Gov�t departments help the underprivileged

Tapela Morapedi | Tuesday April 4, 2017 15:55

The project was part of the two Ministries’ community service day in which they were paired to consolidate resources in order to deliver a community project of their choice. The project was achieved through selfless devotion and voluntary contributions from staff members both ministries, members of the community as well as the business community.

Departments under the two Ministries, being the police, prisons, BDF and Administration of Justice and the Selebi-Phikwe District Health Management Team (DHMT) teamed up to deliver this noble project.

The station commander for Selebi-Phikwe police station, Superintendent Victor Nlebesi noted that all Ministries have been paired to deliver community service projects through their respective departments in their area on specific dates. He said this is not only meant to pull resources together but to also strengthen relationships and cooperation between departments.

The project’s scope of work included plumbing works, replacing toilet seats, hand washing basins, window glasses and two doors as well as painting the whole house.

The Officer Commanding No.10 district, Senior Superintendent Takongwa Mazwiduma, whose department led the project said the project was in line with President Ian Khama’s call for the need to provide dignity to fellow citizens by building them shelter.

This noble assistance however, provides only temporary relief since the family is renting the house. As to how far the beneficiaries will enjoy the benefits lies with the landlord, but the committee’s intention is to eventually build the family a house should she find her own plot.

For now, they only wish the family occupies this rented house for longer so that their efforts are not reaped by people that the seed were not meant to benefit.

Accepting the donation, the mother of the two children living with disabilities thanked the departments for their gesture and wished these developments were happening in her own place. Her voice cracked with pain as she narrated how she experienced rejection by landlords and fellow tenants in various places where she had rented before.

She explained that some tenants persistently complained about her disabled children crawling in front of their houses, something that broke her heart terribly. She was however, grateful to her current landlord, who has embraced her situation.