27 Apr 2016

The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture (MYSC), through the Youth Development Fund (YDF) initiative, has funded Overcomers Organisation.

The trio; Kealeboga Thobolo (27), Sipho Gwabeni (37) and Believe Chakalisa (28) were the master minds behind the organisation.

According to Mr Thobolo, the organisation’s programmes manager, they took it upon themselves to help in building a better Botswana for 2016 and beyond.

“We believe that the greatest impact you can make is putting a smile on a person’s face, that is what we intend to do with Boteti youth,” he pointed out. 

To meet their target audience, Mr Thobolo said they established a solid relationship with the Ministry of Youth,Sports and Culture in Boteti.

They address the youth during activities organised by the ministry as well as working with the district AIDS committee in the area.

 The overcomers stated that they had decided to educate the youth on right morals and spiritual values.

They empowered the youth to become productive and disciplined by engaging them in early childhood sports development in schools because they believed that sport had the ability to curb unwanted behavior in the society. 

Working with seven volunteers, the organisation placed a coach in each primary school in Letlhakane to help nurture the sporting talents of the students.

Mr Thobolo stated that due to financial constraints, the sports coaching programme was only available in Letlhakane but hoped to reach out to other primary schools in the future.

Overcomers visited different schools and hold workshops to empower the youth through knowledge sharing and teachings to develop life skills and promoting healthy lifestyle thus reducing the incidence of teenage pregnancies, abortion, premarital sex and health related problems such as sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV/AIDS within the community.

Mr Thobolo points out that they aim at reducing alcohol and substance abuse in the community by supporting and encouraging addicts to break the cycle of alcohol and substance abuse in their lives.

They reach out to the less privileged in the society such as the poor, people living with disabilities and orphans by sharing resources, information and life skills to better their lives.

To empower the youth, overcomers hold business seminars annually where local business people and aspiring business people meet to share ideas.

Overcomers add that they were part of Letlhakane Senior School Boot Camp where they offered 24/7 counseling sessions addressing issues such as dating, career guidance and study skills.

They have held health campaigns in partnership with the Department of Health and brought health services such as HIV, diabetic and blood pressure testing closer to the people.

Overcomers are a non-profit making organisation; they are financially assisted by the ministry of youth and donations from the community.

In the future, they hope to have counseling centres country wide and a fully equipped rehabilitation centre in Botswana. ENDS