Hlompho Letsielo

Third Place, Single Photo Professional

Hlompho is only 20, but already he has made photography his career. He grew up in the rural town of Mafeteng, Lesotho, a place, he said, that has been highly affected by climate change. After graduating from high school, he went to college to study graphic design, but had to drop out after the college closed. In 2008, he joined a local newspaper called the Public Eye News, where he now works full time as a cartoonist and a photographer.

“To me, photography is portraying the true identity of a subject in a precise way while simultaneously recognizing its importance,” Hlompho said.  

Hlompho photographed the community of Ha-pena pena in Maseru, Lesotho. After years of helplessly watching as their land was gradually degraded by irresponsible farming, they “decided to take the bull by the horns,” Hlompho said. The community is now advocating for a ban on illegal and irresponsible cultivation along the river bank. They have also begun a land rehabilitation programme in partnership with Lesotho’s Ministry of Forestry and Land Reclamation. Here, we see community members filling dongas,or eroded ditches, with stones.