01 May 2014

 

Sefalana Cash and Carry and its groups stores has recently donated a total of P76 000 to Serowe SOS village.

Sefalana Cash and Carry contributed half of the total amount and its banner group members: Supa Seven, Supa Deal and City Savers contributed the other portion.

Speaking during the handing over of the donation, CEDA regional manager, Mr James Moribame, said with limited funding as a result of economic down-turn, many non-governmental organization were struggling to meet their funding requirements.

Mr Moribame said despite this, Sefalana Cash and Carry and its group defied the odds to support SOS Children’s Village. He said the gesture was in line with the Vision 2016 pillar of a compassionate just and caring nation. He underscored the fact that SOS Children’s Village needed support from the corporate world.

He stressed that investing in the lives of children was a remarkable and welcome initiative that needed to be applauded. He asked other companies to emulate the Sefalana Cash and Carry group.

He expressed gratitude that from time to time, the SOS Children’s Village partnered with the Local Enterprise Authority to conduct training on entrepreneurship. Since its inception in 1987, the SOS Children’s Village has produced 10 graduates who are running successful businesses in upholstery, sewing, livestock and hairdressing and others. During training, the students underwent industry attachment for exposure to the world of work.

Mr Motshwari Kitso, the national managing director of SOS Children’s Village said financial constraints were forcing SOS to abandon some of its services such as clinics and pre-schools with effect from June this year.

Mr Kitso said the financial difficulties worsened during the world economic recession when companies could not afford to donate. Worse still, international donors pulled out of Botswana once they considered it a middle-income economy. 

Before the pull-out, 70 per cent of the SOS budget came from European donors; at present, only 40 per cent come from such donors. As a result, SOS had to raise 60 per cent of its P18 million annual budget from local sources – a nearly insurmountable task.

Sefalana Cash and Carry donated P38 000 while members of its group donated another P38 000.

Mr Kitso told BOPA that part of the difficulty was that the many non-governmental organisations in Botswana competed for the limited donor funding. Furthermore, he added, the government was also competing for donor funding for some of its latest initiatives. Ends