12 Apr 2015

Lack of pre-marital counselling leads to families and marriage disintegration in Botswana.

This was said by the chairperson of the newly found The Family Institute Trust, Mr Tebogo Duna, when briefing the media in Francistown on April 10.

He said given the rising divorce rates, one of the best things they could do to help save marriages was pre-marital counselling. Mr Duna said couples who attended pre-marital counselling had the opportunity to discuss issues that most couples argued about and most of these often led to divorce or separation.

Mr Duna mentioned that the Family Institute Trust was duly registered in 2011, as non-governmental organisation (NGO) with a deliberate mandate of focusing on family and marriage counselling.

He said their vision was to create an acceptance and understanding of co-existence within the society, demonstrating the character of marriage and restore the family fabric. Mr Duna highlighted that the mission statement of the trust was to restore and give meaning to the lives of individuals and help build strong and healthy families.

This, he said, could be achieved through the provision of varied therapy modes to assist the clientele to develop their full potential and equip them with skills to cope with life’s challenges.

In addition, he said the institute was committed to care for and improve the human life and their goal was to establish and maintain surroundings that support productive work, satisfy community needs and value and honour the dignity of each human being. Mr Duna noted that they would be having an inaugural family and marriage summit on May 13-16 at Cresta Marang Hotel.

He added that the summit will focus on how to engage all partners and stakeholders in matters pertaining to family and marriage. Also, he said the summit’s theme, Stronger Families, Stronger Communities, reflects the importance of recognising and acknowledging family values and attributes that gives the nation its character.
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