05 Feb 2019

The Francistown Centre for the Deaf has been adopted by White Tiger Kung Fu.

In an interview, the martial arts master and founder, Mclean Gaethuse said they had adopted 70 deaf children at the school and would be teaching them Kung Fu for free and engaging them in their disciplinary programmes starting this month.

Master Gaethuse said he has picked four pupils with serious needs and would look after them from his own money.

He said the four pupils were identified by the school, as they did not even have one parent or family member coming to check them.

Caroline Gobotswang, a pre-school teacher at the centre and leader of the school’s adoption programme, highlighted that although it had long been there, there was not much done to sensitise the public about the programme until she joined the school last year.

She said since she started selling the programme widely, Batswana started showing a lot of interest in adopting the children.

“You have to be capable of taking care of a child when you come here to adopt one.

The  children stay in the school and as an adoptive parent you start assuming the role of a parent to them like buying them things as and when you can. Sometimes just coming to the school to play with your adopted child or even taking her/him on outings with permission from the school management,” Gobotswang said.

She commended White Tigers for heeding their call to adopt the school, calling on more institutions and individuals to do likewise.

Master Gaethuse, who has been practicing Kung Fu for the past 34 years since doing Standard 1 at Shakawe, stated that the martial arts school had also adopted four orphaned children at Senete whom they look after and also adopted a day care centre in Gumare.

He said they had previously also adopted the SOS children’s village for a two-year period which ended last year.

The school boasts of an enrolment of 1 333 children learning Kung Fu from three bases of Francistown, Serowe and Palapye, he said.

Apart from teaching the children who range from three years upwards Kung Fu, Master Gaethuse stated that their children were engaged on disciplinary programmes and extra academic activities.

Such activities include teaching them how to study and to read, setting mini tests for them and teaching them how to carry-out domestic chores.

“We also take them for fun trips to teach them about their beautiful country.

We have four mini-buses which carry them to all these places. We have been on tour to Victoria Falls on the Zambian side, Tsodilo Hills, Tachila Game Reserve, Tantabane Game Range and the crocodile farm in Francistown.

This year we are doing Khama Rhino Sanctuary,” he said. ENDS