The organization was founded by a well-known teacher from the area, Mr Lillo Shale. Shale, who hails from Lesotho himself, is the curriculum manager at Letsatsing Combined School and has won several awards for being one of the best Mathematics teachers in the province. “Many South Africans forget that the history of our two countries are intertwined and that many South Africa leaders, such as Dr. Pali Lehohla, the former Statistician General of South Africa are, in fact, from Lesotho. Because Lesotho is landlocked by South Africa, it will always need South Africa for economic survival. Shale started the organization, called People’s Forum, in September 2019 after a circular was sent out by the Department of Education that in future, children from Lesotho might not be allowed in South African schools if they do not have study permits. One of the prerequisites for a study permit is that the parents of the child must belong to a medical fund. As many parents of such children work as domestic workers or gardeners or in other low-paying jobs, this will make it impossible for their children to go to school. Children from Lesotho have often been the top academic achievers in matric in our area during the past few years. 
The membership of People’s Forum has grown dramatically since it was started and it now has more than 200 000 members in South Africa, many of whom also stay around Merafong City. The organization is constantly in talks with the South African Government and the Lesotho Government and has also lodged a complaint with the Public Protector over the way in which many Basothos are being treated in South Africa. It was also part of negotiations at the Lesotho South Africa Joint Bilateral Commission of Cooperation which drew up a draft action plan in November 2020. The organization plans to eventually seek recourse at the United Nations. According to the organisation Lesotho nationals face constant victimisation and harassment in South Africa. Mineworkers from Lesotho who went to their home country when Covid-19 started last year were, for instance, locked out of South Africa by the border controls put in place as part of the Covid-19 lockdown’s indefinite extensions. This placed their employment at major risk as their employers threatened to dismiss them if they do not return for work. Basotho employees are also often expelled or dismissed by their employers in ways not permitted by law. As they are not from the country, they however have no recourse. “Due to the boundaries and history of our countries, which was largely influenced by Great Britain, many Basotho are forced to work in South Africa to survive. “We want South Africans to treat us as humans,” says Shale. Anyone who want to find out more about the People’s Forum, can contact him at 073 323 5795. 
