Remarks at Hand-over Ceremony of Braille Books to the Basotho Federation of Youth with Disabilities

(Dr. Sun Xianghua, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, August 9, 2018)

Please allow me to start by paying my respects to H.M. King Letsie III and the Right Honorable Prime Minister Matsoahae Thomas Thabane,
Your Hon. Matebatso Doti, Minister of Social Development,
Mr. Malefetsane Masasa, Principal Secretary for the Ministry of Social Development,
Mrs. Likenkeng Molibeli, President of Basotho Federation of Youth with Disabilities,
Distinguished guests,
Friends from the media,
Ladies and gentlemen,
    It is great honour for me to attend the Hand-over Ceremony of Braille Books to the Basotho Federation of Youth with Disabilities (BFYD). With the help of the 43 braille books, the visually impaired teachers will have greater access to information and be better equipped in preparing their lectures. The Basotho Federation of Youth with Disabilities (BFYD) aims at strengthening and promoting the interests of youth, ensuring the integration of youth with disabilities in the development agendas, acquiring quality education with friendly learning devices, accessing information in accessible format at all aspects. Due to the lack of economic resources and limited budget, the BFYD has difficulty in availing the four schools in Maseru and Mafeteng with learning materials and information in accessible formats like Braille and Audio for visually impaired teachers. There is no hesitation from this Embassy to give a helping hand when the BFYD turned to us for help through the Ministry of Social Development. I sincerely hope this Embassy and the BFYD will continue to maintain cooperation between each other and help the youth with disabilities in Lesotho. There are more than 80 million disabled people in China, so we do understand the hard lives of people with disabilities and we are also confident in them that when well supported, the people with disabilities can make as much contribution to the society as any of us.

    Distinguished guests, dear friends,

   It brought me some more thoughts after hearing the introduction of the BFYD by the program director and the remarks of the President of the BFYD. Only yesterday, I saw off a technical group which came here to design the China-Aid Maseru District Hospital and Eye Clinic Project. And this project will become the single largest infrastructure project that China donates to our brotherly Basotho. Once the project is put in use, the current situation that Maseru as the capital of Lesotho does not have a district hospital will be fundamentally changed, and the public health system of Lesotho will be greatly enhanced. More importantly, the Maseru District Hospital as a specialized hospital will provide quality health service, and thousands of Basotho will not have to go abroad for medical treatment. Meanwhile, the Maseru Hospital will also have facilities and dormitories for training young doctors and nurses. Once built, the Hospital will also become an important training base for Basotho doctors and nurses. There will be more and more Chinese and Basotho ophthalmologists working in Maseru and at that time, I sincerely hope all Basotho patients with eye disease could get prompt treatment.

    Dear friends, ladies and gentlemen, China and Lesotho have carried out extensive cooperation in the fields of infrastructure development, trade and commerce, agriculture, public health, education and culture, telecommunication and broadcasting, public safety, tourism and people-to-people exchanges. These comprehensive, in-depth and mutually-beneficial exchanges and cooperation have shown us from time to time that, China-Lesotho friendship has become a fine example of the relations between countries, regardless whether they are big or small, rich or poor, strong or weak, proudly showcasing its outstanding features of mutual respect, equality, sincerity, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, and win-win cooperation. With all these efforts from both Chinese and Basotho people and with the economic development in the coming days, I am confident there will be a better future for the people with disabilities in Lesotho.

    Last but not least, I would like to take this occasion to express my profound thanks to Hon. Matebatso Doti, Minister of Social Development and all relevant colleagues from the Ministry of Social Development for facilitating the hand-over of the Braille Books and for organizing today's event.

    Thank you! Khotso, Pula, Nala!