26.  Ra tla ra lahleheloa

Qheku la sala le ‘nosi lithakong tsa matlo,

La hopola bocheng lietsahala,

La hopola koma le pinyane,

Ha ho bashanyana baqachi ba khakala,

Pina tse thata tse sa binoeng baneng,

Koma hae binoe ka hara motse maqaing,

Ra tla ra lahleheloa.

Setsooatsana sa bebenya melomo,

Sa bina pina tsa balimo tsa khale,

Sa bina seqata-majoana le molutsoane,

Ntsoe la reketla moea oa feela,

Sefela la se bina la ba la ikaraba leqhekoana,

Pina ee ke mang ea tla mpinela mohla ke eang?

Ra tla ra lahleheloa.

Ngaka ea tula litlakala ea hloma limapo,

Ea thimola ea etsa seka e laola,

Ea thimola e tsobile moathimola le mositsane,

Kepa e thithibane le mahlo ha a sa bona,

Methokho e loriloeng ke bo Mohlomi ts’imolohong,

Ebe Mokoma ke tla mo nka kae ke mofehlelle?

Ra tla ra lahleheloa.

Sehoba sa oma faats’e ka leoto,

Sa hobela sa bina mokorotlo,

Sa lekisa sa mohla malingoana,

Ngole le hana mesifa ea honyela,

Sa ha banna ba ne ba etsa theko ba ruta bashanyana,

Ke mang ea tla tlala a ithoke ha ke bina pina ee?

Ra tla ra lahleheloa.

Sebopi le sona sa na sa nka letsopa,

Sa e tula sa e sila thumane,

Sa e k’hoefa ka mathe e thape,

Ha mpa ha hana ona matsoho,

A ba a thothomela ke “ramatiki”,

E be ke mang eo ke tla mo fa lefa lee?

Ka tla ra lahleheloa.

Moroka pula a na a nts’a meropa,

A e tilinya a nyolla maru a pula,

Moea oa nkha lesoe ha na melupe,

A nts’a lefiso a fehla lefilo,

Ebe mahlale aa a tla fuoa mang?

Ka tla ra lahleheloa.

Ka Teboho Mohlabi

9.  Lefu la AIDS

Baheso thehang tsebe le utloe,

Lintoa kea li bona tse mahlo-mafubelu,

Li loana mots’eare sera u se bona,

Mara ha a sena lihloela aa oela.

Empa ntoa ke ena ea setla-bocha,

E loanela ka likobong “korosetina,”

Leholiotsoana ha o le bone ha le tla,

Motsoalle oa hau e ba lehlaba-phieo.

Ke maloma a folisa moferekanyi,

Ntho ke ena e ntja ka sefubeng,

E ntja ke le lephako ke sa je letho,

Joale ke se ke utloa mocheso eka kea hlanya.

Ntho ena e etsa larita,

E rinya batho seka maphele,

Ha ena mohau ha e tsebe ts’obotsi,

E hloka le eona “khahle” soare.

Leloko ha lea baneng lea timela,

Ho sala baholo bo-hlooho-putsoa,

Jonna ba tla ts’eetsoa ke mang ka moeta,

Ha eka kajeno lee! ba pata bana ba masea.

Masimo a letse ke thite,

Ts’imo ea mabele ke mofoka,

Metse e setse e le lithako,

Letlaka le lenong ba a ipusa.

Lapeng ha bo khulu,

Ho setse mphutlane khutsana,

‘M’ae le Ntat’ae ba ile bo-ea-batho,

Ho ile le ngoana a qeta ho tsoaloa oa lesea.

Ho thusang ho sebetsa,

Ho thusa ka eng ho sebetsa,

Tsohle tse re li etsang,

Li fetohile lefeela la mafeela.

E be o kae Sankatana oa ts’omong,

E be o tla tla neng ho re namolela,

Kholu-molumo ke ena e metsa batho,

Ha e natse mofo kapa morena fito.

Pepeluma le ena o maketse,

O re mashoa ke ana a mofuta,

A hana litlhare a hana lithupa,

E ea a nontsha aa poka mehlabelo.

Litaola le tsona lia kubuta,

Phalafala e sheba hosele e ea hana,

‘Mantaane mosali a nto le boea,

Masapo joale a hana ka mokhoba.

Li ne li ka tsa kubuta nkhekhe,

Ena ntoa ke e hlotseng lichechefa,

Sera se hlotse le pele se e loana,

Ke ntoa ea likobo lira li mano.

Moruti o saretsoe o sithabetse,

Ngoana lejakane ke enoa o oa kula,

“Fatere” a rapela a ntse a akha letsoho,

Are: “Enoa ke mofu ke mo rapella tsela.”

“Tokotela” le ena o hlajoa ke lihlong,

Bababi o ba khutlisa ntse ba baba,

Jase e ts’oeu o se a  ts’aba ho apara,

Koata se li mo bitsa ngakana-ka-hetla.

Che rea ba bona ba tsamaeang,

Ba phethile leeto ba titimile sebaka,

Empa ba salang ba setse le mehau,

Letsoalo le likoloto bohlatsipa.

Jonna bana ba Thesele ba ithuta,

Ntho tse kholo ba sa hola,

Masea ke ana a bina tebelo,

Bana se ba tseba ho pata bafu.

Ka Teboho Mohlabi

Senate Shoeshoe ea Moshoeshoe

21.  Senate Shoeshoe ea Moshoeshoe

Senate e mosothoana Mokoena lumela,

Mahlo a hau e kare kapi ea lets’oana-fike,

Lumela Senate Shoeshoe ea Moshoeshoe,

Khanya ea hau e feta le ea letsatsi.

E ne ere pele o hlaha Senate se setle,

Naleli ea na ea hlaha bochabela,

Mokhoa oa eona e ne ese Mphatlalatsane,

E ne e ka ona Mochochonono oa boholo-holo.

Ea na ea hlaha e potlakile naleli,

E hlakothisa ka lithaba tsa Maloti,

Mohatla e o shebisitse faats’e,

Khanya e tletse ka likhohlo.

Ho n’o ba ha bua Morena e moholo,

Are kajeno re tsoaletsoe Morena,

“Empa ho hlahile mosetsana Morena,”

Baeletsi ba Morena bana ba ipelaetsa.

Khosi eana a qhaneha pere hoseng,

Ee e kalla ka lephahla-phahla,

Litomo ea li lesa feela,

Ea itaola pitsi e manaila.

Ea na ea theohela ka likhohlo,

Ea its’opa ka matsatsa katola,

Ea hlakothisa ea llisa sepotla: tlof! tlof!

E ne e kokote ho e-so hlongoe le lehlaka.

Ea fihla lebaleng ea re: khekhenene!

E khethetsa makoeba ke sekaja,

Lechoba e le pepetse holimo,

E etsa menyakoe sa mohla malingoana.

Morena ana a e theoha a re: jethe!

A jethema e e-so eme hantle,

A boka likhomo a le lebaleng,

Ha na ha tsoa mosali e moholo ka tlung.

Ngoetsana ea tsoa ele nkhoana,

E ikhakantse eka e ea selibeng,

Morena a ntse a sa nahana letho,

Ea more: Aqa! ka metsi a batang.

Morena a re: tleko-tleko! le ho makala,

Eo a re: Ke sekha-metsi ntho eo!

A be a se ntse a tlala Lepoqo,

Meroeroe ea ema ka ntle ho seotlo.

Meroeroe eana ea boha ka liphera,

Morena ha a tlala a nyanyaka,

A tlala ho se pina Letlama,

Pelo e thabileng e etsa ‘mele o thabe.

Ho thoe e ne ele e ntle nonyana,

E tiisitse liatla nonyana e Senate,

E fahla tsatsi le khonatha la mariha,

Hoo le ne ba la ipata ka maru.

Pula hoa na ea matlopo-tlopo,

Hoa na ea likhomo le batho,

Kiriats’ona ea lla tlali ea benya,

Maholimo le mafaats’e a boka likhomo.

Morena a utloa lentsoe la Tlali,

La bua le ena a le mong Thesele,

La re: Kajeno o tsoaletsoe mohlahlami,

Mosetsana o tla tsoala mora khosana.

Kgosana e tla busa ka Leribe,

Leribe le lets’oana habo Mosa,

Moathameleng oa pelo ea me,

Moo tsohle tse kholo li tsoang teng.

Ene ere Senate e se ele mosali,

Leribe a le tsoalla mobusi morena,

Matsie a mpa a rata ho mo tseka,

Ngoana mali a Josefa nare,

Nare tsa theha meriti lifahlehong,

Tsa ts’ola seo e leng sa tsona.

E ne ere bana ntse ba bapala Matsieng,

Ba le ba putsoa mapatlelong a motse,

Ha fihla pere e tala ea ka Leribe,

E kalletsoe ke selahla-marungoana.

Sa na sa sebelisa boqhetseke,

Sa theha tsebe bana ba bapala,

Ho bapala ba masea libobothoana,

Ho na teng ho ena le Mots’oene.

Lahla-marungoana sa na sa tla,

Sa re tloho ngoanaka re ee,

Hae moo o hlokoang teng,

Linare le Leribe lia o hloka.

Sa na sa mo hloibila sephamola,

Sa mo nka ka sephakanyana sa mo pepa,

“Its’oareletse u tiise Mots’oene,

Le Leribe u tl’u ‘ne u le tsoare joalo.

O ne a palame joalo ngoana Senate,

A ba a re: qi! Hae Leribe le lets’oana,

A fumana a emetsoe teng khotla,

Motse khoqo! Ele banna le basali.

Lentsoe ba bua ka le le leng,

Ba re:  Hae behoe Nare,

Selo se naka le nchocho,

E re se koeba mosi o thunye.

A na a behoa joalo ntho’a Molapo,

Ho se khang hose ngeoe,

A busa ka toka ba hae,

Eaba ho pethahetse.

Ka Teboho Mohlabi

Komello

7.   Komello

Nako ea selemo ea fihla,

E mona e mahlonoko e thata,

Ea lesokoana ea melutsoane.

Baholo ba lebella khoeli ho qhala pula,

Mehoma ea lula e leolitsoe,

Pholo tsa joko tsa latoa motebong.

Basali ba pheha thoko ea khale,

Ba ritela motamo ba e-ja peo,

Tlala ea e-ba ea bo-ja-likata.

Mangole a pulufala ke ho rapela,

Bo-nkhekhe ba cheka metloang e sobane,

Thapeli ke ea ho rapella pula.

Maliba ho pshele le a matalana,

Koetsa e fetohile lelume ka nokeng,

E se e bile ele seqhobo hae la lipela.

Boliba ke lekhulo kajeno nokeng,

Poli ea ‘eso e lehala khalanyane,

Ea e-ja bolele eka e ja mohloa.

Mehoma ea khaoha mefeng masimong,

Roele la qoba holim’a lithota,

Khomo li ja metloang khulo ha le eo.

Hlapi tsa na tsa sesa qanthaneng,

Nketjoana aba a felloa  ke makoko,

Tsokotsane tsa tsoha khanyapa tsa falla.

Sehoai hlooho se e thulamisitse,

Mahetla a oele ke mokhathala ho hlobaela,

Mahlo a masesaane ke ho hlahloba melatsitsi.

E kaba e tla na neng pula?

Ebe Motjatji o tla nts’a neng meropa,

A ke a e tilinye maru a nyolle kiriats’oana?

Ka Teboho Mohlabi

Behaviour change and how it relates to HIV

Posted By : Lestimes Posted Date : August 29, 2014 In Opinion Comments Off

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BEHAVIOUR Change Communication (BCC) may be difficult as most of us who are involved in it can acknowledge, but we are probably barking up the wrong tree.
Most of us, even the so-called experts, have a tendency of focusing on the communication part of BCC.

However, I would really urge us to look at it differently and begin focusing on the starting BC (Behaviour Change) because I strongly feel BCC should be more about changing behaviour and not about the medium of transmitting information.

In as much as Information, Education and Communication (IEC) help inform us about things we should be informed about, it falls short of providing us with strategies and methods and the positive reinforcements or appeals that would really help and change and sustain the desirable behaviours. We should empower those that we communicate with to have a sense of self-efficacy to adopt new, health-protective behaviours.
Behaviour change is more a changing thought process that eventually affects behaviour not how much or how often we bombard people with the right information. The minute we use this new approach, we will start focusing on the behaviour theories and psychology and not so much on communication and media theories.

Over time, it has become clear that while IEC has been an effective system in raising awareness about health and HIV, it has largely been ineffective in changing behaviour. In Sub-Saharan Africa, more than 90 percent of people in the hardest hit communities report awareness of the virus but there is little evidence to demonstrate a concomitant decrease in HIV transmission or in high risk behaviours. The awareness achieved is often insubstantial and not accompanied by any skills development in individuals to protect themselves from infection. Behaviour change approaches recognise that presenting facts alone does not ensure a shift in attitude and that change may take some time to occur. BCC goes beyond an informational or scientific approach to one that combines facts and often emotional appeals.
The principles for HIV and AIDS communication campaigns include, but are not limited to:

• Realistic goals: We should ensure that we set achievable goals to our target audience, according to them. For example, we usually say sex workers should leave the streets and go sell vegetables. But in as much as this feels right to us the designers of the messages, does vegetable-selling appeal to the sex worker? We often say, “Yes, because it does not have the same risks as sex work”. But let me analyse the situation for you. We should know how much the sex worker makes per night, how much money his/her needs require, how many hours he/she works to accumulate that money and now the crucial questions; will selling vegetables in an already congested market provide for all his/her needs? Is he/she equipped with managing the cashflow? Does he/she have the time to work during the day? If we cannot answer these questions convincingly, then it may not be a good intervention for the sex worker.

•  Behaviour substitution instead of elimination: Often we want the target audience to eliminate the old behaviour instantly and we do not provide the new behaviour that would substitute the old undesirable one. For instance, we simply tell a man to stop having multiple concurrent sex partners. How about telling him to reduce the number of sexual partners gradually and methodically? Do we know why he has multiple partners? Do we know how the love situation is at his home? Do we know if he feels like a man that he is at home (in control) or does he only feel like a man in control when he buys favours on the street? I know one long-haul driver who said, “it is good to have a girlfriend in every town because then I can get a decent sleep. But if she is expecting something else, I give it to her.” Can you really change his behaviour without addressing his sleeping comforts?

•  Environmental support for behavioural change: Behaviour change cannot be done on an outreach or with a few counselling sessions. Some people need two, others need 10 so that they do not relapse into old undesirable behaviours. Counsellors, support groups, family and the community need to be in a position to help the client on a desirable path in order for the behaviour to change.

• Cost-effectiveness: Is often the culprit of why we often do a rushed job (focusing more on IEC and less on BCC). But do we budget for the whole continuum or do we only focus on IEC and communication? Often this is the case.

• Programme accessibility to intended audience and attention to legal and socio-cultural obstacles to change: Behaviour change should be done in context and also be culturally sensitive.

We often tell our young girls that they should be pure when they get married like the girls in the Bible. This is good teaching and I applaud it, but do we know how old those girls in the Bible were when they got married? A lot of them were between the ages of 12 and 18. Now the demands of life require that at the age of 18, you go to college and spend another four years then start working, maybe another two years before you get married.

With the kind of exposure and independence that a modern woman has, we should provide alternatives. When abstinence is the only sure and primary way to prevent HIV, we should be in a position to provide plan B and C where possible. One learned friend of mine said let us make sure they are alive first, then try to help them change their behaviour gradually.
By the time they know what to do, they will still be HIV negative.

- See more at: http://lestimes.com/behaviour-change-relates-hiv/#sthash.l4pTjb7x.dpuf

Koli-a-malla

23. Tsamaea hantle  (Koli-a-malla)

Khulu e siile mahe lepalapaleng,

E siile bana ba masea feela,

Ho ikhoantlella ha ba ho tsebe,

Mathata a hloele manolo holimo.

Raka le shoetsoe ke molebo,

Ea neng a re fatela o ile,

Seriti sa rona se ts’irohile,

Joale re aparetsoe ke bofifi.

Lefu la noha ke ho tsamaea e le ‘ngoe,

Hoja ena le molekane,

O ne a tla hlaba mokhosi,

Mabotho a teteane.

Pitsana e ntle ha e jele,

Batho baa fela rona rea sala,

Ho sala rona liesola,

Liesola ntho tse hlokang thuso.

Khoeli e apohetsoe ke maru,

Naleli e khanyang e re siretse,

E siretse mekunyane e e-so ho bone,

Linala li e-so ho chore tsa ho sela-sela.

Re aparetsoe ke bofifi,

Maikutlo a rona a sithabetse,

Pelo lia uba meea e faats’e,

Pelo li nts’o ha re je letho.

Batho re ithoetse meli,

Pelesa e neng e le meja,

E jara mathata a rona ka moka,

Joale e re siile feela.

Khomo boela haeno u holile,

E ea ho bo-nkhono lithakong,

U ba bolelle mathata mahlonoko,

Taba tsa faats’e lena ha li fele.

U ke o re rapelle ho ba baholo,

Khapu-khapu ea mahlohonolo,

Tle ke re lebale sohloho sena,

Seo u re sieang ho sona kajeno.

Ka Teboho C MOHLABI

12.  ‘Me Montsoali

Ka thari a mpepa,

Ka sejana a mphepa,

Ka matsoho a nkuka,

Ka lesoai a nkotlolla,

Le ‘na ke be motho.

Ka manala a nphatela,

Ka likhapha a nthapella,

Ka ho hlobaela a nkoietsa,

Ka litsieane a ntefella,

Sekolong ho rua tsebo.

Ka ho itima a mphomosetsa,

Ka motlopotlo a mphelisa,

Ka tlhatsuo a ntlhohonolofatsa,

Ka ho ntheha lebitso ka itseba,

Lefaats’e le metsoalle ea ntseba.

Ka lits’omo a nthuta,

Ka lipale a nkelellisoa,

Ka maele a nkeletsa,

Ka metlae a nthabisa,

Ke tle ke phelisane le ba bang.

Ke monna ke holile joale,

Ke litelu ke liphaka-phaka,

Ke hopola tsa bonyaneng,

Ke li bona joalo ka ts’omo,

Chee! ke li fetile ka thuso ea ‘me.

‘Me o nthapelle ho Molimo,

Nthapelise ke phele,

Ke ka tlholeho ke o sotlileng,

Hoba marabe o jeoa ke bana,

Oona o sale ele mokukutoane.

Ka Teboho C MOHLABI

Lesotho Inauguration 2015 part 2

Is your Company a Frankenstein?

When a company is managed properly, a sense of humanity prevails; after all, companies are human creations, run by humans. But far too many firms operate like some terrifying Frankenstein-style mashup of a human being. The result scares customers, as it should. If you spot a company like this – whether you are a customer or employee – running away may be your best move.

The head doesn't know what the body is doing. 
In department after department, day-to-day activities are grossly out of touch with the supposed strategy of the firm. The result is a flailing creature, wobbling down the road, wasting time and energy, and scaring the heck out of the "local townspeople."
Management says one thing, but rewards far different behaviors. They say: we're all about customers. They reward: sell, sell, sell.
As I write these words, there are four days left in the month. Any company that tells its sales force to "go all out" to deliver sales before the end of the month is making a conscious decision to ignore customer needs in favor of company profits. That's scary, because if you hurt customers, they tend to – you guessed it – run away.

The voice isn't genuine. 
An organization focused on the needs of other people speaks with a genuine human voice. But a company obsessed with sales quotas and pushing products sounds like a creature without a brain. Its attempts to sound human are jarring and off-putting.
"If 250,000 people like our Facebook page, then one lucky customer will win $1,250," roars the ugly creature. What's in it for the other 249,999?

The creature has no heart. 
Companies are people serving people. Each of us have needs and emotions. Many of us have other human beings who depend upon us. But too many business decisions ignore – or minimize – human needs, and reduce situations down to nothing more than numbers.
The best organizations both foster loyalty among their employees and offer loyalty in return. When times get tough, they band together instead of attacking each other (yes, laying off a loyal and capable employee is like attacking your own self.)
Heart is what drives people forward. A company without a heart will never compete as successfully as one whose heart is beating strongly.

Feedback gets ignored. 
A Frankenstein company fears feedback; it just sounds like angry people chasing the creature down the road. Such a firm thinks feedback equals complaints, and "complaints waste time."
Wrong, ugly monster.
The reality is that feedback tells a company how to get stronger and more competitive. It's like free advice. The faster and better a company gets at acting on feedback, the more human it will seem. The simplest definition of corporate intelligence is having something of value to say, and knowing what will be of value to different people.
In previous decades, Frankenstein companies could lumber through the world, because many firms were just too large to overcome these challenges. We accepted such subhuman behavior from companies.
Today, technology makes it possible to aim much higher, and social media creates a compelling reason to do so, because individuals are so quick to spread the word about companies that frighten them.
This Halloween, ditch the corporate monsters.

If you want to hear more from me, just click the Follow button below. You can also download my free guides at Kasanoff.com, or read my book with Michael Hinshaw Smart Customers, Stupid Companies. On Twitter, I'm @NowPossible.

5 Compelling Reasons Why Marriage Wasn't Meant to Be Monogamous

By now, you've probably heard about Jada Pinkett Smith's recent interview that many people took to mean that she might be cool with the famous Fresh Prince of Bel-Air getting some extra fresh on the side.

And although Ms. Smith clarified her comments, the online world is still buzzing about the topic of monogamy and open marriage.

Related: 15 ways women are ruining their sex lives

While personally I can barely summon the energy to have sex with my own husband (three kids in four years has that effect on some of us, ok?) and the thought of the work it would require to not only embark on, but carry out, an actual affair just makes me tired, clearly not all marriages are monogamous.

In The Little Book of Heartbreak: Love Gone Wrong Through the Ages (Pengiun Press, 2013), author Meghan Laslocky gives a little background on the history of marriage and provides some compelling evidence in support of "debunking monogamy."

1. Marriage as we know it is a fairly recent invention.

In the history of marriage, the concept of marrying for love is a relatively new one; traditionally marriage was constructed as more of a business proposition of sorts, with each partner benefiting, usually socially, politically, or financially from the union. It wasn't until the 18th century Enlightenment that the idea of marrying for love became popular.

2. Doing it like they do on the discovery channel = not monogamous.

 In her book, Laslocky points out that in the animal kingdom, species that are thought to be monogamous are actually, usually not. In fact, of the 4,000 mammals in the animal kingdom, she states that less than 3% are monogamous to start out-and that monogamy is often in appearance only. For instance, a pair of "lovebirds?" Well, usually one of `em is indulging another lovebird on the side.

3. Couples that reproduce together, stay together.

She goes on to explain that many "monogamous" mammals in the animal world, especially the lovebirds, practice "social monogamy"-that is, raising a family with one mate while enjoying a romantic rendezvous every now and then. Scientists conclude such behavior is helpful to ensuring survival of the species, as the males spread their seed around for all to enjoy while the females get the help they need to raise all those hatchlings. Which, as she points out, puts another whole meaning to that "Are You My Mother" book we all know and love, right?

4. Society rules?

Laslocky's book also cited a study that showed that fewer than half of all modern societies forbid extramarital relationships within a marriage; in fact, many cultures don't see affairs or flings as deal-breakers to a successful marriage.

5. To each his or her own.

A 20-year long study of 164 couples, half of whom were not monogamous found that the spouses reported no difference in their perceived happiness nor was the rate of divorce any higher in the "open" marriages.

However, in the end, I'm just not buying it..

While this all makes for an interesting conversation (especially if you drop these little tidbits to your husband while eating B.L.T. pizza with him, although a word of warning-he probably will choke on that piece of bacon), I have to say that I'm just not buying it. Sure, it may be "natural" in the animal world for mates to fool around on each other, but it's also "natural" for some animals to eat their own offspring. Obviously, we have all evolved a bit to overcome some of our primitive urges and instincts.

So, sorry Mother Nature, but I'm just going to have to disagree with you on this one.

- By Chaunie Brusie