24 Feb 2014

The Japanese government has contributed P410 000 to the Mababe Zokotsama Community Development Trust for the construction of a pre-school at Mababe.

The Japanese Ambassador to Botswana, Mr Hiroyasu Kobayashi said the school would allow 20 children in the village to receive early childhood education on an annual basis.

Mr Kobayashi said following an appeal from the trust, the Japanese Embassy decided to assist taking into consideration the trust’s commitment in improving the livelihoods of the communities and the children.

Speaking during the signing of agreement between the Japanese embassy and the trust, Mr Kobayashi said, “I was impressed by the pro-activeness of the well-established civil societies as they do not wait for government support. They take initiative to work towards the improvement of their villages within their capacities.”

He said through the trust’s strong sense of leadership and responsibility, their dreams has become reality hence the signing ceremony.

Mr Kobayashi said the importance of early education could not be overemphasised adding that early education does not only enable a smooth transition for children upon entering primary school, but also contributed positively to their development character.

He also commended the government of Botswana for their sensible approach towards the introduction of public pre-schools. The efforts have already made a remarkable progress as 140 pre-schools would soon be opened in the next few years, he said.

The Japanese Ambassador said this would provide equal opportunities for children to obtain early childhood education throughout the country. The assistance by the Japanese government, he noted, would contribute and complement the significant role played by the Botswana government.

He believed that through commitment, the government would achieve its objective of increasing pre-school enrollment rate from the current 18 per cent to 40 per cent in the near future.

Mr Kobayashi said his government through their grant assistance would continue to contribute to the betterment of Botswana from various angles and in all regions. The children are the future leaders of every country and raising well-rounded children can only be achieved when all involved parties join hands, he added.

The chairperson of the trust, Mr Gotsotlhe Ketapilwe thanked the Japanese embassy for their financial assistance to construct a school in the village adding that education is one of the fundamental developments in a human being’s life.

Mr Ketapilwe said the policy of Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) aimed at uplifting the livelihoods of the communities.

He assured the ambassador that the funds would be utilised to improve the lives of the young generation and promised that the project would yield positive results.

Mr Ketapilwe said they would ensure financial control tools are in place to help during the implementation of the project and upon completion an audited financial statement would be submitted to his office.

For his part, Mr Billy Loeto from Botswana Education Hub said it was pleasing to see international communities extending a helping hand to remote areas.

He said his organisation’s mandate is to internationalise the education sector adding that one of their initiatives is adopt a school project.

The North West district directors, Mr Agronews Maseko said the construction of the school has been the Mababe community’s dream and were happy now that their dream has become a reality.
Mr Maseko appreciated the partnership adding that the project is a good move to help communities.

The area MP, Mr Gibson Nshimwe commended the ministry of education and skills development for coming up with good initiatives aimed towards improving the quality of education.

He said other organisations could also assist by adopting a learner.

The MP thanked the embassy for showing commitment towards development of Botswana adding that Japan has assisted in several big projects such as Kazungula Bridge and donation of 30 solar panels to some schools in the Southern region. ENDS