The ‘Mountain Kingdom’ of Lesotho is a tiny, landlocked country of just 30,355 square kilometres. Completely surrounded by South Africa, it is the only independent state in the world to lie entirely above 1,000 metres. It has one of the world’s highest rates of HIV-AIDS and the average life expectancy has recently been estimated at around 37 years. Life is a struggle for most rural people who try and eke out a living on their farms. Horses in badly fitting harnesses are used to pull ploughs and carts. It is hard for horses to sustain the energy they need for a day’s work because they are not given the right food. The country’s one significant natural resource is water – the source of two of the largest rivers in Southern Africa, the Orange and Tugela, can be found here. Water and electricity are its chief exports to neighbouring South Africa. Jobs are scarce so many men find work in the diamond mines of South Africa, taking them away from their families for months at a time.