02 Dec 2019

Before her physical strength waned due to an illness that crept upon her, rendering her partially incapable of continuing to effectively fend for her family, 66-year-old Kelebonye Gosekwamang had never thought she would one day look up to government for assistance. 

Though disabled, the Mogorosi native had, prior to falling ill and consequently having her eye sight also affected, been able to provide for her six children and the growing number of grandchildren. 

She ran a booming tuck-shop business in the small village, located south west of Serowe, and during the ploughing seasons she, like the rest of the villagers, cultivated her field, the result of which was, when the rains were good, her household’ self-sufficiency in food. 

While she could not disclose the nature of the illness that then befell her, Ms Gosekwamang’s ailment became the reason she ended up crying out to government for assistance. 

Her plea was answered in 2015, when she was assisted to start a tent hire project by the Gender Affairs Department under the Poverty Eradication initiative. 

She was given a tent, 50 chairs, six tables, as well as 100 dinner plates and the accompanying cutlery. 

Though her business has not been doing quite well because of lack of décor materials and a carpet, Ms Gosekwamang is content that despite that, her family never goes to bed hungry. 

Stiff competition from the three other tent hire businesses in the village is also a challenge, but she is determined to keep going and not relent on making her business more appealing to potential customers by doing her best, whenever she is engaged to render her services. 

With the demand for her services often shooting up during holiday periods, she is often able to make a bit more money to be able to meet her other needs. 

Since she started the project, she said, she had been using the income generated to engage people to till her field during ploughing seasons. 

She revealed that she was also in the process of buying fencing materials to replace her yard’s worn-out fence. 

Moreover, Ms Gosekwamang said she was planning to open an Orange Money account to start saving as she had realised that keeping cash with her often disrupted her plans to save for other things, as she at times used the money for something else especially when she faced some emergency situations. 

However, despite the shortages or need for additional assistance that beneficiaries may encounter when running projects, they cannot be assisted again under the Poverty Eradication Programme. 

Assistant Statistician at the Poverty Eradication office in Serowe, Mr Kabelo Kebafidile explained that when a beneficiary identifies the need for more equipment that had not been part of the package when they got assisted, they were expected to purchase such equipment with the income generated from their project. 

As for monitoring of the projects, Mr Kebafidile said the Poverty Eradication office and the different implementing departments offer continuous hand-holding until the projects were sustainable. 

Still at the Poverty Eradication office, Assistant System Analyst Ms Lesedi Moilwenyane observed that in cases where the office and implementing departments realised that a beneficiary had disposed of the equipment they had been given as part of their project package, investigations are conducted to establish what actually happened. 

She said in cases where a beneficiary had lost equipment due to theft for instance, such a beneficiary would be assisted again should investigations ascertain that the equipment was indeed stolen. 

As for those who sell the goods with which they were assisted, Ms Moilwenyane said there were no guidelines as to how the office and the implementing departments should proceed or what action can be taken against such beneficiaries. Ends