17 Feb 2026

Providing an environment where teaching and learning can thrive means ensuring that essential items like food and toiletries are also available to learners to enhance their learning experience.

Ministry of Child Welfare and Basic Education’s regional director for the North East region Mr Labane Mokgosi said this recently when Tsetseng Retail Group donated groceries to the Francistown Centre for Deaf Education (FCDE).

Commending Tsetseng Retail Group for its collaboration with FCDE, Mr Mokgosi said reducing their partnership into writing through the Memorandum of Understanding that the two entities signed at the donation ceremony marked the unwavering commitment of the retail group to supporting deaf education.

“We are truly grateful for this partnership, and the Memorandum of Understanding is a source of great pride for us” he remarked, highlighting how the 12-months donations by the Tsetseng Retail Group, the parent company for Spar supermarkets, will positively impact the work of the Francistown School for the Deaf.

He also pointed out that Spar’s initiative serves as an excellent example of a public-private partnership, which they aspire to expand. Spar community project coordinator, Mr Kemisetso Gotewang noted that Spar’s partnership with FCDE started when they first visited the school in 2024 to assess its needs and determine how they could assist.

“We discovered various issues, among them the need for food and toiletries. As Tsetseng Retail Group, we recognised that students need proper sustenance in order to perform well academically,” he stated, giving a background of why they chose to support the centre through providing groceries and toiletries.

With regards the Memorandum of Understand, Mr Gotewang said Spar committed to providing a monthly sponsorship of P10 000 over 12 months to cover food and toiletries.

FCDE school head Ms Changu Monyadzwe expressed appreciation for the generous grocery donations that Spar has been providing since 2025.

She noted that the contributions have greatly aided in supplying daily meals for their learners, ensuring dignity, nourishment, and stability for children who depended on the centre for education and care.

Ms Monyadzwe highlighted that FCDE was a unique institution offering sign language-based education to deaf students from the northern region of Botswana.

She further indicated that the school relied on collaboration with government and private partners like Spar.

She also mentioned that the Ministry of Child Welfare and Basic Education supported their operational budget and provided teaching staff, while the City of Francistown offered additional assistance.

FCDE representative, Mr Pako Modise shared that FCDE would enrol six Spar employees from the three Francistown stores in basic sign language training.

The initiative, he said, would enhance accessibility, improve customer relations with deaf clients, and support compliance with the Botswana Disability Act. ENDS