In early 2016 I wrote a story and made a short film about a young girl in Lesotho, a tiny nation completely surrounded by South Africa. Back then, the girl was suffering from a severe case of tuberculosis which had got into her bones. She couldn’t walk and had to stay home all day, missing school and missing friends. Slowly, with medication and support, the young girl began to recover.
This week, Lerato, aged 11, had an operation to fix her hip and leg, both badly damaged by the TB. She returned this morning from Tsepong hospital, in the capital Maseru, and is doing well.
Here she is, on crutches outside her home. Her mum, on the right, is relieved and happy to have her home. Lerato will be back at school next week.
Top photo: Lerato with her mum, Malebohang Mokone, and her dad, Napo Mokone. Justice Kalebe, April 2016
BILL SNADDON 