Debswana Restores Hope At Pudulogong
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Monday January 16, 2017 16:31
Giving welcome remarks, the trust’s board chairman, Richard Letsatsi, who was evidently excited, told the gathering that even though Pudulogong had many challenges, one of them had for more than three years been transport. He added that due to lack of transportation for their students, they could not fulfill their outreach targets.
“The combi that we had reached its lifespan. I have been praying for this mini bus. As we know, it is a challenge to travel with visually impaired people using local transportation, which is also expensive for a non-profitable organisation like ours.
I have never dreamt that our prayers would be fulfilled this year as we have long been praying for this miracle. I am thankful that this year started in a good way as we have this gift,” he happily said.
Letsatsi added that the only car they were using was small and two-years-old. He also thanked Debswana for its good gesture. He encouraged the company to keep supporting them and others, who are less privileged members of the community.
Furthermore, Letsatsi thanked the Minister of Basic Education, Unity Dow for advising them to drill a borehole in order to cut water costs.
“We were able to drill a borehole that we started drinking from in December. We will use the water (from there) to water the plants as we have an agriculture course and for our daily consumption,” he said.
However, Letsatsi said some of the equipment used for pumping out the water was stolen. He indicated that the equipment included solar panels and a generator. He said they had reported the matter to the police and promised that they would find a way to replace them. He also indicated that they had come up with a way to secure such equipment.
For her part, Dow said it was a responsibility of her Ministry to educate every child regardless of his or her religion, gender or social background. She further pointed out that the ministry was assisted by 12 non-profit making private institutions countrywide.
She further pointed out that even though she knew the pain that their leadership faced every year due to lack of finance, she was proud of their commitment in educating and taking care of underprivileged and people living with different disabilities in the country. She also applauded Debswana for its commitment to giving back to the community
Dow also advised Pudulogong staff and students to utilise the mini bus they were given by Debswana wisely.
According to Debswana managing director, Balisi Bonyongo, he could not have asked for a better way of starting the New Year than being part of the important event where they showed love and compassion to those who were less fortunate than them.
“Through this donation, we believe that Pudulogong will be able to increase their mobility and presence, ensuring that they carry out community outreach programmes throughout the country to educate people about their service and their cause,” he said.
He further explained that in taking the decision to support the trust with that mini bus, they were inspired by one of their values at Debswana, ‘Show We Care’.
He said that value embodied the spirit of love and compassion, which encourages them to care deeply about each other and the people whose lives they touch.
“Debswana is proud to have made this contribution and we will continue to play a key role in community empowerment and capacity building programmes. The donation of this mini-bus is an example of our efforts to change the lives of our people and turn diamond dreams into lasting reality,” Bonyongo added.
When giving the overview of the trust, Pudulogong director, Moilwa Pheko said their institution started in 1980. He said its mandate was to train blind and visually impaired students for vocational training.
“We accept students who have a minimum of a junior certificate. We enroll students of ages from 16 to 35-years-old,” he said.
He pointed out that the Ministry of Basic Education helps them with eight percent of their yearly budget and depend on the private sector for another 12%. Pheko pointed out that they had not been able to achieve their minimum pass rate because they are competing with tertiary schools, which take the best students from form five. He also said the school needed to be refurbished because it is old.