31 May 2022

Communities should elect board members that have integrity and can serve the interest of the public.

Moshupa Sub-district Deputy District Commissioner Mr Thabang Waloka said when officially opening a Physiotherapy Clinic constructed by Sekgele Training Home Society (STHS) in Gumare on Monday.

Mr Waloka said the success of the society was dependent on board members and therefore urged the Okavango community to elect board members with principles and integrity.

He said the physiotherapy clinic would help extend the services provided by Sekgele Training Home Society to people with disability in the Okavango Sub-district.

The society, he observed was a community based organisation (CBO) aimed to improve the lives of the people with disability in the Okavango Sub-district.

He said the Okavango Community came up with the idea of having an informal structure to address some of their challenges around 1993 and Sekgele Training Home Society was established in 2009 to address the issues.

Mr Waloka therefore said it was a noble initiative that should be protected at all costs as the community came up with solutions.

He noted that the society  had faced challenges that even threatened closure of the institution as it was almost sold at some point.

“People With Disability are fragile therefore you should guard against mismanagement of the organisation,” he said.

Mr Waloka further pointed out that the organisation had challenges of lack of funds as it only received funds for services from the Ministry of Health.

He therefore appealed to organisations  to come on board and assist the society to meet all its needs.

In his welcome remarks, Sekgele Training Home Society board chairperson, Mr Taolo Habano said that the organisation had challenges of reaching some areas around the Okavango Delta due to bad terrain.

Mr Habano said it was important to reach out to all areas in the district as some people still hid children with disability.

The chief health officer in the Ministry of Health (Autonomous Bodies), Mr Ben Gareegope said the challenge of transport experienced by the three Non- Governmental Organisations being STHS, Tshidilo Stimulation Centre and Thuso Rehabilitation Centre would be a thing of the past.

He explained that the ministry had purchased a state of the art truck worth P3.4 million that would reach areas with bad terrains. BOPA