Mothers-for-All offers family security to orphans

ONALENNA KELEBEILE
Staff Writer | Friday May 31, 2013 00:00

She did not have the money needed to apply for admission or to travel around. She was invited for job interviews by the police and prisons department but she never made it because she did not have the fare. 'I finished my O'levels in 2007 and in the following two years, I failed to go to school. At one point, I failed because I just had money for a medical examination only and in another incident I had used somebody else's post box only to discover the admission letter way after the deadline elapsed because the post box owner was not around,' she says.

Despite the challenges, she never gave up. 'I always had faith in life and I understood that God made me an orphan for a reason and I always had hope that I will achieve something one day,' she says. During her tribulations, a Good Samaritan introduced her to Mothers-for-All, a trust whose aim is to develop a sustainable model of support for orphans and vulnerable children.Its members, who are unemployed women, earn a living from making paper bead jewellery, bookmarks, handmade paper cards and notepapers from recycled waste materials.Mothers-for-All sponsored Sekoba to study for a certificate in Social Work at Bosa Bosele College. She passed with distinction.From the money she earned from working for the trust, she managed to apply for education sponsorship from government. 'I am now leading a stress-free life. With my first cheque from Mothers-for-All, I managed to travel to Gaborone to apply for tertiary education financing and even paid application fees. I am now hopeful of going for further studies,' she says. By studying social work, she expects to help those in the same situation as her. 'If it was not for social workers, I do not know what would have happened to me,' she says.

Mothers-for-All founding trustee, Janny Dunlop said they have an education fund which receives donations online from across the world. The donations are used to sponsor needy students between 18-24 years to pursue or complete their education up to a certain level. First priority is given to mothers (members of the trust) and their children.'This is how Neo came in. She applied and went through thorough screening, as it is procedure because we want to invest in people who are deserving. Mind you, there are orphans and vulnerable children who do not utilise the government's system well,' she added. She said the trust became Neo's parents. 'We do not want to have any of our orphaned child left on their own as we offer them family security,' she added.  Besides sponsorship, the trust offers voluntary work to beneficiaries as part of empowerment and instilling work ethic to appreciate that nothing is free in life.

Mothers-for-All has its own screening and assessment method to identify the most needy beneficiaries. It has what is called a mothers' fund, which sponsors 50 percent of the education needs of beneficiaries. Dunlop said the trust encourages mothers to study in order to be independent. The aim is to alleviate poverty through training. She said the trust strongly feels that women need to be empowered through education.One of the requirements on attaining sponsorship is for beneficiaries to agree to be profiled in the trust's website to track successes.One of the main challenges is that because of their vulnerable situation, beneficiaries are susceptible to temptation and risky behaviour to get financial support. Currently, two of the orphans under Mothers-for-All have become pregnant. Dunlop regrets that when such orphans are abandoned, the vicious circle continues. The trust offers counselling and nurturing to make its members appreciate that they have the power to change their situation. The trust has 60 mothers nationwide.