05 Mar 2020

Good Hope based Assistant AIDS Coordinator Mr Kennedy Dintwe says a strategic plan is to be developed to tackle identified gender based related issues in the area.

He said the Men Sector Committee in Good Hope Sub- district had made significant strides in their effort to tackle Gender Based Violence issues.

Speaking during the workshop at Manong Lodge, Mr Dintwe said the workshop was held primarily to devise strategic plans that would enable Men Sector committee to achieve its mandate.

He also said the committee had identified gender related issues in the area that needed to be addressed, saying a strategic plan based on previous findings had to be developed.

“The main objective of this workshop is to strengthen the committee and draw a road map for 2020/2021 financial year and the gaps that we identified in the previous year must be the foundation of our strategic plans,” he said.

Mr Dintwe further indicated that the positive feedback that his department had received from the areas where GBV was prevalent was indicative of significant impact that Men Sector committee was bringing into the community.

He indicated that, in those areas, they had addressed issues ranging from women abuse and teenage pregnancy, among others.

On other issues, he encouraged the committee to work with a collective motive and bear in mind that Men Sector operated on voluntary bases, therefore the impact that they brought to the communities must be their motivation.

In her remarks, Gender Affairs Department official, Ms Neo Lenkopane said she was grateful of the service that Men Sector committee was doing in the area.

Ms Lenkopane encouraged the committee to give priority to a boy child because he was the most reckless in the society which in most cases was a result of domestic circumstances.

She assured the committee that her department would avail resources where possible to mobilise the committee.

Men Sector committee member Mr Morgan Tshiping encouraged members to work as a team and follow proper channels of communication for the sector to run smoothly.

He further said workshops were platforms to dialogue and develop strategies that would take the committee forward. Mr Tshiping introduced Mr Kgopolo Motsumi as the newly appointed chairperson.

In his closing remarks, Mr Motsumi appreciated the work that was done by the committee secretary Mr Jeffery Tebogo, who never hesitated to use his resources to plan and arrange activities for the committee.

The strategic plan that the committee members had drawn for 2020/2021 financial year entails conducting various activities such as football tournaments that will be incorporated with testing for HIV/AIDS and TB. ENDS