A steep path leads to Malisuoa’s home in the rural Mphokojoane community of Mokhotlong, Lesotho. She lives there with her family and recounts how consecutive droughts in 2022 and 2023 devastated their livelihood, forcing them to rely on neighbors for basic needs. Malisuoa, who grew up in a farming community, was accustomed to hard work. However, the drought reduced crop yields and forced her family to change their eating habits as they could no longer farm effectively.
Matsepo, a widow from Maoa-mafubelu in Leribè district, is also facing hardship. Raising five children alone after her husband's death from an HIV/AIDS-related illness in 2020, she depends on temporary farm jobs in South Africa. The drought compelled her to borrow money for food and consider withdrawing her children from school due to financial strain.
Both women benefited from the Lesotho Pathways to Sustainable Livelihoods Project (PSLP), supported by the World Bank. The $26.5 million project aims to improve social assistance efficiency and strengthen vulnerable households' livelihoods through an emergency response component. Implemented by the Ministry of Gender, Youth, and Social Development since August 2022, PSLP runs until June 2027.
The project provided cash transfer top-ups to 45,000 households under the Child Grant Program (CGP). These transfers improved nutrition and food security while preventing distress sales of assets or high-interest borrowing. They also allowed families like Malisuoa's and Matsepo's to keep their children in school.
Malisuoa used her $142 emergency cash top-up for groceries and invested in a keyhole garden for vegetables like spinach and carrots. Matsepo bought school supplies for two of her children and continued their education. She also started vegetable gardening at home, leading to better nutrition for her children. Additionally, she diversified her income by selling mobile recharge cards.
“My family used to go two days without food," said Matsepo. "I have added another home garden whereby we now have enough vegetables to improve my children’s lives.”
The emergency cash transfers protected human capital gains during shocks and enhanced future livelihood prospects for these households.