VZCZCXRO1613
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHMR #0272/01 1301843
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 101843Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY MASERU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2943
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEHMR/AMEMBASSY MASERU 3307

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MASERU 000272 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT ALSO FOR AF/S, AF/PD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO PREL SCUL CVIS LT
SUBJECT: LESOTHO: EDUCATIONAL ADVISING TAKES OFF 
 
MASERU 00000272  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  Embassy Maseru's student advising program has now 
grown into a lively and formal weekly program which has begun 
its third year.  The program is building on the successes of the 
past year to continue its expansion.  After a tour of local 
radio stations by our dedicated academic advisor, Public 
Diplomacy Assistant Ms. Mamosa Mapeshoane, academic advising 
participants have doubled.  As we now seek to expand this 
engagement through offering regular standardized test practice 
sessions, Embassy Maseru's academic advising program has finally 
come into its own.  END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------- 
Small Program, Big Dreams 
------------------------- 
 
¶2.  Three years ago, sensing promise among many of the bright 
young students of Lesotho, Embassy Maseru held several ad hoc 
educational advising sessions to build awareness among Basotho 
youth of educational opportunities in the United States.  Ms. 
Mamosa Mapeshoane, Embassy Maseru's sole Public Diplomacy FSN at 
the time, took the reins of the program shortly after its 
inception.  Interest in these ad hoc sessions led to regularly 
scheduled two-hour educational advising sessions currently held 
on a weekly basis at Embassy Maseru's Public Diplomacy 
facilities. 
 
¶3.  The educational advising program immediately faced two major 
challenges: 1) the severe financial need of many Basotho 
students coupled with Embassy Maseru's status as a "PD-Lite" 
post without access to scholarship programs such as United 
States Student Achievers Program (USAP) and the Fulbright 
program; and 2) the need to bridge the divide between the 
substantively different education systems of the United States 
and Lesotho in a way that makes sense on U.S. college 
applications. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
Finding Funding: Building from Year to Year 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  Despite these challenges, the program has soldiered on, 
helping students find funding sources and their future alma 
maters in the United States.  Adversity bred creativity, and 
Embassy Maseru has been increasingly successful at helping 
students find support.  In the last year, the program helped 
four students access scholarships from universities and 
independent foundations in the United States, compared with no 
such scholarships in the previous year. 
 
¶5.  Former Basotho academic advising participants enrolled as 
undergraduates at Plymouth State University, Campbell 
University, and Pennsylvania State University this past fall. 
Two Basotho graduate students - one receiving the Carl Malmberg 
Fellowship Program at University of Pittsburg - are now studying 
in the United States.  A Basotho student receiving a full 
scholarship (under a U.S.-sponsored regional competition) is now 
studying at Brandeis University.  While these numbers remain 
small, they are tangible results of the student advising program. 
 
---------------- 
Outreach Matters 
---------------- 
 
¶6.  In recent months, the PD section has conducted a number of 
interviews on national and community youth radio stations, 
speaking to students and parents about study in America.  Since 
this outreach initiative, the number of students attending 
advising sessions has roughly doubled. 
 
¶7.  PD staff members have also conducted personal outreach to 
several local high schools, including Machabeng College -- an 
international high school with a highly regarded International 
Baccalareate (IB) program.  Early outreach targeted local 
educational institutions which draw talented students, and 
presentations focused on the U.S. education system, completing 
U.S. college applications, and the types of experiences students 
in American universities can expect. 
 
------------------------ 
Future Program Expansion 
------------------------ 
 
¶8.  In response to student requests and Embassy Maseru's 
observations regarding the weakest points of Basotho 
applications to U.S. colleges and universities, we plan to 
expand our program to include one session each week at which 
students can take practice SAT and TOEFL tests.  As the Embassy 
does not serve as a test center and students often must travel 
to neighboring countries to take standardized tests, we believe 
that this additional service will be a notable contribution to 
program participants' success.  In the immediate future, our 
 
MASERU 00000272  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
educational advising outreach efforts will expand into rural 
areas, and we are presenting a proposal to the National 
University of Lesotho (NUL) to create an ongoing dialogue 
encouraging more NUL graduate students to take part in 
educational advising. 
 
--------------------------- 
Academic Awards, PD Rewards 
--------------------------- 
 
¶9.  COMMENT:  As sending increased numbers of Basotho students 
to the U.S. is a specific goal of Embassy Maseru under the most 
current Mission Performance Plan, the blossoming educational 
advising program is bringing real rewards to our mission.  With 
the expansion of educational advising outreach and additional 
program components designed to address Basotho students' 
tradition weaknesses such as standardized testing, we hope that 
this program will deliver even more results in coming years. 
END COMMENT. 
PERRY