Taking Omang to street kids
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Monday May 5, 2014 15:36
However, efforts to register and issue the vagabonds with the National Identity cards failed, as some of the witnesses did not meet requirements.
The parents and relatives of the street kids were invited to partake in the process after nursing officer, Direpang Segosebe pleaded with the ministry to initiate the move. This special arrangement would give the underprivileged citizenry an opportunity to have an Omang.
During an interview with The Monitor, Principal Registration Officer in Department of Civil and National Registration Mpho Dichabe said that when Segosebe sold them the idea, they found it fitting. Dichabe said that it was important to take action, as every Motswana needs an identity card to access various services.
She said most of the street children do not have time to go the their offices to seek services as they focus on making money through washing cars and doing other activities. She said that with an Omang they would be able to get help from government.0
Dichabe said that they wanted people who are 10 or more years older than the beneficiaries. She also told the gathering that for the beneficiaries to be registered they had to provide birth certificates or letters from their dikgosi, which will be presented as proof that indeed the applicants are from their respective home villages.
Unfortunately, Mmamolaodi Odisitse whose two elder brothers were to benefit was told to ask her relatives, 10 or more years older than them, to witness for them so that they could register for the ID. She told Dichabe that she decided to witness for her brothers Dakkie Diphuphu born in 1972 and Ndolo Diphuphu born in 1975 after her only aunt refused to play witness for them.
“I had told her about this initiative yesterday, but she showed no interest and told me to come here. I decided to bring my husband along as he is 10 years older than them,” Odisitse explained.
Jennifer Molefe also could not witness for her brother Kagiso Molefe as she is only two years older than him. She too was told to plead with her older relatives to intervene. She said that their mother lives in South Africa and that she would have to ask one of their relatives to assist.
For her part, Segosebe said that she found it vital to ensure that street children attain their Omang cards. She said that it is the right of every Motswana to have an Omang as it is every individual’s passport to life.
Segosebe called her initiative ‘Bame Ba Rona Sechabeng’. She said that she volunteered to help street children in 2012 where she cooked lunch for them on Christmas day. She said that she had also encouraged them to use government facilities citing that good health is important.
She said that she wants to make the MDGs, which promote good health, attainable even for street children. She also said that she wanted to contribute to the vision 2016 pillar of a compassionate and caring nation. “Many of these children had done tests and some got treatment for various diseases. Since then I have developed a strong relationship with them. I have 23 children aged between 14 and 16. Some of the children are from Tlokweng while others are from Old Naledi” she said. .