Over 8,000 children have reached and been reached by Childline.

Children can call for help and get it thanks to a free child helpline open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“We get an average of 500 calls per month,” explains Kananelo Moholi, who manages the response to calls to the helpline. Around 20 of those are instances of neglect, sexual abuse, behavioral problems and property grabbing. Moholi says the best thing about the line is that children are able to access services quickly.

For some children, the phone line is literally a lifeline. One 13-year-old girl called the Childline from a pay phone in the industrial area of the capital, Maseru. Her parents were sick and, desperate for cash, they had sold her to a brothel in South Africa. She called in desperation when her new ‘owner’ went into a shop. Childline counselors arranged for the police to pick her up and take her to a safe house. In the longer term, they also helped reunite the girl with her family and get her back to school.

Around 80 percent of calls are from children testing the line, because they’ve seen the phone number advertised, know it’s toll-free and that someone’s there to listen. “When we answer and the caller is silent, we try to give information, saying, ‘You can call this number when you are in need or neglected’,” says Moholi.

The line also gets calls from concerned neighbors. “In the past people were not keen on reporting abuse, but now people know they should,” says Moholi, adding, “If they have information on a child protection issue and are hiding it, they are violating the law.”

The Childline is run by Lesotho Save the Children. Its team of counselors maintains contact with child protection teams across the country to ensure a rapid response to emergency calls. They also make visits to schools and community leaders so everyone knows help is at hand for children who need it. Helpline staff work closely with government agencies such as the Child and Gender Protection Unit and Social Services. “We are their eyes and ears,” agrees Motselisi Shale, Childline program manager.

HIV/AIDS has led to a profound need for the helpline. “The observation we have is that there are so many orphans. Most children calling Childline are due to cases of HIV/AIDS. Poverty is rising because manpower is dying,” says Shale. The Global Fund is the main funder of the Childline, allocating nearly US$ 1.2 million to set up the line in April 2008 and keep it running over the next two years. UNICEF is also financing Childline.