18 Apr 2024

 Foschini Group of companies (TFG) in partnership with SOS Botswana on Tuesday donated a caravan equipped with tables, chairs and other learning material to Gamononyane settlement.

The caravan which will serve as a pre-school classroom will contribute to the foundation of education, said the Member of Parliament for Lentsweletau/ Mmopane Ms Nnaniki Makwinja. 

She said Foschini had demonstrated that it was not only about selling clothes, but cared about promoting education from a young age.

Ms Makwinja who is also the Assistant Minister of Education and Skills Development said the donation would contribute to the development of the settlement.

She said the kgotla yard, where the caravan would be housed, needed to be fenced, to guard against vandalism.

She, therefore, pledged nine poles, to assist in that regard.

SOS Botswana national director, Mr Motshwari Kitso said SOS mainly took care of the wellbeing of a child, either at SOS homes or by strengthening the family programme which aimed to groom a person through the household they lived in and the community they came from.

Basically, the programme covered the whole community than just the child, said Mr Kitso.

He said the caravan was for the pre-school children who have been learning under a tree in the kgotla yard which was a challenge when it rained or when there was a  kgotla meeting.

TFG regional manager, Mr Marang Sebele said their partnership with SOS sought to groom children.

Mr Sebele also said they donated clothes annually, to SOS and also employed some graduates from Limkokwing University in an effort to reduce unemployment rate.

He pledged P1 500 that would go towards a project to fence the space where the caravan would be housed.

Out of School Education and Training (OSET) senior representative, Ms Kebalepile Ntshambiwa explained that the programme was developed to assist children living far away from schools in rural areas ,adding that the donation would make learning easier and better.

She stated that pre-school programme started in Gamononyane in 2019 with 15 learners but was closed during COVID-19 period and re-opened in 2022 with 17 learners, adding that some have graduated and were in Standard 1

She urged the community to unite and support their  children in their endeavour to learn and become better citizens. Ends