14 May 2017

The Jesus Christ Latter Day-Saints (SDL) has donated 170 wheelchairs to the Ministry of Health and Wellness at Scottish Livingstone Hospital in Molepolole on May 12.  
Receiving the donation on behalf of the ministry, Assistant Minister of Health and Weness, Mr Dikgang Makgalemele expressed gratitude over SDL's support of people living with disability which he said  was proven by the signing of a five year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the government, through the Ministry of Health and Wellness to support the country's health system.
The church had in 2014 donated 350 wheelchairs as part of a five year P6 million project in support of people living with disabilities, especially on areas of wheelchair needs.
The assistant minister expressed happiness over the gesture, saying it would address the training of physiotherapists to enhance client assessment in courses aligned to WHO training guidelines as well as donations of wheelchairs.
The ministry, he said, had embarked on a national exercise to make assessments that would help determine the national wheelchair needs.
Mr Makgalemele said the assessment revealed needs for 777 clients, but that the ministry has secured 321 while the remaining 456 would be considered under the current financial year.

 “It is fulfilling that 25 clients in Kweneng East DHMT are already benefiting from this gesture while the remaining 145 wheelchairs were to benefit other parts of the country," Mr Makgalemele said.
 Mr Makgalemele said the SLD project has already benefited 21 therapists and seven nurses through imparting skills to improve the lives of the disabled through similar gestures.
 “Botswana is not an exception as we are also experiencing a challenge of inadequate access to wheelchairs due to challenges of inadequate skilled personnel and financial limitations," he said.  

 Mr John Selk, SDL representative in Botswana, expressed gratitude over the fact that the church was committed towards developing the lives of people living with disabilities as evidenced by the five year project exceeding P5 million
The church had been conducting a week long course for therapists and nurses from different health facilities nationwide at Scottish Livingstone to impart skills on appropriate wheelchairs suitable for specific disabled persons.
Meanwhile, Molepolole/South Member of Parliament, Dr Tlamelo Mmatli said he was overwhelmed by the gesture because it would not only address individual needs in Molepolole, but a good number of individuals across the country.

The Molepolole South MP further commended the health ministry for continuing to support the needs of the disabled, adding that despite inadequate resources the ministry was paying attention to address the plight of the disabled.
Dr Mmatli further stated that he was happy that the roles of churches were evident in the lives of communities by answering calls and taking part in identifying their needs and addressing them.    
Dr Mmatli applauded the donor and said he hoped it would help improve morbidity among individual beneficiaries, but expressed disappointment over the status of roads, saying they were not user friendly as they do not have provision for people with disabilities.ENDS