11 Sep 2018

BotswanaPost Foundation chairperson says the organisation has lived up to its motto of giving back to the community since its inception in November 2011.

Speaking at the inaugural BotswanaPost Foundation sponsored walk in Gaborone, Ms Tshisimogo Lekaukau, said they were content that as the social arm of BotswanaPost, they had been able to give back to the people who supported the post even in hard times.

She indicated that this journey had taken them to several places across the country.

“In Kacgae we adopted the primary school for three years, refurbished their library, donated laptops, facilitated internet connectivity and a garden that has since enabled the school to establish its own poultry production,” she said, adding that they also sponsored the school’s annual prize giving ceremony and took the standard seven students on a study boot camp in preparation for their Primary School Leaving Examinations.

Ms Lekaukau said in Serowe, the foundation refurbished a workshop for Motlaagana wa Banana Society for out-of-school youth and it was stocked with sewing machines, fabrics and other related equipment.

“The youth were taken on a certification course to enable them to make specialised outfits like boiler suits for factories and we also donated a car to the society to assist them with deliveries,” she said.

She said in Parakarungu, BotswanaPost Foundation connected water for the elderly and underprivileged citizens.

“In Gaborone, an old kitchen was refurbished and converted into a library at Taung Primary School. We donated books, toys, electronic and educational material to the Ramotswa Centre for Deaf Education and the Gantsi Day Care Centre,” she said, indicating that the foundation also donated 500 makeshift lap desks called Desk buddies to 100 primary schools across the country.

Ms Lekaukau said all these projects were made possible through the generous donations and support they received from corporates and individuals.

She said they were grateful that BotswanaPost supported the foundation.

“Our main fundraiser has been BotswanaPost Chairman’s Golf Day, but  today history is being made as we forge a new path with this inaugural sponsored walk by the foundation, which is the first independent fundraiser that we have undertaken,” she said.

She said the foundation was hopeful that the funds raised through the sponsored walk would enable them to undertake their envisaged project which she would not divulge now for fear of raising false hopes save to say that it is also youth related.

She thanked the BotswanaPost staff for its dedication and commitment in undertaking some projects in their respective centres and urged them to continue with the noble gesture.

For his part, chief walker, Mr Dumilano Lopang, pledged to help the foundation with the sponsored walk going forward.

“One of the values of our nation, is to be a caring and compassionate nation, and it is great to see that some organisations  embody this trait,” he said.

He said a fundraiser like this one, went beyond just raising money for the beneficiary, but those who participated also got to benefit as well.

He said most people lived sedentary lives, with jobs that required a lot of sitting down with hardly any exercising after hours.

“Today, our bodies will get to exercise, rewarding us with longevity and eventual good health,” he said, adding that for a relatively new foundation, the BotswanaPost Foundation had done remarkably well.

He said the onus was upon Batswana to step-in in whichever way they can to assist the foundation in its endeavors.

“It is for us corporates, individuals and government alike, to dig deep and donate to the BotswanaPost Foundation,” he concluded. ENDS