Breaking the chains of the past: A future for every Motswana child

It marks the courage of children who stood against injustice during the Soweto Uprising, but it must also make us reflect: Have we truly dismantled the walls of inequality that kept the children bound? Apartheid was built on systemic racial oppression, where opportunities were reserved for a select few while countless African children were forced to fight for survival in a world that refused to see them. That fight may look different today, but it still exists—no longer dictated solely by race, but by class, geography, and circumstance. A child born in a remote village should not be condemned to a life of limited education, poor healthcare, or insufficient social support simply because of their location or background.

Since 2010, Botswana has made strides in child-sensitive budgeting, yet we must ask—have these policies truly changed the lives of our children? While the 2025/26 national budget introduces free sanitary pads for female students, newborn child grant, and digital access in schools, economic uncertainty looms due to the slowdown in the global diamond market, threatening the sustainability of these programmes.