Help Lesotho is a 2-star charity with a Low demonstrated impact. The charity has a B- Results Reporting grade, which is below average. Its overhead spending is 12%, within Ci’s reasonable range, and its reserve funds can cover just under 1 year of annual program costs. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.  

Founded in 2004, Help Lesotho works to fight gender-based inequality and violence, promote education, and prevent HIV transmission across Lesotho. The charity’s head office is in Ottawa. Help Lesotho states that nearly one in four people in Lesotho are HIV positive and that half of Lesotho’s population lives in poverty. The charity reports that 86% of women and girls report experiences of gender-based violence. The charity states that Lesotho has the world’s highest suicide rate, as of February 2024.  

Help Lesotho states that it runs 22 life skills and psychosocial support programs for vulnerable and at-risk people. It lists twelve programs on its website: Grandmother Program, Young Mother Program, Herd Boy Program, Child Sponsorship, Schools Helping Schools, Leaders-in-Training, Leadership Centres, Computer and Life Skills, GIRL4ce, Pearl Program, Guys4Good, and Youth Employment Training. The charity does not report a breakdown of spending by program.  

In F2024, the charity reported that it reached 23,545 people directly through its programs, of which 48% were youth, 23% were children, 14% were grandmothers, 8% were herd boys, and 6% were young mothers. The charity reported that it reached 7,497 people indirectly.  

Help Lesotho’s Leader-in-Training (LIT) Program is its most intensive program, welcoming 60 youths annually for 24 training days over six weeks. The participants learn about effective communication, conflict resolution, and decision-making. In F2024, 67% of LIT graduates were female, 92% were unemployed and 36% faced mental challenges.  

Help Lesotho’s audited financial statements follow activity-based costing, a best practice. This means that its expenses are clearly defined between program, administration, and fundraising categories.  

In F2024, the charity received $854k in Canadian donations, which is 59% of total revenue. It also reported $504k in international donations in F2024, representing 35% of total revenue. Help Lesotho recorded $84k in investment income in F2024. 

Help Lesotho spent $1.3m on its international program. The charity spent $95k on administration, which is 7% of revenue in F2024. It spent $45k on fundraising, which is 5% of donations. This means that the total overhead costs are 12%. For every dollar donated, 88 cents are available to go to the cause.  

In F2024, the charity recorded a deficit of ($3k) and had net funding reserves of $1.3m. This reserve can cover 97%, or just under 1 year, of annual program costs. This is within Charity Intelligence’s limit of 300%.  

According to its annual filing with the Charities Directorate, Help Lesotho used external fundraisers in F2024. It paid external fundraisers $1k to raise $40k, at a cost of $0.04 per dollar raised. 

Profile updated by Leah Holmes on June 12, 2025. Comments and corrections may be forthcoming.