20 Nov 2022

Children residing at Kareng hostels in Ngamiland over the weekend immersed in sport activities brought to them by Wecho Trust.

The second annual Kareng sport festival pulled together over 200 children who played chess, table tennis, boxing, judo, athletics, netball, volleyball and football.

Speaking at the festival, Wecho Trust co-founder, Tsoseletso Magang, stated that sport carried other benefits beyond competition as it improved lives of children and motivated them to go to school.

She highlighted that the festival came about upon their visit at the hostels where they realised that children needed recreational activities to keep them engaged.

Magang said when they started last year, their main focus was judo of which they expanded to other codes and raised funds to build volleyball, netball, boxing and table tennis grounds and equipment.

She said this project had made a positive impact on the children as they got to experience all the sport codes. “We are giving you an opportunity to enjoy all this sport codes at a young age so that as you grow and explore your passion then you can focus on a code you love and enjoy it.’’

She said sport was meant to be enjoyed by everyone no matter where they came from, adding it helped build focus.

Magang stated that Wecho Trust had put together a full programme to reach out to the hostel, adding they visited the hostels four times a year to assess the progress made.

She said with the help of the Kareng community, the children were able to learn basic sport skills while at times they got visited by knowledgeable coaches and athletes. She said Wecho intended to expand to other hostels across the country so that children got to experience sport at a young age.

Judo national team player, Tirelo Lekoko stated that there was lots of improvement this year compared to last year when they came for the inaugural festival.

He said children were quick to grasp the teachings which would propel them to becoming future Judokas, “there is a lot of potential in them because we all start somewhere, I started judo at a young age and it helped me stay focused to balance school and sport.’’

Lekoko who represented Botswana at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games relished the experience adding that the Kareng children had potential to become future Botswana sport stars.

He highlighted that he pledged his support to Wecho because he saw the potential this project carried to improve the lives of children.

North West District Vice Chairerson, Lekonne Masoko thanked Wecho for bringing a noble initiative aimed at developing sport skills in children.

He said sport helped one stay fit and healthy while it also taught the importance of teamwork.

“Take your education seriously and tap into sport as it can build character and some of you may become accomplished sport people in future.’’ ENDS