22 Jul 2015

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Slumber Tsogwane says the government is working with its partners to protect vulnerable children against the risk of resorting to the streets to support themselves as well as reducing child vulnerability to sexual exploitation and other forms of abuse.

Speaking at the SOS Botswana Mother Ring award ceremony in Tlokweng on Saturday July 18, Mr Tsogwane said the SOS Children’s Village has been an invaluable partner in the promotion of child welfare.

“This relationship has culminated in a Memorandum of Understanding through which we have defined our areas of partnership and further set the tone for finding complementary strategies of raising funds to keep the village running,” he said.

He said the government remained committed to ensuring that the relationship with SOS Children’s Village continued to grow from strength to strength because the organisation was a strategic partner whose goals were clearly aligned with Vision 2016.

The minister noted that the Children’s Act of 2009 aimed to fill some of the child protection gaps. “One such protection under this law is the establishment of child welfare institutions for the protection and care of the most vulnerable children,” he said.

Attending the ceremony on his first visit to Botswana, the president of SOS Children’s Village International, Mr Siddhartha Kaul said it was important for children to have good families they could be proud of in order for them to have a bright future.

Mr Kaul noted that SOS had been partnering with the government since 1987. SOS Children’s Village Botswana board chairperson, Major General Bakwena Oitsile said since the establishment of SOS 65 years ago by Mr Hermann Gmeiner of Austria, the programmes have grown to include those in 134 other countries in five continents.

Maj. Gen. Oitsile said the organisation had proven a model of success that provided children with a loving, long standing relationship with an SOS mother, the chance to grow up in a home with siblings who loved them and a community where their potential was nurtured.

“Because it truly takes a village to raise a child, we brought together families, governments and private donors to build a robust and sustainable system of care for the world’s most vulnerable children,” he said.

Maj. Gen. Oitsile stressed that through the initiative, Mr Gmeiner hoped children could be given the chance to grow up in families with the love and support they needed to thrive.

He said they would continue to provide family based care in all the SOS Children’s Villages in Botswana. He added that they would also strengthen families of origin so that children could stay with their parents and advance temporary alternative care solutions to the relationship.

Honouring SOS caregivers and mothers, the organisation’s national child/youth council president, Mr Emmanuel Molefi said being provided with a mother, home, care and love was an extraordinary gesture central to SOS Children’s Villages.

Mr Molefi said mothers and aunties were commendable for the day to day support and care. “We learn societal norms and good morals from our mothers,” he said.

He highlighted some impacts that mothers created, saying as a result of their time, commitment and emotions, they gave children a future through their support and advise.

He further stressed that mothers provided children with education. “Education is a tool that once acquired cannot be taken away,” he said.

The golden Mother Ring Award was awarded to 10 deserving foster mothers who had worked tirelessly for SOS Children’s Village for 15 years and above as a token of gratitude and appreciation towards their contribution towards child development.

Those who had worked for SOS Children’s Villages for five years and above were also recognised as they were awarded certificates of appreciation for their services. ENDS