06 Oct 2022

The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has donated toiletries and pampers to Lorato House rescue centre in Maun.

Lorato House is a child welfare centre that provides care for children from vulnerable and traumatic backgrounds from birth to five years.

Handing over the toiletries at the centre on October 5, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Kgotla Autlwetse thanked the founders and staff of the centre for being a sanctuary for children.

He highlighted that the centre was aligned to his ministry’s key mandate of providing social protection for vulnerable groups.

Giving an overview of Lorato House, the centre’s social worker Ms Dorcas Mogotsinyana said the centre was home to 24 children from different districts being Mahalapye, Mabutsane, Jwaneng, North East, Maun, Okavango, Chobe and Tutume.

She said some of the children were left at the hospital by their parents while others were rescued from traumatic experiences.

She further said their duration of stay varied as they were placed at the centre through a court order.

Ms Mogotsinyana said the children went through psychosocial support at the centre because of traumatic experiences, adding that eight of them were schooling in Maun while the rest attended a pre-school at the centre.

She told the minister that the centre was in need of support of every kind from toiletries, utilities, and funds to operate well.

She urged delegates from the ministry to revise license issuance process for personnel noting that licenses for every staff member had to be renewed every year, which was a cumbersome process.

Ms Mogotsinyana said there was a pending case of a child whose parents were not known hence they had asked the respective council to expedite the case so that the child could receive alternative care like adoption or foster care.

The Founder and CEO of Love Botswana an umbrella oragnisation where Lorato House falls under, Dr Jana Lackey expressed gratitude to the ministry for donating toiletries to them.

She said Lorato House was founded in 1995 upon finding children living in hospitals having been abandoned by their parents.

“No child deserves to live in a hospital, they need a place to call home and this is what we are as Lorato House, we give life meaning to children who could have been hidden at the cattle posts or elsewhere a home.’’

She highlighted that due to lack of funds they were restricted to only provide care for a limited number of children. Ends