09 Jun 2024

Tonota District Council has launched the foster care programme to ensure children within the district are raised in proper homesteads. 

Tonota District Council Principal Social Welfare Officer, Ms Kedirileng Moseki, stated that foster care was a temporary arrangement where a family or an individual provided a home for child(ren) who could not live safely with their family of origin through an order of the children’s court (Children’s Act 2009-69:1). 

She further stated that foster care was used to provide temporary care while parents received help to sort out problems, or to help children or young people through a difficult period in their lives. 

Ms Moseki said fostering was a way of providing a conducive, safe and loving environment for the child. She stated that the Tonota District Council had been inundated with cases of child negligence.

 “There are some homesteads where children are not taken care of. Children as young as nine months are left alone without any parental care”, she added. 

She further stated that child negligence often exposed  children to dangers such as rape and  kidnapping. 

Ms Moseki stated that the Tonota District currently had 53 rape cases of children, 100 cases of defilement and 13 cases of child negligence. 

Childline Botswana social worker, Ms Seitebatso Kegakilwe, stated that for one to enrol in the programme as a foster, an individual may be married or single, must be 21 years and above, never been convicted of any criminal offence, emotionally, financially and physically fit, of good moral character. 

Ms Kegakilwe further stated that foster carers were volunteers who were willing and able to provide a nurturing family for children who were unable to live safely with their family; support the child’s return to family when that is the plan and are prepared to attend training and learn new skills. 

For his part, the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVA) Branch Manager, Mr Kite Mose-Nkala stated that the initiative represented a significant step forward in the collective efforts to provide loving, stable, and nurturing environments for the children in communities. 

He stated that foster care ensured that children lived in stable families, which was a reflection of Botswana’s values.

“Foster care or parenting requires patience, grace, compassion and dedication, all these are intrinsic to the family system. An integral part of our long-standing culture as Batswana, which is assessing your empathy”, he added. 

Mr Mose-Nkala further stated that children that had been exposed trauma, neglect or abuse required the stability and love of a foster family that would provide them with security, comfort and sense of belonging. 

Furthermore, he stated that the success of the Foster Care Programme was based on the involvement and support of the entire community. 

“It is not just the responsibility of the Tonota District Council, but the responsibility of each and every one of us. We must work together to identify and volunteer to be potential foster families, support them through training and resources and ensure that they have the necessary tools to provide the best care possible,” he said. Ends