An Entrepreneurship & Work Skills Development Program

In 2018, rise designed & constructed a new building for the God’s Love Centre orphanage in Lesotho, Southern Africa using the in loco approach, a hands-on design and building experience, focused on knowledge exchange, capacity building, cooperation and development.

This, combined with entrepreneurship training, will enable the orphanage to become more self-sustaining by launching income generating activities.

About God’s Love Centre Orphanage

Since 2009, Daniela Gusman and BOND Events have supported God’s Love Centre (GLC), a privately run orphanage that is the home for 54 children. Contributions have included building a septic tank for the facility, installing new bathrooms and a new kitchen, and converting a shipping container into a two classroom preschool building.

Located 20 minutes from Maseru City Centre, Lesotho’s Capital, GLC was established in 2001 by Mme Neo, and the center has become a welcome respite for many orphans and children without families able to care for them.  Many of the children at God’s Love Centre have been orphaned by the AIDS epidemic.

God’s Love Centre’s Goals

Improve Outcomes for Orphans

Social Welfare rules in Lesotho dictate that when children reach the age of maturity at 21, they can no longer reside in orphanages. However, since they come from very poor villages and with nearly half the country being unemployed, there are few opportunities for them to earn a living and be independent.

God’s Love Centre would like to design an exit strategy for the young adults by taking them through an Entrepreneurship and Work Skills Development Program, exposing them to work experience opportunities through internships with local businesses, as well as going through a basic business and mentorship program so that they have the skills and contacts needed to set up their own income generating activities.

In keeping with the rise ethos, members of the local community will be instrumental in this process, along with the support and expertise of industry experts. By empowering GLC participants with knowledge and technical skills, we hope to improve their chances of securing gainful employment or starting their own business once they leave the orphanage.

Increase Self-Sufficiency of God’s Love Centre

Through entrepreneurship training for the staff at God’s Love Centre,  rise seeks to enable the orphanage reach its goal in raising some of its own revenue as well as creating jobs for the young adults at the orphanage.

The orphanage team will be provided with concrete business skills through workshops and mentorship, which teaches women the principles of starting small, how to identify a business opportunity and finding capital, bookkeeping and money management, and marketing.  This knowledge will enable GLC to expand existing entrepreneurial opportunities (including pig rearing and egg selling) into greater revenue generating initiatives that will allow the orphanage to be most self-sufficient.

Holistic Development

rise‘s programs focus on holistic development.  Both in loco: Lesotho and our God’s Love Centre initiatives support social enterprise and seek to create sustainable social enterprises by addressing start-up needs and providing ongoing entrepreneurial support.  This synergy that pays forward, project after project.