Symphony Health�s Gift To Tsholofelo Foundation
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Monday October 3, 2016 15:34
Symphony Health donated a whooping P15,000 to the children of Tsholofelo Foundation recently. Of this, P10,000 is for the renovation of the hostels and P5,000 was given to Tsholofelo Orchestra. The money was raised from the Thanksgiving Event that was held at Maitisong recently.
According to CEO Rose Tatedi, Symphony Health has been working with Tsholofelo Foundation for a couple of years, having been fully been engaged on the foundation’s Christmas Carols.
“We are passionate about improving the lives of our children. Since both organisations are dealing with children, I feel that is a good gesture that the two are working together. Here at Symphony Healthy, we are passionate in giving hope to disadvantaged children as we know that children are our future leaders,” she said.
Tatedi said when children are not cared for, they could engage in drugs and other social ills, thus destroying their future. She said it was imperative for all Batswana to give back to the needy more especially children as most are from disadvantaged families. She further emphasised that all that such children need is love and support from the general public.
Tatedi said working closely with Tsholofelo Foundation children made her realise that those children were talented.
The patron of Tsholofelo Foundation, Dr Joseph Makhema thanked Symphony Health for their continuous support, adding that the little that they got from the company helped bridge the gap as the foundation had numerous needs.
The foundation’s general secretary, Mosweu Simane informed the gathering that Tsholofelo Centre started in 1983 at Old Naledi where it continued to grow but it officially launched in 1993. He said when they established the foundation, they started off with a housing programme where they wanted to eliminate shacks.
“We later realised that the number of street kids was increasing and we started to intervene. We decided to come up with this programme where we brought those kids together,” he said.
Simane said they found it hard to make those children to open up. He said some of the children lived on the streets when others were staying at home with their parents but due to bad parenting and poverty, they abscond from school and live on the streets.
“Some of these children are afraid to go to school because their teachers either beat them up for going to school with dirty uniforms or having not bathed. When they get home they fail to tell their parents, as most of them are busy drinking alcohol at the shebeens giving their children less or no attention. In some cases, such children are abused by family members,” he said.
Simane added that the foundation used to give those children shelter, but due to lack of funds they failed to accommodate most of them as some of the hostels were dilapidated. He further called on the public to assist where they can to change the lives of those innocent souls.
The chairman of Tsholofelo Orchestra Committee, Agisanyang Kanokang said they are currently working with Kingdom Arts to teach children orchestra. He said arts were a way of taking children out of the streets.
“I believe that this project can break the cycle of unemployment. We currently have 15 students and have 20 more children who are eager to come to learn the arts,” he said.
Kanokang said even though children were passionate about what they are doing, they were challenged by insufficient funds.