13 Jun 2021

Lions Club of Botswana has donated 10 wheelchairs to the Chobe District Health Management Team (DHMT).

Handing over the wheelchairs of which five are for children and five for adults on Friday, the president of Gaborone Club, Ms Keratilwe Bodilenyane, said the idea of donating 50 wheelchairs was born last year when the club celebrated its 50 years of existence.

She said unlike when a human being celebrated a birthday and expected gifts, the club decided to give back to the community.

Ms Bodilenyane said the wheelchairs would assist those with mobility problems to have some form of independence and would reduce the physical contact between them and the caretakers.

She explained that Lions Club Gaborone served in Gaborone and the surrounding villages, but had decided to go further away from the city, hence choosing Kasane for the wheelchair donation.

Chobe District commissioner, Ms Sekgabo Makgosa, commended the club for complementing government in assisting people with disability, adding that it should be appreciated that government had limited resources that were also overstretched by other emerging needs such as COVID-19.

She commended Lions Club for choosing to assist the less privileged at a time when everybody else was giving all the attention to COVID-19. 

She urged the club to continue with the spirit of volunteerism.

Ms Makgosa noted that the district had a disability committee that was struggling and she thanked Botswana Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (BONEPWA) in Chobe for alerting the Lions Club of the need for wheelchairs in the district.

One of the caretakers of people with disability, Mr Willie Miti thanked the club, adding that it was gratifying to see Batswana helping each other. ENDS