Transcript
JEROME OOSTENBRINK: Hello, I’€™m Jerome Oostenbrink. I’€™m from the Netherlands and I’€™m working at Beautiful Gate Care Centre where we have about 22 babies at the moment’€¦ We started in 2001 in June and we started on the name ‘€˜Little Feet’€™ and we had about six babies’€¦ At the moment we have 22 children because a lot of them have been adopted, some went back to their families, but also five of them died from AIDS.

KHOPOTSO: Mothating ona bana ba hlokomelwang mona ba tloha ho dilemo tse dikgwedi tse pedi feela ho fihlela ho dilemo tse tsheletseng. Ho lebelletswe hore dilemo tsa bana ba hlokang thuso di ka hola ha e le hore ha ho batho ba ka ratang ho ba amohela malapeng a bona jwalo ka bana ba bona. Nakong e ngata ha ho tsejwe ka nepo hore na ekaba ho etsahetse eng ka batswadi ba bona.

JEROME OOSTENBRINK: Most of them have been found abandoned. We cannot always say if they still have parents or maybe they might have a mother who still lives. She probably is also not really well and she just wants to give the baby a chance to get a future.

KHOPOTSO: Ka letsatsi la leeto la ka ho ne ho sa tswa amohelwa masea a mabedi a matjha ka la maobane wa teng.  

KHOPOTSO: Who is this one?

CARE WORKER: This one is Mpho’€¦ This one is Thato.

KHOPOTSO: Ha ho pelaelo hohang hore bobedi bona bo tla fumana mofuthu lapeng lena. Metswalle yona e tla eba e mengata.

KHOPOTSO: I see containers here. They’€™re inscribed with children’€™s names: Tlhokomelo, Relebohile, Tshepo, Dineo’€¦

JEROME: All of them have their own box. You can see what’€™s in there. There’€™s cloths in there, there’€™s Vaseline in there’€¦ the daily things that they need, toothbrush as well, toothpaste, a piece of soap. So, they all have their own things for everyday.

KHOPOTSO: Lehae lena la Beautiful Gate le bile le ena le sekolo ho ruta bao ekang ba hodile puo ya bona ya Sesotho, puo ya Senyemane, dipalo le tsa mokgabo.   Ho fihlela jwale bana ba seng ba fumane thuso ba ballwa ho 56; ba 12 ba fumanetswe mahae; ba 6 ba tseleng ya ho amohelwa mahaeng a matjha; ba 8 bona ba boetse ba amanngwa le batswadi ba bona ba tlhaho; ba bang bao palo ya bona e sa hlakeng ba letetse ho busetswa malapeng a bona a tlhaho; ha ba 5 bona lefu la Phamokathe le se ba amohile. Phethoho e hapang maikutlo ke hore masea a 12 a ileng a bontsha hore a ena le tshwaetso ya kokwana hloko ya HIV ha ba ne ba qala ho fihla lelapeng lena ho bonahala hore ha ba a tshwaetseha ka mora diteko tse ntjha. Hona ho tsejwa ka hore ke sero-conversion. Ba bang ba bona ba se ba fumanetswe mahae a matjha moo ba tlang ho fumana lerato la batswadi le dikgaitsedi. E se e le dikgwedi tse 13 jwale esale Jerome Oostenbrink le mohatsae ba fihlile Lesotho. Bobedi bona ha bo ena ngwana eo e leng wa bona. Empa hoo ha ho a ka ha thibela monna enwa wa mo-Dutch ho kgodisa molekane wa hae hore ba inkele le leng la masea a fumanehang Beautiful Gate mona ho eba ngwana wa bona wa matsibolo.  

JEROME: She was found by the river, close to the grave-yard when she was two days old. She was wrapped in a blanket. And now she’€™s 11 months already and she’€™s doing very well. We adopted her when she was 8 months’€¦ We are happy that we can have her in our house and give her a home’€¦

KHOPOTSO: What’€™s your baby’€™s name?

JEROME: It’€™s Anna-Mpho. And Anna, that’€™s like ‘€˜Grace’€™, and Mpho means ‘€˜Gift.’€™ She’€™s really a gift for us.          

KHOPOTSO: Empa ha se bana bohle ba lehlohonolo jwale ka Anna-Mpho. Batho ba bangata ha ba na kgahleho ya ho amohela bana ba nang le tshwaetso ya HIV ka hare ho malapa a bona. Hona ho totobetse hoba bana bohle ba nang le tshwaetso ena ba sa dula teng lelapeng la Beautiful Gate. Bonnete ba bokamoso ba bona ha bo tsejwe. Thuso ya meriana e thusang ho theosa bohale ba kokwana hloko mebeleng ya ba tshwaeditsweng ha e fumanehe. Ka la 7 Motsheanong mmuso wa Lesotho o ile wa qala ho bula setsha moo meriana e tla fumanwang teng ntle le tefo empa thuso e kang ena ha eso be teng bakeng sa masea le bana. Ke bohloko bo boholo ha Jerome le bohle ba Beautiful Gate ba lahlehelwa ke ngwana ka baka la lefu lena. Feela ha ho letho leo ba ka le etsa ntle le hore ho lokile, ho lokile. Empa mosebetsi wa bona wa lerato, ho kgathalla le ho kgothatsa ona o ntse o tswela pele.  

JEROME OOSTENBRINK: Actually, I’€™ve lost only one baby that died when I was here’€¦ It’€™s difficult, but on the other hand’€¦ we are glad and we know and we also pray that the child will go to Heaven’€¦ It’€™s like the suffering part is over. Really, when they suffer, that’€™s not nice to see. And you know that there’€™s not so much that you can do’€¦

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