LINEO MABEKEBEKE Game Changers Lesotho is a TV show by a young Mosotho man, Mpho Patrick Mots’oene, who is passionate about radio, modelling, TV as well as academia. Born in a royal family in Leribe, Moreneng, he is currently working on a TV show which is aimed at putting the spotlight on young people who are excelling in different fields such as music, modelling and poetry. The main aim is to bridge the gap in Lesotho’s entertainment industry which lacks a bigger platform for creatives to showcase their craft. “Again, it aims to create conversations around issues such as HIV/AIDS, homosexuality versus religion, teenage pregnancy, financial education and more topics that we Basotho normally do not talk about,” Mots’oene said. He said the show will have eight episodes for Season 1, whose shooting is scheduled to be completed by Mid-May. Issues in the show range from modelling, fashion, pageantry and the impact these have on society. The show he said is about giving a helping hand to everyone who is doing something to inspire others, one way or the other, which also improves his craft as a TV presenter. The vision of Game Changers Lesotho is to empower Basotho youth to succeed, and in this project, Mots’oene is working with Phiri film and productions which has produced shows such as the Lerato series and more. He said he had always known that part of his destiny was television, even though he had no idea then as to what exactly he wanted to do. The whole idea started in 2017 when he was a presenter at one of the local radio stations where he had a segment called ‘Game Changers” whose purpose was similar to that of the TV show. He then made more research in December 2018 as to how he could turn that into reality. Mots’oene, who loves presenting and looking good said he is obsessed with the entertainment industry in Lesotho, so he was persuaded to start this project because he felt he wanted a change in the entertainment industry and wanted to help other young people to realise that it is very possible to achieve this in life, if they set their minds to it. “Young people often complain that the government does not fund them but I wondered: why can I not be the change I want to see in my country through taking a step forward with what I have and the rest will fall into place,” he said. What Mots’oene promised people who will watch ‘Game Changers TV show’ that this was something that they have never experienced before from the Mountain Kingdom. He further stated that people can expect to see a number of young people who are doing amazing things. “I want people after they have watched the show, to go like: ‘Now this is what we have been waiting for” and to impart knowledge and education and have the most influential people on the show such as Princess Senate when we create conversations around teenage pregnancy,” Mots’oene said. Apart from Phiri film and productions, he is working with Mobstar, who is organising the first-ever Lesotho Tertiary Champions Awards which is helping him mostly with graphics. The plan is to shoot at selected guesthouses in the country which he said he believes won’t be a problem and appealed to well-wishers to support him by providing him with space at any guesthouse in the country. Patrick believes there are challenges everywhere and, at the moment, one of the major challenges is space since he wants to shoot at very classy locations like guesthouses and hotels. One other challenge, he said, is finding proper fashion designers to sponsor him as a presenter with outfit for each episode which in turn puts them and their brands in the spotlight. Some of them do not attend to his mail while others are too preoccupied he said but added such challenges won’t stop him. “At the end of the day, the show is going to happen and reach my expectations,” he said. The fact that people on social media have shown much support, by liking, commenting, sharing posts and even re-tweeting in itself has pushed him to work harder to make it a reality and not get disappointed. The targeted broadcaster for the show is the national TV, because it is local and deals with people and topics Basotho can absolutely relate to. Mojabeng Senekal-Ndebele, who is patiently waiting for Game Changers Lesotho TV show on screen, says as an individual she sees Mots’oene making more innovative steps, coming up with innovative ideas as the project itself is innovative, the first of its kind in the country. What she sees happening is a very big idea coming to life and, day by day, it is making very good progress. Her expectations are that a lot of people are going to want to explore it and discover Mots’oene himself; people who are going to make the show successful. According to Mojabeng, the show is going to achieve what it was intended to achieve. After the production, it is then that Mots’oene will approach the channel and see ways in which they can work together on having the show broadcast every week for eight weeks. He is also considering a YouTube channel which will reach a wider audience since young people are regularly on the internet these days. Mots’oene wants to have everything in place by the end of June.