20 Aug 2018

In an effort to empower vulnerable children, Bana Ba Letsatsi in collaboration with Maun based Career Trajectories Training (CTT), a hospitality training college, has assisted 15 students graduate with certificate in Hospitality Management.

Bana Ba Letsatsi, a non-governmental organisation that runs a centre supporting over 250 vulnerable, at-risk and orphan children in Maun, has a graduate programme tailor made to improve the lives of children who moved on from the centre.

Speaking during the graduation ceremony held in Maun recently, the centre’s coordinator, Ms Taboka Rotsi, said they started the youth graduate programme in 2016, upon realising that after leaving their centre young people find it hard in the outside world mainly because they could not find decent jobs as a result of lack of qualifications.

She said the programme, which started in 2016, was for students who were accommodated by their centre from a tender age and failed to progress to tertiary education.

Further, Ms Rotsi said 65 per cent of children from their centre failed to progress to tertiary and were roaming the street as they could not find jobs hence the introduction of this programme meant to reverse the situation.

Also, she said hospitality management course which students were enlisted in, took six to eight months and is packaged in such a way that graduate could get employment in safaris and lodge in and around Maun.

‘’The courses consist of chefs, waitress, front office and housekeeping programme , which we believe are marketable in Ngamiland and Chobe regions.’’

Meanwhile, Ms Rotsi said the program and training was made possible by the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief funding (PEPFAR) together with CTT.

She explained that PEPFAR assisted the centre with P96 000 worth of grant.

Ms Rotsi said PEPFAR also provided assistance to more than 6.4 million orphans, vulnerable children and their caregivers around the world.

She said however that the P96 000 grant was not enough for the Youth Graduate Programme as the 15 students needed almost P136 000 for tuition and examination fees but CTT gave them ‘a massive’ discount to P96 000.

For his part, CTT College director, Mr Ignatius Magara, said what he did was giving back to the community they operated in and to the country that he called his second home.

Mr Magara, who is from Kenya also said he decided to help because the skills and the knowledge that the graduate had acquired at the college would help them get better jobs, adding that Maun is a tourism destination and hospitality skills were highly needed in the area.

The Kenya business man said he came to Botswana 10 years back and for him to trade in this country was a blessing that would go a long way in his life and his family back in Kenya. He promised to continue giving back to Batswana in any way possible. ENDS