AT Centre

In May 2026 POP Lesotho, together with its partners, Catholic Comprehensive Community College (CCCC) and Glasswaters Foundation, built and launched the first Assistive Technology Center (ATC) in Lesotho. Saint Margarets of Castello ATC was named after the patron saint of children with disabilities and is dedicated to improving access and inclusion to rehabilitation, education and assistive technology for these children. The interior of the ATC has been set up for larger scale production and material storage than the workshop at Abia High School. It is anticipated that APT will be more on a production line basis with a basic stock stored at the ATC for children coming for assessment as well as making bespoke equipment to take into the field when visiting children in the community and at CP clinics.

The five-year plan for the ATC aims to capacity build students, produce a national curriculum for assistive technology (AT) and for CCCC to be at the forefront of Lesotho producing its own assistive technology, as per World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. The initiative is the first of its kind in Lesotho and a trainer and development officer for the ATC with significant experience in AT was appointed at the beginning of 2026. Together with the ATC technician he will be working on developing and maintaining appropriate AT for children with disabilities in Leribe and the development of an AT curriculum for students at CCCC. The plan is that this will provide a template for a nationwide curriculum and help Lesotho reduce its dependence on imported assistive devices by capacity building local expertise to build, maintain and recycle devices.