Penarth and District Lesotho Trust

Penarth and District Lesotho Trust foster and sustain friendships and community links between Penarth and Lesotho.

In the past 10 years there have been a number of group visits from Penarth and District to Lesotho. Children, young people and adults who have been part of these groups have described the impact that this has had on their lives. Some young people have been inspired to carry out voluntary work after a visit, others have described the experience as "life-changing". Most visitors have developed an ongoing interest and support of projects in Lesotho.

Whilst visiting Lesotho there has often been the opportunity to actively participate in school lessons, church services and community events. The experience of being welcomed in a community in Southern Africa, as visitors rather than tourists, of having the opportunity to see first hand how people live there and of being able to make friends and chat with individuals has been extraordinary. We believe that these friendship links not only enrich our lives in Wales, but are also valued by those we meet in Lesotho.

As a result of our visits, we have worked to:
* Create and sustain links between schools, churches and communities in Teyateyaneng (TY) and District in Lesotho and Penarth and District in Wales
* Organise and support visits from Wales to Lesotho
* Host and co-ordinate visits to Wales from Lesotho
* Raise money and apply for grants for projects in Lesotho
* Facilitate transfer of funds to Lesotho
* Raise awareness of the country of Lesotho and its people

In 2008, we formalised our work by becoming a registered charity, the Penarth and District Lesotho Trust (PaDLT).