1.     Glad to attend today’s bursary hand-over ceremony. First of all, I must commend the laudable act of the China-Lesotho People-to-People Friendship Fund for helping 53 students from 20 schools in Berea District, with a total amount of M50,000. My appreciation also goes to Mr. Chen Xing for initiating and organizing today’s event.

2.     Today’s beneficiaries are some of the students who have difficulties in paying their tuition fees for this year. They are also some of the students who have performed very well in schools. It would be very unfortunate if they drop out of school only for financial constraints. If that happens, many children’s lives may be changed for ever. And many families and the country of Lesotho may suffer serious loss of talents for the future. For this reason, I think the help from the China-Lesotho People-to-People Friendship Fund has come at a right time, and its impact will be multiple and far-reaching. Your assistance will not only help 50 children, but also the 50 families, and the future of Mokhotlong and Lesotho.

3.     What I want to say to the school boys and girls who will benefit this assistance today is, please bear in mind the huge expectation that you have on your shoulders, draw strength from this noble act of help from the Friendship Fund, and make resolve to contribute to the better future of Lesotho. We all know that knowledge is strength. The teenage days are the golden time to learn knowledge and these days only come to us once in a life time. Therefore, this valuable time should be spent at education and learning. Without equipping yourself with knowledge and personality at school, you would face an insurmountable task of having a meaningful life and making a contribution to your family, your community and you country in the future. I sincerely hope all of you will continue to perform well at school with the help from the Fund, and show us with your achievement at school that the Friendship Fund has made a right decision to support you today.

4.     Dear friends, as you must have observed, the Chinese government has done whatever it can to support Lesotho’s social and economic development over many decades, with the infrastructure, public health, education, food safety, and capacity building as the main areas. Meanwhile, the Chinese community in Lesotho has also contributed tremendously to Lesotho and Basotho’s development. Over the years, the Friendship Fund and the Chinese community in Lesotho have actively engaged in helping their Basotho brothers and sisters. Today’s event show us once again, that the Chinese Community really treats Lesotho as a home away from home, and regards themselves as members of Basotho. Whenever their Basotho brothers and sisters face urgent challenges and difficulties, the Chinese community also takes the hardships to their hearts and think of ways to come up with help. I still remember I came to Mokhotlong on the 9 September last year to witness the hand-over of food aid by the China-Lesotho Friendship Fund to more than 200 families. I also know they have done whatever they can to help the local community in all these years, with thousands and thousands of Basotho benefiting from their gallant assistance. I sincerely wish this brotherly friendship between Chinese and Basotho will be continuously encouraged and nurtured. The Chinese people have come afar, but their hearts are close to you. And I wish and call upon our Basotho friends also support in whatever way you can to help the Chinese community, so that you consolidate a close partnership and face off together any challenges that will come in the future. Stand together and help each other, we will be stronger!

5.     It would be remiss of me not to use this occasion to profoundly thank Hon. James Setasbi, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Ntoi Rapapa, the Deputy Minister of Education, the District Administer of Mokhotlong, the Chiefs of Mokhotlong and many other friends both in the Ministries and the local governments and communities of Lesotho. It’s exactly your participation, contribution and hard work that have made the Chinese community in Lesotho feel the real friendship and brotherliness from Lesotho and Basotho, and It’s also exactly your attention, support and efforts that will make the China-Lesotho relations, and the friendship between the Chinese people and Basotho a fine example of the relations between countries regardless of their sizes and distances.

 Long live China-Lesotho Friendship.

Thank you all.