25 Jun 2015

SOS village in Serowe officially opened three refurbished houses at Radihemelo ward and a Debswana house in SOS main village.


The three houses together with Debswana house (in SOS main village at Serokolwane ward) was funded by Debswana company through its cooperate social investment initiative at the tune of P564 000.


Speaking during the official opening of the houses on Tuesday, national director of SOS, Mr Motshwari Kitso said the reason behind having houses at Radihemelo ward away from the main SOS village which in Serokolwane ward was to help with their new programme of integrating children into the society.


Mr Kitso said that the programme of integrating children into the society will help these children to enjoy life similar to that of everyone else.
 He said they have plans to build other houses in different wards so that the vision of integration of children into the society can be achieved.


He said with family strengthening program they have about one thousand five hundred children whom they are currently taking care of.
 He noted that they take care of children while they are in their originally place residence and they do not move them to the SOS villages.


He said children who are mostly taken care of through these programme were those who are living with very old grandparents or parents who are critically ill.
 Mr Kitso said with volunteer foster parents programme the public could adopt children from SOS village and raise them as their own.


He also said the volunteer foster parents will be trained and equipped with skills of raising these children as their own.


The Serowe SOS Village director Ms Reginah Mmisi-Nfila said as SOS village they were grateful to have received such a great gift from Debswana Company.
 Ms Mmisi-Nfila said the new houses will improve the lives of the children because they will have a better place to live. 


The village director expressed her gratitude towards the other donors such as   Lifestyle Architects who contributed eight thousand five hundred pula towards the renovating of another house and also Relax Construction which has adopted a house in the SOS Village and will be responsible for it.


Debswana’s Orapa, Letlhakane and Damtsha mines (OLDM) Senior Support Service Manager Mr Thatayaone Sithole said they were happy to be able to continue helping SOS as they have done in the past.


Mr Sithole said they were able to help SOS through their new initiative called Cooperate Social Investment which is designed to help community projects.
He also said the initiative was designed in order for Debswana mines to help the less privilege in society.
He urged other economic sectors to come forward and help the needy. Ends