03 Feb 2020

The United States Ambassador to Botswana, Mr Craig Cloud has applauded the Camphill Community Trust in Otse for improving the livelihoods of people with disabilities.

He was speaking during the official handing over of restaurant equipment funded by the U.S Embassy, under the Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Fund.

Ambassador Cloud said the work that was being done by the Camphill Community Trust for the disadvantaged community was inspiring, hence the assistance.

“To see the community work together is inspiring to me, that is why we like to work with you,” he said, stressing that the embassy only provided the resources to aid the community to do the project much quicker.

Ambassador Cloud said the Camphill community had proved to be good at maximising the abilities of their learners and making them confident and inspired members of the community.

He stressed the need for a more inclusive and enabling environment for people living with disabilities, citing health care and education services among those that should be made accessible to people living with disabilities.

Camphill Community Trust Director, Mr Andreas Groth said the trust had been in operation since 1974 and it was a place where people living with disabilities access education and training, which was not offered in mainstream society.

Mr Groth said people living with disabilities had struggled to access education and training, adding that they offered pre, primary and secondary school equivalent education.

However, he said they had adopted the education with production model to prepare learners for the out of school environment, adding that they tried by all means to use real life situations to skill their leaners.

A representative from Otse chieftaincy, Kgosi Aaron Mhaphi thanked the US Embassy for the funding and said the restaurant would provide what had been lacking for the Camphill Community Trust.

The objective is to build an equipped road-side restaurant that serves as a facility to provide accredited outcome based vocational training in catering and hospitality to people with intellectual disability, as well as generate income for the organisation. ENDS