Khotso completed his social work degree at the University of Lesotho before joining the charity Sentebale. This was founded by Prince Seeiso and Prince Harry to help young people access education, healthcare and employment.
He was shocked by the number of children living with untreated hearing loss. He wrote a report which inspired the organisation to seek help from the Starkey Hearing Foundation. As a result, the foundation were able to fit over 1,500 people with hearing aids in just three days. While that was a great achievement, Khotso says “to me that was just the beginning of my journey with people with hearing loss.”
In 2016, he was one of the first people to train as a hearing instrument specialist through the Starkey Hearing Foundation. The foundation could see his drive to help people and chose him to train healthcare workers across Africa. Khotso says, “we have people in Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Ethiopia and a lot of other countries who are on the ground providing aftercare services. Most of those people were trained by me.”
Khotso set up his own private hearing loss practice in Lesotho in 2021. Starting a business during a pandemic was challenging, but he persevered. He even established his own foundation in 2023. The Kutlong Hearing Foundation helps vulnerable children with hearing loss.
Khotso’s ambitions have gone beyond simply fitting hearing aids. He has affected change on a policy level, as his campaigning resulted in Lesotho recognising sign language as an official language in 2025. He says this is his “biggest accomplishment.”
"One of the reasons I’m here doing International Social Work and Community Development is to influence policy."
— Khotso Kebise, International Social Work and Community Development MA student
Khotso dreams of leading further social change and believes education is key to this. “One of the reasons I’m here doing International Social Work and Community Development is to influence policy. I have seen that it’s possible and I want to ensure that we have the implementation of policies.”
In particular, he is keen to learn about using research to inspire change. He says, “I’m going to go back home to carry out research and use it to actually talk to the gatekeepers and say ‘hey this is what is happening in our country’. Using the research to motivate change is very important to me.” He believes our research project modules will help him achieve this.
Khotso is also a recipient of the Chevening Scholarship. This is an international scholarship backed by the UK Government, aimed at developing global leaders. “It’s a very strong and powerful community. I can always call someone and ask for advice. It’s like they put different tools there and you choose which one to use. I really am grateful for that opportunity.”
On the importance of men in caring roles, Khotso says, “where I come from, most of the community and political leaders are men.” That means they are in the position to make social change. He says, “I believe that the world would become a better place if men go out there with a mandate of care. That will cut down on so many social problems.”
Looking to the future, Khotso hopes to continue to inspire progressive change in Lesotho. While others have encouraged him to leave the country to pursue financial opportunities, Khotso says “I’m looking for development opportunities for Lesotho. And for me, that’s much better than becoming a millionaire.”
On a personal level, he hopes to inspire others to lead change within their community. “I hope that one day someone will say ‘I want to do what this guy is doing, I want to do something good for my community.’”
