Reekelitsoe Molapo

Tell us about yourself: I am Reekelitsoe Molapo, from Lesotho. I am an environmental activist and social entrepreneur who co-founded and directs Conservation Music Lesotho. My organisation confronts environmental collapse through the power of music in the developing world and beyond. I am motivated by my passion for the environment and people. I believe climate change is one of the greatest threats facing mankind and the planet today second to the current pandemic, however, as dire as the situation may be, I feel like there is something we can do to change the situation for the better. Secondly, because those on the frontlines of this threat are usually least informed about the phenomenon or empowered to build resilience against it and my goal is to change that. Lastly, because as a young person it’s my climate future that is being tampered with and I see no better way to claim control of that future than by being proactive and promoting positive climate action today.

What did you do with the JWH grant? I did two things with the JWH grant, first I enrolled for a Grant Writing course which equipped me with the necessary grant writing skills and secondly I paid for a 2-month internship which I did with a much established environmental nonprofit called Greenpop in Cape Town, South Africa. I was a fundraising and business development intern at the organisation.

What has the leadership development plan brought you? The grant enabled me to up skill and get more exposure in my current field. I was also able to enhance my grant writing, leadership in community development, project management, research and fundraising skills. The knowledge I acquired through this experience was vast and very relevant to my daily job in my own nonprofit plus I was happy to be learning new things too in the process. I was also able to build great networks through some post-internship programs offered by my internship agency. Furthermore, I managed to land a short-term consulting contract with a charity in the UK as a research assistant for its philanthropy and partnerships department. I believe I got this current consultation opportunity because I referenced my internship in my application and all the things I learnt during that internship are coming in very handy to this role. To me this is an indirect value I got from this grant, because now I am also able to diversify my income and not solely rely on my organisation’s remuneration for a livelihood.

What is your dream? To continue the work that I do around climate education in my home country and scale my impact, starting with the Southern African region and moving beyond. Additionally, to become a subject matter expert on sustainable development issues and enter the climate advocacy space, influencing policies and financing.