Night Schools in Lesotho Give Herders a Second Chance at Education Night schools in Lesotho offer herders a second chance at education, with classes in reading, writing, and counting after long days in the mountains. In the mountains of central Lesotho, shepherds attend part-time night schools to gain an education that would otherwise be out of reach. More than 40 herders gather every evening at the Good Shepherd School in Semonkong, a small town illuminated by fluorescent lights, after walking up to two hours down rocky paths nearly 8,000 feet above sea level. Herders Face Barriers to EducationLivestock is deeply woven into Lesotho's economy and culture. Wool and mohair account for nearly 60% of agricultural exports and support a quarter of the rural population. Driven by poverty and tradition, school-aged boys are often called to tend the flocks, spending months at a time herding alone in the mountains, cut off from society.A World Bank analysis of 2018 data found that nearly half of all boys in the country were engaged in some form of herding. For many, like 20-year-old Kabelo Mohai, the work comes at the expense of schooling. Mohai started working with animals when he was 9 and only finished primary school. His companion, Lepeli Maapesa, is 23.Night Schools Offer a Path to LearningTo give these herd boys a second chance at education, dozens of dedicated schools have emerged across the country. Mostly run by volunteers on shoestring budgets, they hold classes at night, once the flocks have been safely brought into their pens. The teaching is often basic — reading, writing, counting. And the schools constantly struggle financially to keep their doors open. Yet for many, they offer the only chance to dream of a different future.At 15, when he started herding full-time, Mohai moved into a cattle post — a makeshift hut high up in the mountains — to live alongside his family's flock of 155 sheep and goats. Inside the shelter he built from rocks and branches, a water can and a cast-iron pot sit beside a rudimentary bed made of flat-surfaced stones and covered with a thin blanket. A few shirts and bags hang on sticks protruding from the thatched roof.Other young herders live in similar huts scattered across the mountainside, but most days, Mohai's main companion is his dog Balireng — meaning enemy in Sesotho. He says it is very nice most of the time, being up there among the animals, and that nobody can tell him what to do. But life in the mountains is challenging even at the best of times. The tiny nation of Lesotho is the only country in the world to lie entirely more than 1,000 meters (3,281 feet) above sea level, earning it the nickname Kingdom in the Sky. Heavy snow is common in winter, and summers can be scorching.It is estimated that around a third of the country's school-age boys are working as shepherds at any one time, often spending months at a time away from their families living in isolated cattle posts in the mountains. Mohai admits that day or night, raining or hot, they have to look after the animals, and sometimes it is not good not to socialize.Students Share Hopes for the FutureSo when he heard about the Good Shepherd Night School three years ago, he seized the chance to return to the classroom. Now, every weekday after a long day of herding, he makes the trek down the mountain to attend his Grade 7 class before clambering back up to his hut a few hours later. He says it is very important for them to have some knowledge and learn. One day, he dreams of becoming a soldier.Fellow shepherd Phakiso Phomane, 22, also studies at the night school. He says he goes to school so he can keep his ability to read and write, and maybe, in the future, he can be hired somewhere.For these herders, the night schools represent more than just literacy — they are a rare opportunity to imagine a life beyond the mountains.