Chapter 01
CDSJ began at a time when many of us were carrying a deep sense of uncertainty, loss, and responsibility, because when USAID funding was withdrawn, what disappeared was not only financial support, but also the structures, relationships, and everyday interventions that had kept hope alive in many communities. We watched projects close, organisations weaken, and years of hard work suddenly become fragile, and with that came the painful realisation that community gains could disappear quietly if no one stepped forward to hold the line. What made this especially difficult was that the impact was not limited to institutions, since it reached into the very heart of communities where village health workers, paralegals, community volunteers, and other frontline actors had become the real face of support, protection, and continuity. For us, this was never simply a professional shift in the sector, because we knew the people behind the programmes, we knew the communities behind the statistics, and we knew the lives behind the reports. That is why the moment stayed with us so deeply, and why it became impossible for us to treat it as just another change in the funding landscape.
Chapter 02
As we sat with that reality, we came to understand that we could not simply walk away and move on as though nothing had happened, because the need had not disappeared just because funding had. We knew too much, we had seen too much, and we cared too deeply about the work and the people it had reached, and so what brought us together was not only shared professional experience, but also a shared refusal to let that moment become the end of the story. Communities still needed support, systems still needed strengthening, and the work at community, stakeholder, legal, and policy level still mattered, and because of that we began asking ourselves what it would look like to build something of our own, something African, something values-driven, and something capable of carrying forward the spirit and impact of the work we had dedicated our lives to. That question did not come from ambition alone, but from responsibility, conviction, and the simple but powerful belief that when institutions fall away, the answer cannot always be retreat. That was how CDSJ began, not as a distant plan, but as a response born out of care, urgency, and commitment.
Chapter 03
We did not begin with a perfect office, a large donor, or a ready-made institution, and instead we began with what we had, which was our experience, our relationships, our skills, our time, and our personal commitment. In April 2025, CDSJ started informally as a self-funded initiative because we knew that waiting for ideal conditions would mean losing more ground than communities could afford, and so we chose to act with what was already in our hands. We put in our own money, our own professional labour, our own resources, and our own energy so that community interventions could continue and so that a new institutional home could begin to take shape around the kind of work we believed had to survive. So far, we have collectively invested so much in cash, in-kind contributions, professional time, and institutional development, and that investment is not just a number to us because it represents belief, sacrifice, and the depth of our commitment to protecting impact when so much around us was becoming uncertain. In many ways, CDSJ was built first through conviction and contribution, and only later through formal institutional recognition.
Chapter 04
In April 2026, CDSJ was formally registered as a full organisation, although in truth our story had already begun long before registration papers were completed, because it began in the choice to stay committed when it would have been easier to step away. It began in the decision to transform disruption into action, and concern into institution-building, and it grew out of our refusal to accept that communities should carry the burden of donor withdrawal alone while those with the experience and ability to respond remained silent. CDSJ is therefore more than an organisation to us, because it is the result of conviction, courage, and a shared promise that the work of justice, dignity, and inclusive development must continue even when the systems around it are shaken. At its heart, our story is one of love for the work, respect for communities, and belief in what African professionals can build together when they choose not to surrender to a moment of collapse. We created CDSJ because we wanted to hold on to impact, protect what had been built, and create a stronger platform for the future, and because we believed that out of a moment of shutdown, something living, hopeful, and durable could still emerge.
Built from responsibility. Sustained by conviction. Growing as a platform for justice-centred development in Lesotho.