13 Dec 2017

Orange Botswana has donated 18 computers to the Francistown SOS Children’s Village.

Speaking at the handing over of the computers on December 11, Orange Botswana director of customer experience, Ms Kelebogile Mfolwe said the computers were part of the Orange Foundation’s educational digital equipment aimed at advancing the teaching and learning system.

She said the project was the second phase as the first was when the foundation donated 18 computers, installed Internet and refurbished the Tlokweng SOS Children’s Village.

Ms Mfolwe said the third phase would be to digitalise the Serowe SOS Children’s Village, adding that the Francistown and Serowe digitalisation was done at the tune of P390 000.

She explained that the initiative was geared towards contributing to social development through education and skills development.

Ms Mfolwe said it was Orange Foundation’s hope that digital education would enhance and improve the learning environment for pupils and reduce teachers’ work load.

“We hope that this donation will go a long way in enhancing the grassroots development of all the children who are housed in the SOS Villages, and will ensure continuity right up until the children are old enough to fend for themselves in the outside world,” she said.

A representative of BOFINET, Mr Thatayaone Mogorosi said they partnered with Orange Botswana to provide Internet connectivity through Wi-Fi and encouraged organisations that could provide equipment to partner with his organisation in order to help the disadvantaged such as SOS children.

He said if used positively, the Internet could provide counselling material to children at the village. Mr Mogorosi said children and staff at SOS would be able to benchmark from anywhere in the world.

He added that BOFINET remained available for partnerships such as theirs with Orange. SOS Children’s Village national director, Mr Motshwari Kitso thanked the donors for the gesture, adding that SOS’s relationship with Orange Botswana dated back to 2015.

He said the donation was in line with their strategy 2030 that tries to simplify processes and systems through digitalisation. He assured donors of the maximum utilisation of the equipment.

Mr Kitso said “around Africa SOS is pushing towards digitalisation and the project came at the right time.”

He appealed to potential donors to consider SOS, adding that they needed P25 million annually to sustain the children, and that they get 70 per cent of the money from international donors.

He said the support would stop by 2020, as “Botswana is considered to be doing well economically.”

Francistown City mayor, Ms Sylvia Muzila said the donation would make children at SOS to be like any other child who had computers at their homes.

She appealed to house mothers to ensure that the Internet was used for acceptable activities.

One of the house mothers, Ms Tshepiso Malanga appreciated the donation saying the children would be able to communicate with their friends and sponsors as some had sponsors from around the world. ENDS