SOS Gets Cash Injection

Kesone Nkaelang | Tuesday December 5, 2017 18:31

 

The event coincided with the World Aids Day commemorations. Muzila welcomed the act of benevolence from Galo Shopping Centre.  “On behalf of the SOS village and the city of Francistown we welcome the gesture from Galo Shopping Centre,” she said.

In her address, Muzila warned that the HIV/Aids pandemic is still claiming a lot of lives in Botswana despite efforts made by the government to reduce the scourge.

 She said the common mistake that people make about the pandemic is that some take it lightly and compare it to influenza and mild diseases.  Muzila added that the HIV/Aids pandemic has drained the coffers of the country.

 “AIDS has drained our country’s coffers to the extent that other pressing developments have been left behind. We are even failing to support organisations like SOS that cares for the underprivileged in our country,” she said.

The SOS village administrator Mompoloki Kekgophe welcomed the gesture saying it will go a long way in helping the organisation.

Kekgophe said their yearly budget is P23 million but they are struggling to meet all their needs because donors from abroad have reduced the donations to P17 million due to Botswana being regarded as a middle-income country. 

“The support we get from our donors around the world is continuously reducing. We have a tough task ahead us of sourcing P6 million to meet our budget needs. We however appreciate everything that we get,” Kekgophe said.

Kekgophe said the other challenge that they are currently facing is finding houses in the community in a bid to kill the stigma associated with staying at the SOS village.  “We have two houses in Chadibe already and two families will be moving out of the SOS village into the community. We plead with Good Samaritans to help us with houses in order to do away with the stigma associated with staying at the SOS village.

We endeavour to give children staying at the SOS village a sense of belonging to the community,” he said. OS also received 10 blankets and 15 curtains from the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development (MYSC).