17 Feb 2014

They say inspiration comes in different shapes, forms and sizes and for Ms Rentse Ugokwe-Maganu it came through a tragedy.

Having lost her father a mere eight-year-old, life dealt her a harsh blow that no child should ever experience and her journey to self reliance and discovery had begun.

Now a fully fledged philanthropist and looking to launch her foundation to build houses for the elderly who were left caring for the young who had lost their parents, Ms Ugokwe-Maganu now came full circle to fulfil what she termed a lifelong dream of giving.

“I was very fortunate to have been adopted by my grandparents when I lost my father and they taught me the importance of family values instilled by grandparents,” she said.

Ms Ugogwe-Maganu said she lost both her grandparents when she was 18 years old and they always reminded her that she would go on to do great things in life.

“I remember living with them in Mogobane and we were the only family with a van in our neighbourhood. People would wake up my grandfather at ungodly hours just so he could transport a woman in labour to hospital, or a sick neighbour to the clinic,” she said with a glimmer of admiration in her eyes.

It was quite evident from the way she talked about her grandparents that she held them very dear to her heart. She said the love and affection her grandparents showed her made her what she is today.

The Rentse Foundation, which would launch in Gaborone on March 1, had been in operation since 2011 and was successfully registered with the secretary of state in California USA  where it has been operational.

Ms Ugokwe-Maganu indicated that the main objective of her foundation was to assist grandparents who often were left caring for orphans whose parents had succumbed to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

“I moved to the USA in 2000 and for the 13 years I have been there, I learnt a lot about the struggles my country has been facing and the issue of orphans has always been close to my heart,” she said.

She further indicated that building orphanages had never been a good option as far as she was concerned, because she felt that it eroded the concept of a family orientated upbringing with values being instilled in children.

“The ones that have the elderly, why don’t we build those houses so that children are raised in a family environment and raise them in proper homes,” she quizzed.

“Children who are fortunate enough to have surviving grandparents should have the option of at least living with them until they are old enough to fend for themselves,” said Ugokwe- Maganu.

She said the foundation would also form a social networking system that would visit the elderly they have built houses for to ensure that their basic needs were met.

“So far we have built a house in Palapye and Lephephe. The house in Lephephe is where my mother is and she takes in children from all walks of life that due to different circumstances need shelter. So far she has taken in close to 30 children,” she said.

She further said they had already identified an elderly woman in Gaborone who lived with her grandpchildren and their situation was dire.

Again, the story of how she came to meet the family is riddled with tragedy of losing her12 year old niece, who actually was the one who identified the family.

“I lost my niece who died of brain cancer not so long ago and part of the work we will do will be in his memory. Bonno Maganu was an inspirational child and I will forever cherish her,” she said with tears swelling in her eyes.

Ms Ugokwe-Maganu felt that a lot could be done in terms of helping the elderly who were burdened with the responsibility of looking after orphans.“If only we could look beyond our political affiliations and unite to build this country for our children, it would be an achievement of a lifetime,” she concluded. ENDS