He said the society was only centred around particular areas, notably Serowe because it is where it was formed by the country's then First Lady, Ruth Khama." This was the time when we had no major branches around the country; there were only a few volunteers around Serowe and some in Gaborone." Kgati said he started serving the Red Cross in Bokaa before moving to various branches around the country, including Kanye and Bobonong. He said the Red Cross is one of the societies that can be commended for being able to remain politically neutral over the years. Kgati told the Monitor that they were able to move from helping the poor only to helping alleviate other societal problems like HIV and AIDS, after its emergence in Botswana in the early 90s. He said the Red Cross has been able to help during some natural disasters like floods and droughts that have occurred in the country throughout the years.
He said they have recruited and trained volunteers to be able to execute their objective of giving humanitarian aid to the needy in society. He said the past and current executive committees were faced with a challenge of implementing branches all over the country and training of volunteers in those branches. He said they have been able to start new branches, but it is not enough because there are some places where there are still no branches." We now want each and every branch to clearly understand their role in the society," he said. He said they also want to involve traditional leaders in the society to make sure that the Red Cross branches in the country grow and sustain themselves.
Kgati said even though donors have helped a great deal, it sometimes becomes difficult for them as a society to execute their duties well as the donations can come with restrictions that the money will be used only in certain areas.
He regretted, the recent recognition of Botswana as a middle-income country by the international community has worked negatively for the Red Cross, as donors are now reluctant to help them with funds as they assume the country is self-supporting financially. Kgati said he is worried because BRSC's main donors over the last few years - Belgium, Norway and Sweden - will be pulling out next year, leaving them with very few resources. He however said they would not just sit back and say 'we do not have donors so we can't function'. He said his committee is working around the clock to make sure branches become financially self-reliant, instead of relying on executive funding. " We have to start finding our own ways of sourcing funds, and we know we can do it, " a confident Kgati said. He said this should be possible because they have been allocated plots in the past to start some projects and it was about time the projects were implemented. He also said they want to involve the business sector in various branches, so that they can help from within after understanding the needs of the most vulnerable in their respective communities.
He noted that humanitarian need is increasing as more and more people are becoming vulnerable in society, with challenges like HIV and AIDS and climate change.
He however commended the Botswana Government for the assistance given to the Red Cross over the years, saying they have helped a lot with resources and manpower during times of need. Kgati said they want to sensitise people that anyone can be vulnerable regardless of their economic status. He said they want to change the mindset of people so that anyone in the community can identify their vulnerability, not waiting for disasters to happen first, because "it is always safer and cheaper to prevent than act on something after it has happened".
