12 Nov 2015

The Boteti Sub-district Council's Orphans and Vulnerable Children's Programme (OVC) plays a crucial role in enhancing the social fabric, improving and positively changing multitudes of lives in the district. 

As of October 31 2015, Boteti Sub-district Council had a total of 1249 orphans under the care of social welfare and community development department.

The programme, funded by the government of Botswana through the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development provides monthly food and nutritional support, private individual clothing to each person enrolled in the programme and ensures that orphaned children have access to birth certificates, provision of necessary legal aid, including protection from property grabbing and all forms of abuse.

There are also currently 2 145 vulnerable children in the sub-district, included in that number are 176 vulnerable children enrolled in various government vocational schools and assisted with P1 100 monthly allowance for food and rent, 80 students have applied for tertiary schools through a special dispensation in the programme and are being assisted while some have already enrolled in various institutions of learning.

According to Mr Victor Thake who heads a team of social workers as well as orphan care coordinators in the district, vulnerable children are those below the age of 18 who live in an abusive environment or in a poor family and cannot access basic services, as well as children who head households, live with a sick parent or guardian, are HIV positive, live with a disability or due to various factors lives outside family care.

Speaking in an interview with this publication, Mr Thake who is the principal social welfare officer at the Boteti Sub district Council said there has been an alarming increase of vulnerable children in the sub-district.

He said to successfully address this challenge, the department is currently strengthening and reviving Village Child Protection Committees (VCPC), these committees are responsible for monitoring the welfare of children, he said the impressiveness of these committees is that they allow for active participation of children in matters related to them. 

He said, the district child protection committee which comprises of the deputy district commissioner and all heads of department that deal directly with matters affecting children is collaborating with other stakeholders to address issues of school drop outs and general welfare of vulnerable children in the district. 

He said a stakeholder meeting with guidance teachers in the region is scheduled to be held this month. Ends