotho for many years and to this day retains a very strong interest in agriculture and forestry. One of his current projects is applying “conservation farming” to a farm set up to grow food for foster homes for AIDS orphans.

Like many Basotho, James took up a second career as a business person, owning and managing several stores. Again, he has retained a strong interest in this aspect of his life, and recently was one of the leaders of Bracelet of Hope’s Business-to-Business initiative that brought Canadian and Basotho business people together to work on developing business in Lesotho.

James is now in his third career, taking up the position of pastor at the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) in Butha Buthe, Lesotho in 2001. Recognising the need for strong community development in Lesotho, he began working with his congregation on numerous initiatives such as creating foster homes and feeding programmes for AIDS orphans. When the overall AFM in Lesotho decided to create a Social Development Division, James was the natural choice to lead it.

Today, the AFMSDD is one of Bracelet of Hope’s strongest partners in Lesotho. Their main programme is providing care for AIDS orphans through the creation of foster homes. They prefer to care for the children in family-like settings in their own communities rather than place them in larger orphanages where the children are subject to stigma and discrimination.

 

 

Recent Posts