18 Nov 2020

Thobo Farmers College, Mabapi Fire Fighting Services Training Institute and Botswana Association of the Deaf (BAOD) recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA).

Speaking during the ceremony, which has been described as a historic cooperation, Patron of BOAD, who is also MPfor Gaborone Central, Mr Tumisang Healy said the MoA would help formalise the impartation of skills to members of his association by Mabapi and Thobo Farmers College.   

He said Mabapi’s skills were critical since in most instances, people did not know how to handle people who had been harmed. 

Mr Healy said it was gratifying to know that wherever BOAD organised workshops around the country, Mabapi would avail themselves to assist, so that the empowerment wass not a Gaborone thing only.

Mabapi’s director, Mr Maitumelo Mafhoko highlighted that the institution was Botswana Qualified Authority accredited and provided training in firefighting and fire prevention. Mr Mafhoko said his company had realised that there were no trained evacuation people in cases of emergency, which meant chances of getting assistance were low.

He said they had also observed that Botswana experienced  frequent fires that were driven by a combination of climate factors, land use and social behaviour.  

He further explained that the country had been heavily reliant on fire management that was skewed towards fire suppression and centralised around government, although faced with vast fire prone areas and lack of fire fighting resources, coordination and fire management capacity.

He said most buildings did not cater for people living with disabilities, adding that evacuating a disabled person during such incidents may be a challenge. 

“Through our needs assessment we have realised that; stairs are usually an option in cases of fire emergencies and they usually do not accommodate people using wheelchairs, as in most buildings elevators are rendered inoperable in the event of an emergency,” he said.

He said most buildings did not have fire alarm strobe lights, thus people with hearing impairments might not hear audio emergency alarms and would need to be alerted of an emergency situation.

When giving the objectives, BOAD’s executive director, Ms Shirley Keoagile said her organisation promoted health, education and empowerment.  She said their biggest challenge was funding, which was why the organisation had a consultant to link it with others.     

Agronomist at Thobo Farmers College, Mr Kabelo Oitsile said agriculture remained a viable option for poverty eradication and employment creation, as it was labour intensive. 

He said the status quo thus called for effective ways of promoting commercial farming, which could  lead to the reduction of the import bill and improve food sufficiency.

Mr Oitsile said they had realised that people living with disabilities had the potential to become entrepreneurs, once they were accorded opportunities to be trained in life changing skills, adding that overtime, they had proven to be hard working, efficient, resilient and determined at any task they were given.     

Giving a vote of thanks, Ms Moshia Moalusi, disability officer at the Office of the President, appreciated Mabapi and Thobo for choosing BOAD, saying the empowerment would go a long way in equipping people with disabilities with skills to be self-sufficient and independent. 

She said Batswana were a farming nation. ends