08 Sep 2013

Chairperson of the Young Women Christian Association (YWCA)  for north east region, Ms Ludo Mosojane, has implored NGOs to confront social issues that are a challenge to society

Speaking during the North East regional conference  in Francistown over the weekend, Ms Mosojane said the society was faced with issues such as teenage pregnancy, divorce, alcohol abuse and gender- based violence.

Ms Mosojane said NGOs such as YWCA must not leave the responsibility of addressing and uprooting the socials ills to the government alone. She said individuals should also be part of the solutions to social ills.

“To be a member of an organisation is not enough if you do not play a role in addressing the problems of your society,” she said.
Presenting on NGO collaboration on HIV/AIDS programmes, the assistant district AIDS coordinator, Mr Thatayaone Maithamako, said HIV/AIDS needs active involvement of all stakeholders.

He said though he appreciates the involvement of YWCA in HIV/AIDS issues, he is concerned that Young Men Christian Association (YMCA) seems to be dormant.
Concerning the government interventions, Mr Maithamako said about 65 per cent of the budget that the government commits to HIV/AIDS, is used to cater for the orphans while 21 per cent is used on ARVs and the rest for other programmes such as Home Based Care.

Mr Maithamako observed that since the introduction of the ARV, it seems some people tend not to take HIV/AIDS seriously and even fail to change their behaviour. He said communities should understand that they are better positioned to solve their problems.

A Gender Officer, Mr Tom Ryan, encouraged women to utilise government empowerment programmes available from his office.

He said for women to qualify, they should form groups of five people or more, register their company with the Registrar of Companies, make a situational analysis to prove that the business is viable and make proposals to his office.

Mr Ryan said only agricultural and manufacturing projects are funded to the tune of up to P250 000.
Social and community development officer, Ms Daisy Ikaneng, said as social workers in Francistown they are concerned about issues of child neglect, rape, sodomy and incest.

She said presently her office is handling 23 such cases adding that since not every case is reported, the number is only a tip of the iceberg.
Ms Ikaneng said the other issue of concern is that of alcohol and drug abuse in schools. She encouraged parents to reproach their children for bad behaviour.

YWCA national president, Ms Tshoganetso Phaphani, observed that her organisation has been recording minimal participation of members due to competition from other organisations. She also noted that the spirit of volunteerism was dying among Batswana.

Ms Phaphani implored women to contribute to the community and national development by actively participating in YWCA activities.

She urged women not to only be members of YWCA but also uphold the principles of God.

She said the achievements by YWCA include the launch of the organisation’s website and the YMCA programme. Ends