Morupisi's speak charity at home, beyond
Monkagedi Gaothobogwe | Friday January 11, 2019 13:34
For the Morupisi’s, Christmas gifts mean hundreds of expensively bought school bags stuffed with pens, pencils, exercise books, rulers, and more, including food and drinks galore at their residence located along the scenic view at the foot of the mighty Tswapong hills.
The culture of spoiling the village with Christmas parties interestingly predates Morupisi’s meteoric rise in the public service, as he became the Director of the Directorate of Public Service Management only in 2012 and the Permanent Secretary to the President in 2014.
The spouse, Mma Morupisi, who runs the R7 General Dealer & Butchery, which provides the Malaka community with the convenience of purchasing airtime, electricity and food, started the Christmas party for the village pupils 13 years ago, and estimates that over P100,000 of family resources has already been ploughed into this charity event to date.
The Morupisi’s home becomes a beehive of festivities every Christmas in Malaka, for parents, who bring along their children to ensure that they enjoy the day with the young ones to the fullest.
Actually the Morupisi’s children’s Christmas party climaxes into the Village’s Christmas Party, as everyone, not just the pupils, is catered for in the daylong festivities.
For the Morupisi’s on this day, they also recognise the village’s school’s teaching staff, who by this time, would already be celebrating the performance of their standard seven results, which are always impressive, thanks to Cater Morupisi’s hand at the school where, as the patron, he rewards, from his own pockets, excelling teachers, excelling pupils of all classes, as well as excelling Standard 7 leavers.
In fact, his village’s school has earned a reputation as one of those rare rural schools that are amongst the top performing schools nationally, even outperforming many in urban centres.
The Morupisi’s would also host a late evening party for the mature audience, where the villagers eat and imbibe, alone, without the pupils.
When the first Christmas party was hosted by the wife, Pinny in 2006, it was initially meant for the pupils of their local church, Revelation, as a Christmas lunch.
According to Pinny, as the years went by the numbers of children increased tremendously as the family opened their doors to their villagers’ children.
Today scores of children and caretakers from the neighbouring villages also attend the merriment at the foot of the Tswapong Hills, where the Morupisi’s residence is perched.
There is no doubt that the event is a source of community pride as local community volunteers come in impressive numbers to help in the cooking and preparations to make the day the huge success that it continues to be.
On this day, the patrons did not only hail from Malaka and nearby Lecheng, as there were guests from other Tswapong villages of Lesenepole, Tamasane and Goo Tau. Some parents also came from as far as Radisele to nick a school bag and a toy for their children.
This year, the occasion was hosted courtesy of the Morupisi R7 Foundation, an initiative of the Morupisi’s. It is named after Ms Morupisi’s Malaka based company, the R7 Group, which amongst others is engaged in commercial production of various vegetables in the village.
The foundation was registered in 2017 and this Christmas marked the first time it was unveiled as the sponsor of the Christmas fiesta as its eye-catching branding material shone brightly on the day as the foundation announced itself to the Malaka public in style.
Announcing the birth of the foundation, Carter called upon his community to take the lead and grow the Trust into a national pride by contributing even chickens and goats to enable it to assist fellow Batswana in whatever way.
Morupisi says the 12 years of Christmas activities inspired them to set up the foundation through which they will continue to reach out to deserving charitable causes in the country.
There is no doubt that Morupisi’s hand goes beyond the popular Christmas parties in Malaka,
Here he has managed to mobilise his community to found the Malaka Cooperative Society, which today boasts 30 members.
After assisting the local cooperative to register, Morupisi took a step further and donated two hectares of cleared land on his farm for horticultural purposes to the cooperative.
Morupisi would also pop out P10, 000 towards the construction of a bus shelter in the village, where the fruits of adopting the village’s only primary school in 2013, are being reaped as the school has consistently produced amazing results, scoring over 90% pass, a tradition that continued recently when it notched 93 % pass rate in the Standard 7 primary leaving examinations.
Morupisi has ensured that as the school’s patron, he is up to date with any developments at the school where excellence is encouraged and rewarded across all classes.
Every year Morupisi gives out hundreds of new quality blankets to the Standard 1 pupils, as well as new school bags, with books and pens, to instill positive self esteem amongst them.
The Morupisi’s also make sure that Malaka pupils observe Botswana Day every Friday, by wearing blue t-shirts ( Botswana colours), donated by the family.
He has consistently ensured that he is personally there to hand over these invaluable gifts and prizes and motivate the pupils in an effort to inspire them to aspire for greatness.
As the patron of the school, Morupisi traditionally hosts the school staff and leadership for a party which coincides with the school’s prize-giving day.
The school also has free wifi Internet, thanks to the patron’s efforts in mobilising resources, while the teachers have tablets donated by the patron for research purposes.
Morupisi’s dedication and commitment to the development of communities, however, goes beyond his home village, as the people of Moroka in the North East can testify after he mobilised resources worth over P2.5million so far, for the construction of a hostel for the disabled at Moroka primary school.
At their requests, Morupisi has also agreed to be the patron for Lecheng , Xhomo and the Moroka Primary Schools, while Lerala school has also recently asked him to be their patron, after he had chipped in with a donation of school bags to pupils as well as tablets for the teachers, during one of their prize-giving ceremonies he graced.
In Kanye, they have recently put a request on his table to mobilise the resources to build a P1.3 million maternity ward facility at the local clinic. Morupisi has told Mmegi he is confident the task can be accomplished.
In Goo-Tau, and Matlhakola villages in the Tswapong area, Morupisi has managed to source air-conditioners for the chiefs’ offices, following their request, as well as donating a computer and printer to the Matlhakola and Magotlhwane kgotlas. Morupisi has also personally donated chairs to chiefs in Matlhakola, Goo- Sekgweng, Lerala, Majwaneng, Goo- Tau, Manaledi and Mokungwane, as well as donating 75 blankets to 15 needy people in the villages, and 45 tablets courtesy of Huawei to excelling schools in the region, namely, Moeng, Majwaneng and Goo-Tau..
It was another happy day for Majwaneng when Morupisi raised P20, 000 for the construction of kgotla shelter.
During the Bot-50 festivities, Morupisi contributed cash towards the celebrations in Sefhare, Malaka, where he also contributed football kit for the Bot50 tournaments.
He would also donate football kit to a girls football team in Lerala, as well as t-shirts to the UCCSA choir in Sefhophe, among others.
Going forward Morupisi wishes to contribute to the national development goals through the Morupisi R7 Group Foundation, set up and registered in September 2017.
Todate the foundation has already undertaken a number of charitable causes, despite being relatively new.
In September last year for instance, it bought traditional dance attire for Lerala Primary school for P17, 000, from Gantsi Craft.
The foundation has also donated P1, 000, as contribution to Majwaneng’s Bot50+2 celebrations.
Mokgalo school benefited from the Foundation when it installed a full set of Dstv, with dish, tv set, as well as donation of two tablets to the school, while Xhomo primary in Boteti, has received a printer, 200 pencil cases and 50 blankets courtesy of the Morupisi R7 Foundation.
In Kgagodi, Diloro, eight tablets were donated to the school, while 50 blankets, four printers were donated to the Goodhope community.
Other donations by the newly founded charity Trust include a donation of 100 school bags, laptop and printer to Lerala primary, where they also donated P400 towards Rolling Girls Netball club and balls to Lerala football club, “Sungwasha”, as well as sports kit to promising national athlete, G. Soulo, the student runner from Gosemama Junior secondary school in Goo-Tau.
The Foundation has also so far donated P10, 000 to Spiritual Healing Church in Mookane, as well as P5,000 and 10 blankets to the Molepolole AFM church, P5, 000 to Malaka prize-giving ceremony as well as 150 school bags, and 200 blankets for the elderly, just to sample a few. Morupisi also toys around with the dream of building the first ever stadium in Tswapong in Malaka, through the Foundation.
“ It would be a dream to have such a facility in Tswapong, for use by the region. I would like it to be beautiful. If we can mobilise the resources, it would be a dream come true for the region”.