Lesotho Orphan: 'My Life Changed'

August 20, 2009, —

You must have the flash player in order to watch this video.

Millions of children around the globe have lost their parents

to AIDS. Letima Ikhetheleng of Lesotho is one of them.

He comes from a small village in the mountains of

href="/lesotho/">Lesotho, where

href="/lesotho/mountain-orphans/">conditions are harsh.

The roads make travel difficult at best. And that means businesses struggle to

keep their doors open, reducing employment prospects. For many orphans like

Letima, the loss of their parents means

href="/lesotho/drought-food-crisis/">going hungry. The

prospect of escaping their poverty through education is bleak, since orphans

and their caregivers typically can't afford school fees.

Fortunately, Catholic Relief Services provides orphans and

vulnerable children with a host of services aimed at meeting their nutritional,

educational and emotional needs, along with advocating for their basic human

rights.

"My life changed because they were able to help us,"

Letima says. "I have food, three meals a day."

In the following video the 19-year-old further describes his

hardships and how CRS made a