10 Jun 2025

 Orange Botswana has come up with an initiavive named For Good Connection, a youth-focused programme designed to raise awareness about online safety and digital well-being.

The programme discourages children from cyber bullying, screen addiction and inappropriate online content while motivating them to engage in sport and physical activities. Orange Botswana public relations and communications manager, Ms Tebogo Nadisa said on the sidelines of one of their engagements with the youth in Gaborone recently that the programme targeted children between the ages of 11 to 17. She said the message they were putting across was for children to balance their time on and off the screen by incorporating sport in their routine.

Sport as a medium to have children off the screen will keep them fit and we have partnered with Propellers, a local sporting academy to coach the children, Ms Nadisa said and explained that the move was another way for the organisation to be a responsible telecommunication company. She also said they targeted teenagers because that was where issues of cyber bullying were prevalent. Such, she said resulted with some children absconding while others performed below their abilities.

Ms Nadisa further said they had targeted 150 pupils from both Moselewapula Junior Secondary School and Diphetogo Primary School as the schools were in the proximity of Molapo Piazza where the activities were hosted. The activities that childre engaged in included swimming, dancing, volleyball and traditional ones. She said the event was the first of its kind and would be cascaded to other areas across the country.

For his part, former Zebras player Mr Diphetogo ‘Dipsy’ Selolwane said the internet was a good tool when appropriately used like in his case where after relocating to the United States of America, applied for a scholarship using the internet. He however cautioned children to be vigilant when using the Internet. ENDS