03 Jul 2018

Residents of Tonota have been implored to be welcoming and compassionate to the SOS families that will be placed in Tonota.

The SOS national director Mr Motshwari Kitso said during the SOS day celebrations in Tonota on Friday that plans to move the homes from the three SOS villages in Francistown, Serowe and Tlokweng and into various communities were underway.

He explained that the decision was taken after realising that the best place for a child to grow was their natural home and community.

“When children are placed under the care of the SOS village, they lose culture and norms from their respective societies.

It is important that SOS children do not differ from any ordinary child,” he said.

He, therefore, urged communities to accept and love the children indicating that children adapt well to communities much better than adults.

“The SOS village in Francistown initially housed 16 homes. Two homes have since been moved to Chadibe on the outskirts of Francistown.

We have 14 more homes to penetrate into the communities and we are hopeful that some will come to Tonota,” he added

For his part, Tonota West Councillor Mr Lampy Ngake informed stakeholders that the decision to move homes from the village was influenced by the decreasing funding for SOS Botswana as the country was now considered a middle-upper-class country which was now able to sustain itself.

Mr Ngake also noted that community involvement and support for charity organisations were crucial adding that the business community needs to take part by giving back to their communities.

He further observed that there were no corporate social responsibility laws in Botswana that forced businesses operating locally to give to the less fortunate.  He, however, urged the business community to give back to communities despite that fact.

Giving a testimony on how the SOS village had supported him,  Morekolodi Mokhwela stated that SOS villages saved a lot of souls in Botswana adding that many children taken in by SOS would otherwise be lost.

“Our parents at the SOS village give us a special kind of care. SOS deserves to be celebrated,” he added.

Mokhwela emphasised that the community should be more involved and put in extra effort to help the SOS villages adding that even visits to the children on weekends to interact with them played a big part in their lives.ENDS