07 Sep 2015

As part of their corporate social responsibility, Khoemacau Mine held a wellness day which brought together mine employees and the community to partake in different sport codes and test for various diseases.

The event also brought together various health professionals to address the community on the importance of living a healthy lifestyle, and to encourage them to test and know their status.  

In an interview, Dr Max Nhlatho of Doctors in Health Centre in Maun, said it was important for one to know their health status.

He advised all to take advantage of the wellness day to test for diseases such as high blood pressure, cancer as well as HIV/AIDS. He said health was a holistic package which needs to be balanced with psychological, social, physical, biological and wellbeing aspects of a person.

Dr Nhlatho added that health was a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing of a person, noting that physical and psychological aspects such as problems at home, a troubled mind due to financial problems, parents abusing alcohol and stress could  affect one’s performance at work or school.

He also encouraged residents to lead a healthy lifestyle by eating a balanced diet, drinkingenough water, exercising regularly and seeking help from professionals. He advised residents to avoid fatty foods. 

For his part, Khoemacau Mine environment and community relations superintendent, Mr Hebert Kebafetotse said the objective of the day was to promote a healthy lifestyle amongst employees and the communities. 

He said for  better health, people needed to take into consideration health risks such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and cancer.

He said Somelo, where the event was held, was the nearest village to the mine hence they wanted to share with the community they operate within. 

“We want communities to enjoy the benefits of the mine particularly in health and wellness issues. In case we find that some people need urgent attention during testing, we would refer them to the right facility for help,” he added.

Mr Kebafetotse also noted that the event brought employees closer to the community. He added that the community would appreciate their challenges and see how best they could address those challenges.

He noted that some of the challenges within the community were unemployment and poverty, adding that a recent survey conducted by the mine showed that some families had one meal every two days. 

He added that most of the families depended on milk and wild fruits while alternating meals as a way of survival.

Another challenge, he said, was lack of access to water and the high volumes of traditional brews in most homes. Mr Kebafetotse said the survey showed that a lot of parents abused alcohol and that their children start drinking at an early age. 

He said it had been revealed that parents were not playing their role towards their children’s education, and that the primary school was experiencing high drop outs due to teenage pregnancy while others abscond for no reason.

The mine recently connected a borehole that supplies the community with water. They also donated P5 000 towards the school prize giving ceremony and another P5 000 towards independence celebrations. In addition, about 50 locals have been engaged as casual labourers in various tasks at the mine since January up to date. 

“We want to contribute meaningfully to the community and make a difference in their lives,” he added. Ends