01 Mar 2017

Upbringing and protection of a child is not the sole responsibility of the parents but of the general community.

Senior welfare officer I for Kanye Administrative Authority (KAA), Ms Bakang Kooneeng said this during the Village Child Protection Committee training workshop held at Ketlogetswe Memorial Primary School in Kanye recently.

Ms Kooneeng said it had become apparent that in the Kanye locality, three wards including Sebego, Mafikana and Nyorosi East had become problem areas with regard to issues of child protection.

For her part, Stepping Stones International training coordinator, Ms Kereng Keatlaretse said in accordance with the Children’s Act of 2009, every village in Botswana should have a Village Child Protection Committee as a means of advocating for children's rights.

Ms Pearl Tsie, a principal registered nurse at Sebego Clinic said inter-generational relationships for monetary benefits were widespread in Sebego ward, something she said had led to many young girls being impregnated and infected with various Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).

Such development, she said also led to domestic violence, physical abuse of children and rape.

Meanwhile, the  training workshop was premised on the empowerment of child protection stakeholders from Sebego, Mafikana and Nyorosi East wards with the skills needed in the protection of children from various forms of abuse and thus assist in the creation of a safe and secure nation for future generations. ENDS