05 Jul 2015

The Japanese government has constructed a pre-school at Kgosietsile Primary School in Mababe through its Grant Assistance for Grass-roots Human security Projects (GGP). The over P400 000 project, was handed over on Tuesday, June 30 to the North West authorities by the Japanese ambassador to Botswana, Mr Masahiro Onishi.

Speaking during the handing over, Mr Onishi said the facility was completed last year November and about 40 children from the village have been learning since then. He said the project was constructed after an appeal from the general manager of Mababe Zokotsama Community Trust to the former Japanese ambassador who visited Maun few years ago to build a pre-school in the village.

He said his government has a grant assistance through which they could reach out to the people in remote areas in Botswana and meet their needs. He said children were the future leaders and raising well-rounded children could only be achieved when all involved parties join hands.

He said an educated and informed nation which was targeted in vision 2016 could be achieved from the grass-roots level. Mr Onishi praised the Botswana government for its commitment to the provision of education throughout the country in the past decades. 

He said in the recent years, government also identified what needed to be tackled further to achieve sustainable and inclusive development of the country and early childhood education was indeed the one now seen crucial in this country.

“I personally believe that in remote areas like Mababe, schools mean a lot to children. It is the only place for education, but also a window to see the outside world that is full of discoveries and excitements that motivate them to be ambitious for the future,” he added.

Furthermore, Mr Onishi observed that through the provision of early childhood education, children would surely open their eyes and be suitably prepared for the start of primary school onwards. He urged support from government, Mababe Trust and the entire community in order for maximum benefit to be gained from Japanese assistance.

The trust chairperson, Mr Anorld Ketapilwe thanked the Japanese Embassy for a great job towards Mababe development. He noted that education was one of the fundamental developments in a human being’s life and said the school would promote and enhance education in remote areas from grass roots.

For his part, the Maun East MP, Mr Markus Kosta said Botswana continued to receive donations from other countries because of its adherence to the rule of law and its continued good governance. He appreciated the donation and thanked the Japanese government for its support towards the quality of education in the country. 

The MP also thanked the embassy for showing commitment towards development of Botswana, adding that Japan has assisted in several big projects such as Kazungula Bridge, donation of 30 solar panels to some schools in the Southern region and solar energy plant at Phakalane.

Mr Kosta said for many years, Japan took Botswana as their first priority and assured the ambassador that the facility would be taken care of to ensure it produced impressive results. ENDS