08 Sep 2015

Garden of Hope, an initiative by the Botsogo Association for the Disabled in Letlhakeng, is appealing for assistance to keep their project afloat. The association, which started nine years ago and registered officially as a society in 2010, started a vegetable garden after realising that the only way the socio-economic conditions of people living with disabilities would improve, would be for them to come together and come up with a business.

Speaking in an interview recently, the secretary of the society, Ms Mpho Keaboletswe said since they were the ones living with disabilities they were better placed to know which initiatives could work for them. “When we decided to go into business we chose horticulture because it is a less labour intensive venture than other forms of agro-businesses,” said Ms Keaboletswe, adding that they have various disabilities which stopped them from venturing into more labour intensive businesses.

Ms Keaboletswe said after their decision to venture into horticulture, they approached the Village Development Committee (VDC) as they had a garden which was not in use. “They were very helpful because they offered us the garden for free, and we have been using it without incurring any rental expenses. We plant a variety of vegetables including spinach, rape, carrots and tomatoes because they demand minimal physical labour,” she said.

Ms Keaboletswe said the association got a major boost in 2013 when the American Embassy donated P75 000 to enable them to buy shadow nets to protect their produce from harsh weather conditions. She said the donation was a turnaround as it enabled them to buy more seeds resulting in more produce.

“We sell our produce as an association and use the profit to keep the association running as well as help some members in times of need,” she said. With regard to membership of the association, Ms Keaboletswe said although most of their members were people living with disabilities, the association welcomes any member of society, well-wishers and those who were sympathetic to their cause.

She said they have more than 100 members. However, she decried the low turnout of male members. Ms Keaboletswe, however,  said  their business has been on a downward spiral since last year.

“It is extremely painful to see something you have worked so hard for fading away, a project which offered so much hope during its initial years battling to sustain itself. This garden has become more than just a garden to us, but our home, a place where we are at peace. This is because we spend so much time here that we have become a family unit and it would be unbearable for us if it shuts down,” she said.

Ms Keaboletswe said pests have attacked their vegetables, and that they have approached the Department of Crops to assist them with little success as the office has no sprays. “When the business started to grow after the American Embassy donation in 2013, we also started incurring costs such as water bills which skyrocketed to a point where the Water Utilities Corporation disconnected the water supply and  crippling our operations. Luckily for us, through the intervention of the deputy district commissioner’s office, the water was reconnected,” she said.

Ms Keaboletswe said despite all the challenges, the society would soldier on and plead with members of the community to offer a helping hand.  “We are open to any kind of assistance, be it business management coaching or donations of any kind. We cannot go it alone, we need help from our people, no matter how little, it could take us a long way,” she said. Ms Keaboletswe said they would never give up the fight to empower people living with disabilities in their village. ENDS