07 Jul 2019

Different people engage in volunteerism for a variety of reasons such as helping to eliminate poverty, to improve basic health and education or to tackle environmental issues amongst others. 

For Maun youth, Oaitse Khango, volunteerism can contribute to the well-being of volunteers and their communities.

He said he strongly believed that the time has come for a generation of young people who care about where they live and are willing to make a commitment to improve the livelihoods to rise.

He said he was committed to community service because he believes that there are people who have more difficult lives than others. 

The 29-year-old said when he completed his tertiary studies in 2014, he worked temporarily in one organisation, just to gain confidence and learn new skills but his passion was to serve the community through voluntary work.

He revealed in an interview that voluntary work was his calling. He said volunteerism was all about people’s need to participate in their communities and to feel that they matter to others.

While his peers were struggling to secure office jobs, Mr Khango left his temporary job to drive his passion of serving the community. 

“I enjoy working with the community because I believe that they need to be empowered so that they could improve their livelihoods,” he added.

Mr Khango works as a volunteer with different government departments and non-governmental organisations, who undertake community projects. One of the organisations he worked with is the District Health Management Team (DHMT) in Maun where he sensitised the public about health related issues.

He also took part in malaria surveillance campaigns, where he mobilised and sensitised the communities on issues of malaria as Ngamiland is prone to malaria.  

Mr Khango said he conducted house to house visits encouraging residents to cooperate with health teams during the indoor residual spraying exercise.

The Maun lad also worked with Queen Esther, a non-governmental organisation that empowers the girl child and youth by training them on life and leadership skills through school outreach, peer to peer, counselling and mentorship.

The organisation also uses school outreach to carry out gender education and HIV/AIDS prevention interventions among young people. 

He said during his service at Queen Esther, he acquired skills in conflict management.

After working with Queen Esther, he said he embarked on school visits to share what he learnt, starting at Sedie Junior Secondary School.

Mr Khango said he also extended a helping hand by donating sanitary towels and uniforms to needy students. Taking part in community service, he said makes one to have a sense of ownership in development efforts.

He said he had initiated some projects such as donation of sanitary towels to schools on annual basis, adding that this year, he intended to donate to Moeti Junior Secondary School.

He said he joined the campaign of donating sanitary towels after the realisation that many girl-children often missed classes because their parents could not afford sanitary pads, while others resorted to using alternatives such as toilet paper. 

To support and ensure sustainability of his projects, he ventured into a laundry business, which he said was thriving as he had made a mark through his voluntary work.

He said he plans to apply for Youth Development Fund to expand his business and create employment for other youths. 

Mr Khango urged his peers and youth in general to seek out opportunities to improve the community by volunteering their service to projects they deem important.

“Let us explore our talents and apply what we have acquired at school to make a difference in our communities. Let us be innovative, empower our communities to reduce dependency syndrome and by venturing into community projects aimed to fight unemployment amongst graduates,” he added.

Mr Khango said young people volunteering for their communities was a win-win situation for them and the communities they served as the benefits were reaped now, and in the future.

He further appealed to the business community and individuals to join hands with the government to assist the needy and implement development projects, noting that the government alone could not win. Ends