Thirsty little faces of the CKGR

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The Basarwa children in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) survive in severe abjection, that their existence is almost a miracle.

It is unbelievable how a five year-old child could stay for days without any drinking water. These children are caught in between the complex conflict between the government and Basarwa. 

On the one side is the Botswana government in its uncompromising stance to remove the Basarwa from their ancestral land to newly established settlements outside the CKGR.  Basarwa groups led by the First People of the Kalahari who insist on living in the wildlife reserve area are on the other side. Supporting the government are some Batswana urbanites who reason that Basarwa should be removed from the wildlife park and be integrated into other Batswana, so that they can enjoy the country's welfare services, like every other Motswana. The Basarwa standpoint is supported by some local and international organisations like Ditshwanelo (Botswana's human rights watch organisation), Survival International and some Batswana who seem to profit from the conflict. Caught in the crossfire are these innocent children. These young vulnerable mortals do not have access to water or any health facilities and even the CKGR animals are better off as they have access to government boreholes.

Editor's Comment
Routine child vaccination imperative

The recent Vaccination Day in Motokwe, orchestrated through collaborative efforts between UNICEF, USAID, BRCS, and the Ministry of Health, underscores a commendable stride towards fortifying child health services.The painful reality as reflected by the Ministry of Health's data regarding the decline in routine immunisation coverage since the onset of the pandemic, is a cause for concern.It underscores the urgent need to address the...

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