03 Apr 2016

Batswana have been urged to embrace the spirit of volunteerism and make a contribution in their communities.

Speaking during the Botswana Family Welfare Association (BOFWA) meeting with their African counterparts on Friday, BOFWA chairperson, Professor Keitseope Nthomang said all BOFWA members were volunteers and that when others leave the association, they become challenged. He urged Batswana to have a heart of volunteerism.

He said the number of volunteers has declined and that it puts a challenge on their part.

He said although he understands that people need money to address the basics of life, the good thing about volunteering was that one spends valuable time doing something that would benefit society.

Professor Nthomang said in volunteering one could achieve great things such as gaining experience, working with experts in the field, learning valuable skills, building self-esteem and self-confidence, making new friends and important contacts and gaining access to valuable information.

Regarding BOFWA, Prof. Nthomang reiterated its commitment towards promoting sexual and reproductive health rights (SRH&R).  

The association, he said, started in 1988 to provide quality services ranging from information dissemination, education, counselling, life skills development and training and advocacy.

He pointed out that their approach specifically targets young people who were vulnerable to HIV and marginalised people such as sex workers, orphans and people with hearing and speech impairment.

He said they believe that knowledge on sexual and reproductive health and access to services was fundamental.

Prof. Nthomang also said they collect and disseminate information on sexual and reproductive health issues and responsible parenthood in the interest of family and community welfare as well as providing family planning, infertility management, maternity services, voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), ante-natal care and the diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV and AIDS.

He pointed out that BOFWA uses a variety of methods to reach to the poor and marginalised groups and communities, saying they work hard to develop acceptance of, and support for sexual and reproductive health services and programmes.

He said BOFWA was proud of its achievements despite challenges they faced such as lack of volunteerism and lack of documentation for research.

“Research and documentation are donors’ requirements to provide assistance,” he added.

Prof. Nthomang also extended gratitude to the Ministry of Health (MoH) for their support.

For her part, the MoH’s permanent secretary, Ms Shenaaz El-Halabi stressed the need for people to volunteer, adding that there was need to re-energise volunteerism. She emphasised the need for BOFWA to partner with other non-governmental organisations on “these real issues affecting every household.”

Ms El-Halabi said there was a lot of work to be done, and commended BOFWA for the good work it does. Ends