Lesotho Pensioner’s Epic Journey to Renew Her Social Grant

Macharles Mahlekele, 86, spent a night in a stuck taxi and two days sheltering with strangers after a flooded river blocked her route home

• Macharles Mahlekele, 86, and five other pensioners from remote Lesotho villages were stranded for four days after travelling to Maseru for a new pension verification process.
• The World Bank-recommended verification exercise requires pensioners to travel to Maseru to be photographed and show they are alive and have valid documentation.
• Three footbridges over…