23 Sep 2019

Lehutshelo Junior Secondary School official Ms Barwadi Modiakgotla lauded Desert Expedition Kgalagadi for being among the many that have responded to the government’s call for organisations to assist the needy.

Ms Modiakgotla said this receiving toiletries worth P9 000 from former Kgalagadi District employees society dubbed Desert Expedition Kgalagadi at Hukuntsi over the weekend. 

The donation included sanitary pads, toothpaste and brushes, shoe polishes and shoe brushes as well as bathing soap bars. 

She said the donation would go a long way in helping some of their pupils whose parents stayed in settlements and most often could not avail necessary toiletries to them on time due to lack of finances.

Ms Modiakgotla also urged them to continue with their benevolent spirit so as to extend it to other areas to give them dignified lives as well. 

She encouraged the pupils to work hard in their academics to show that they appreciate the donations.

When giving their objectives, the group’s secretary, Ms Neo Mothobi said as former Kgalagadi public employees, they set up a campaign called Desert Expedition Kgalagadi with the intention of bringing together Kgalagadi District officers to strengthen networking and participation in community development matters.

She said they intended to further offer support to the less privileged especially women, girls and boys.

Ms Mothobi also mentioned that the group was not yet registered with Registrar of Societies, but would soon be.

She said they started last years by donating sanitary pads and other toiletries to Tsabongpupils,  especially the Standard Sevens, Form threes and Form Fives to ensure that there was nothing that distracted them during their examinations. 

For her part, the group’s event manager, Ms Maureen Tshebo said the donations would be of great benefit to the girl child as she said some miss out school lessons during their menstruation days. 

She said that they donated 348 sanitary pad packets, 144 toothpaste tubes, 169 toothbrushes, 80 anti perspirants, 48 shoe polishes, 72 bathing soap bars and 48 shoe brushes.

The donations, she said, would encouraged the girls to embrace their womanhood and take proper care of themselves during their periods. 

Ms Mothobi said they also included the boy child by providing  some toiletries for them as well.

She urged the boys to support female pupils during their sudden experience of periods during school lessons and also urged them to desist from making fun of them if something went wrong. 

Moreover, she cautioned them to desist from engaging in sexual activities at their age as they could fall pregnant, which misfortune, she said would disturb them in their academics.

On other issues, she encouraged the form threes to pull up their socks as the Junior Certificate examinations were around the corner.

She encouraged them to focus on their school work and display good conduct at all times as they advanced through their educational levels for the better future.

“Your conduct can define your future” she said.

She added that they should not allow their background challenges to impede them to purse their dreams, but work hard to sail through those challenges.

In his appreciation remarks, Student Representative Council president, Mr Emmanuel Thokwane, applauded Desert Expedition Kgalagadi  for their benevolence saying it would improve the pupil’s personal hygiene and be able to cope at school. Ends