12 Jun 2013

Following BotswanaPost Foundation’s support of Kacgae Primary School in the Ghanzi District last year, the foundation has signed a memorandum of understanding with the education ministry under the Adopt-a-School programme.

Speaking at the signing ceremony on June 10, the foundation’s chairperson, Mr Bernard Letsididi said in an effort to give back to the community, BotswanaPost Foundation took a deliberate decision to adopt Kacgae Primary School in October 2012 during the World Post Day celebrations.

Mr Letsididi said their action was in response to the school’s request for the support geared at addressing the school’s underperformance. He said his orgainasation carried out a thorough assessment of the school’s proposal which included visits to the school to appreciate the extent of the need.

The foundation then delivered a fully functional computer laboratory with solar powered laptops, as well as internet connectivity. The school also got a refurbished library with furniture, books, magazines, a radio and a television set as well as a fully irrigated garden.

The signing of the memorandum, Mr Letsididi said, meant that the academic performance of the school would now be monitored to see the impact of the relationship over a period of three years.

He highlighted that BotswanaPost, as one of the oldest institutions in the country, had been at the heart of communities as a hub of commerce, connecting with people with the rest of the world.

Building on this tradition and proud legacy, Mr Letsididi said the foundation was pleased to provide the much needed assistance to the communities that had supported it over the years. “We are confident that our mutual efforts together with the ministry will impact the lives of students positively as we fulfill our contribution to an informed and educated nation by 2016,” he said.

For his part, Education Hub coordinator, Mr Lucky Moahi said the Adopt-a-School initiative intended to get all to participate in human resource development which started at the school level.

This support, he said, extended to the corporate community and individuals who could put in extra facilities to promote and improve the teaching and learning process in schools. He revealed that to date, the corporate world and individuals had contributed close to P100 million adopting various schools across the country.

Mr Moahi noted that although giving schools material resources was important, what was even more important was the impact of the resources offered. He said through the initiative, resources had been mobilised with noticeable results in most schools that have been adopted.

For her part, head of Kacgae Primary School, Ms Kebalepile said for sometime, the school had been experiencing overwhelming absenteeism and cases of drop outs. She expressed hope that the Adopt-a-School initiative would generate interest among students. Ms Kebalepile said ever since BotswanaPost adopted the school, their results had improved.

“The facilities that we got from the foundation are playing a very significant role in our overall school performance,” she said.  ENDS