20 Oct 2022

The third edition of the Lobatse Wheels for Wellness Campaign will be held  tomorrow at the Extension Gunners ground after a two year hiatus. 

The campaign, an initiative of four youth activists, mainly focuses on addressing health and road safety issues through sensitisation, education and empowerment. It started in 2018 and was also held in 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted it for the next two years.

According to the project coordinator Ms Omphemetse Mmolai, the Saturday event would start with a convoy of bicycles, motorbikes and motor vehicles at Extension Gunners ground in Peleng and moved through the town and back to the ground.

“This is to create vibe and mobilise the community to attend the campaign,” she said recently in an interview.

She said they would have stalls by different stakeholders, such as health stalls for oral health, eye testing, HIV testing, diabetes, and stalls for Botswana Police Service, Men Sector, District Gender Committee, and Mental Health Awareness.

She added that the campaign was an effort of contributing to the government initiatives since it was aligned to the youth and health thematic under the Botswana Revised National Youth Policy 2010, pillar two of human and social development under the Botswana Vision 2036, and the promotion of healthy lives under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Ms Mmolai said she started the Wheels for Wellness Campaign in 2018 together with other activists, Pearl Ramarumo, Clement Mbakisani and Donald Tsimakae, after a growing concern about reckless driving perpetuated by youth and excessive alcohol drinking in the community.

“Through the campaign, we wanted to address the issue of reckless driving, especially by young people. We realised that young people define themselves with vehicles they drive and like speed and end up being involved in accidents,” she said.

On the issue of health, she said excessive drinking put young people at risk of developing non-communicable diseases and driving under the influence of alcohol.

“Therefore, we want to intensify awareness and behavioural change through the Wheels for Wellness Campaign, and we are coming back bigger and better this year,” said Ms Mmolai.She said entertainment would be provided through football matches between Peleng Kicks, Dikakapa, Penguin and Mafia social clubs.

Popular Lobatse disk-jockey, DJ Vat Kuks of Audio Tonic Sound will entertain the crowd with music, he said.

Ms Mmolai said their aim was to make a change in their community.

“For you to find change you must be the change that you want,” she said. ENDS