06 Dec 2016

The Gujarati community has been hailed for embracing the Presidential Housing Appeal.

“The Presidential Housing Appeal was started in 2010 with the aim to provide accommodation for the needy,” said the Vice President, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi, during a house handover at Malotwane in Kgatleng District on Saturday (December 3).

The housing appeal and Gujarati Samaj donated a two bedroomed house to Ms Karabo Raleteba and her four children.

The Vice President commended the Gujarati community for its heartfelt contribution to community development, adding that they had assisted a needy family, which was struggling to make ends meet.

He said it had not been easy for Ms Raleteba since she had to fend for herself in a small shelter made of plastic and recycled material.

Mr Masisi said to date, the housing appeal had handed over 677 houses to beneficiaries and 38 were still under construction.

The Vice President said 25 houses were ready to be handed to beneficiaries.

“Moreover, the project aims to promote one of the country’s Vision 2016 aspirations of being a compassionate, just and caring nation and the initiative has received donations from individuals, various organisations, churches and other well-wishers,”he said.

He applauded all who played a role in mobilising resources for the house hand over and also commended the building contractor for giving back to society.

“This deliberate move supports government’s Economic Stimulus Programme that sought to stimulate economic diversification and growth, generate sustainable accelerated employment opportunities (especially among the youth) and grow the economy and contribute significantly to eradicating abject poverty”.

When giving an overview of the project, chairperson of the Gujarati Samaj community, Ms Lina Desai, said though their society was focused on promoting cultural togetherness, this year they decided to embark on a housing project.

Ms Desai said about a year ago their vice chairperson Mr Gaurang Dalia was approached by Ms Grace Peterson to help provide shelter for Ms Raleteba and her children.

“We then approached the community for contributions and capped the maximum donation per family at P10 000 and were overwhelmed by the generosity of the community as they continued to give donations ranging from P200 to P10 000,” she said. The Indian High Commissioner, Dr Ketan Shukla  said in recent years the provision of public housing had been outpaced by demand.

“As part of ESP, the government of Botswana has decided to accelerate the construction of 4 481 residences. It is pleasing to note that government’s efforts to provide shelter for low income and destitute people are being augmented by non-governmental institutions and individuals”, said Dr Shukla.

He commended government for caring about the less privileged adding that he has seen in his career very few people who have taken the causes of the poor and downtrodden people to heart, doing such a hard work to put a smile on their face.

Ms Raleteba ran short of words to express her joy and happiness when being handed keys to her newly built house. She thanked God for the blessings, which uplifted her dignity. ENDS