03 Sep 2026

Change Africa and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Botswana have formalised a partnership aimed at establishing the Tshwaragano Family Resilience Centre, Botswana’s first one-stop centre for young families, in Gaborone’s Central Business District.

 Speaking at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tuesday, IOM Chief of Mission, Mr Itayi Viriri said the partnership came naturally after the two organisations identified shared objectives and a common vision of serving Botswana and supporting vulnerable young people. 

“Our mission as IOM is to serve the country in any way possible, even beyond migration issues.  We have to add value,” said Mr Viriri. He said as part of its humanitarian efforts, IOM had been working with young single mothers who require assistance with finances, accessing healthcare services such as child immunisation, and ensuring their children remain in school. 

“These are many services that would normally not be associated with IOM,” he said. Against this backdrop, Mr Viriri said partnering with Change Africa to establish the centre was a natural progression of the organisation’s experience of working with vulnerable young families. 

He said IOM was committed to creating a lasting impact through the project, with the long-term goal of expanding the initiative to other locations across Botswana. 

For his part, Change Africa founder, Mr Kaene Disepe described Tshwaragano as more than just a centre, saying the initiative sought to create an ecosystem of support around young mothers, fathers and their children. 

He said the project would connect young families to opportunities, protection, skills, livelihoods and other forms of support necessary to build resilient futures. 

“Young people are missing out on opportunities where they can be empowered and gain access to health and social interventions,” he said. 

Mr Disepe said such challenges have contributed to the establishment of what he described as Botswana’s first holistic one-stop centre dedicated to empowering young families. 

The centre will cater for young families aged 18-29, as well as teenagers experiencing teenage pregnancy by providing access to a range of services including quality healthcare, child immunisation, insurance and financial literacy. 

“They will be taught digital inclusion, AI training and much more. When you come for one thing, you leave with several other things and that’s what we mean by Botswana’s first one-stop centre for young families,” he said. Formal opening and operation of the centre is yet to be announced. ENDS