11 Feb 2020

Charleshill senior assistant council secretary, Mr Christopher Maramba, has implored caretakers of orphans and vulnerable children to always give them hope.

He made the plea during a recent two-day training to capacitate caretakers on how to handle and take care of these children. The training was hosted by Charleshill sub-district in Ncojane.

Mr Maramba, who acknowledged that though raising children was not an easy task, said caretakers should raise children to be independent by encouraging them to go to school to broaden their life opportunities rather than being a burden their entire life. 

He said it took determination and commitment to raise a child and reminded caretakers that they should assume the role and responsibilities of these children’s parents.  

Also, he stated that these children should have access to food, medical services and other special needs.

Social welfare officer, Ms Gaone Englishman, regretted that while government was working hard to bail out orphans and vulnerable children by providing them with basic necessities, some caretakers were defeating such efforts. 

She spoke in length how some orphans and vulnerable children received bad treatment from their caretakers citing that they were denied food and clothing they were given by government. 

Ms Englishman said their clothes were taken by their caretakers or their children, leaving orphans in desperate situation again.

She said they also denied them their inheritance.

Ms Englishman was worried about tribalism traces among the community of Charleshill sub district, saying these traces had passed to the new generations, saying they perpetuated bullying among children. 

She said children copy their behaviours because they consider them their role models.

Ms Englishman said tolerant coexistence and cohesion should be their main stay as Batswana, rather than brewing tribalism. 

She stated that low self-esteem that she said was displayed by the orphans was perpetuated by the fact that they did not know Setswana and English. 

Ms Englishman encouraged them to teach children official languages to better their academic performance. 

Head of department-Pastoral at Marakanelo Junior School, Ms Segametse Gaetote demonstrated that orphans were denied their clothing saying they were parents in Ncojane who put on school uniforms.

Ms Gaetote regretted that orphans were verbally abused.

For her part, principal welfare officer, Ms Boikhutso Manyeula emphasized that adolescents needed special attention, because they were at crossroad from being a child to be young adult. Ends