The First Two Homes

From Land to Homes

When we first stood on this land in Butha Buthe, it was just soil and stone. Now there are two homes standing on it. Chris and Putso, our first member of staff, security guard and apprentice builder, have completed construction on the first two houses on site. It is hard to overstate the amount of work that went into that sentence.

There was no electricity. Concrete was mixed by hand. Foundations were dug manually. Materials were sourced carefully, often after long journeys back and forth to town, up and down a dirt mountain track with materials strapped to the back of the jeep. . At times we borrowed electricity from a generous neighbour just to power tools for short periods.

It was slow, physical, determined work. And now, where there was once open ground, there are homes.

What We’re Building

Each house contains three bedrooms, a living space, and a washroom. Two bedrooms are for children and one for full-time live-in house parents. Our intention is simple. Each home will become home to four to six children, raised by house parents who love and care for them as they would their own. We hope to build families ranter than a facility.

Research consistently shows that large-scale institutional care, even when motivated by good hearts, often produces poorer long-term outcomes for children. Children thrive in stable, consistent, relational environments. They need attachment, belonging, daily rhythms, and adults who know them deeply.

So our model is built around small family homes clustered in community. Something closer to foster care in feel, while providing the infrastructure and support necessary to sustain it long term.

The design of the house reflects that heart. Shared bedrooms to build sibling bonds. A living space for conversation and laughter. A house parent’s room integrated into the home, not separate from it. Loving, safe, family homes

Built by Faith and Grit

Chris and Putso have worked tirelessly. There were days of digging trenches under the sun. Days of mixing slab after slab of concrete by hand. Days of figuring out how to make progress without the tools and conveniences we take for granted.

It would have been easier to scale back the vision, or to cut corners, but these houses were built carefully because the children who will live in them matter. Every block laid carries the weight of that.

Preparing for Children

The next step was just as important as the building itself.

We will need to recruit and appoint our first house parents. We also need to finalise a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Social Development in Lesotho, the government body responsible for the care and placement of orphaned and vulnerable children. We are committed to working in partnership with the authorities. Children should be placed properly, legally, and with oversight. This is about building something accountable and sustainable.

The walls are up. The rooms are ready. Now we prepare for the children who will soon call these places home.

A Glimpse of What’s Coming

When we look at those first two houses, we see more than bricks and mortar. We see bedtime stories. We see homework at kitchen tables. We see siblings sharing rooms. We see house parents praying over children. We see birthdays celebrated.
We see holding, safe, family homes.