Regional/Cultural Day
Mokete oa Bana
The children of Lesotho are celebrated with games, songs, and feasts. In a country where 40% of the population is under 15, children are the future, and the day is dedicated to their welfare. The schools hold sports days, the churches hold special services, and the families gather for meals. The herding boys, who spend months in the mountains with their sheep, are remembered especially. These boys, some as young as eight, live alone in the highlands, tending their flocks and sleeping in stone huts. They are the shepherds of the Kingdom in the Sky, and their childhood is shaped by wind, cold, and solitude.