04 Aug 2022

Most Poverty Eradication projects in the Okavango Sub-district are said to be progressing well.

Okavango sub-district Council principal home economics officer, Ms Favourite Phumusa said in an interview in Gumare Tuesday that the Okavango sub-district Council had funded about 370 projects from 2013 to 2019.

Currently, she said they were still dealing with the backlog from 2019.

Ms Phumusa, who works in the Department of Social and Community Development (S&CD), said 293 of the projects were operational while eight of them were a success since beneficiaries were now independent.

She, however, said a total of 77 projects were non-operational due to various reasons such as lack of commitment and COVID-19 effects.

Nonetheless, she said the Department of Social and Community Development had interventions in place to assist ailing projects such as with temporary employment under Ipelegeng for beneficiaries to resuscitate their projects.

She said some managed to revive their projects while some still failed with the interventions provided.

The beneficiaries, she said, selected projects of their choices and were capacitated in such areas as book-keeping in order for them to measure their progress.

She said some of the  successful beneficiaries supplied local schools with their products and had used proceeds to improve their lives.

One beneficiary, Ms Pono Ditshupelo, who was funded for a salon called Tipazani Hair Salon in Gumare, said her project was a success since she had managed to build a house, electrified her homestead and bought a vehicle.

The 40-year-old Ditshupelo said she had basic knowledge on hairdressing prior to funding and was taken for a refresher course by the Department of Social and Community Development.

She said for a business to succeed one required to have commitment and good customer service at all times.

Another beneficiary, Mr Teko Moatlhodi of Moatlhodi Vankirk Jobs, who specialises in carpentry, said his business was fairly new since he started in February.

Mr Moatlhodi, who has hearing impairment, said he had managed to make some proceeds and used it to fence his plot and pay some of his debts.

His dream, he said, was to have his own place of operation since he currently operated from his back yard.

He said he had employed some temporary employees and that his wish was to grow and have permanent staff.

The 47-year-old Moatlhodi, who crafts different kinds of furniture, urged other people with disability to be motivated to work for themselves.  ENDS