GAMODUBU: To the children living at the centre, it is home. It is where they stay, eat, play, and dream of a better future. But to the law enforcement agencies, the Gamodubu Child Care Trust is one of the places they want to shut down because of non-compliance.
The children who reside at the centre are orphaned and vulnerable, with most living with HIV/AIDS. In December, the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) Cheetahs Rugby Club visited the centre, as they have been doing for the past three years, to donate food parcels for the Christmas celebration. The founder, Shirley Madikwe, told The Monitor that the main focus of Gamodubu Child Care Trust is to take care of underprivileged children and has been operational for 21 years. She explained that the centre accommodates children from different parts of the country such as Tsabong, Letlhakane, Mmanoko, Mmamohiko, and a few from Gamobudu. At the moment, it is home to 47 children. “We started with one child we met in Gaborone as a street kid. Our plan was to remove children from the streets and make a better future for them. I won the Thari Ya Sechaba Award in 2009 and was awarded P30,000 which I used to build this facility,” she said. “When we started, we were not registered, but the President then Advocate Duma Boko volunteered to register our centre at Deeds of Trust when he was still an attorney.”
Madikwe said as the centre started growing, bigger challenges came their way. In June 2024, the Kweneng District Council ordered them to shut down because they didn't have hostels for the children. “I told them that we can close the facility but the challenge is the children. We have been running this place through the love of Batswana, not the government. Now that the centre has grown, you can't come and instruct us to close down. It was social workers and by-law officers accompanied by police officers. “They spent the whole week coming here. What pained me the most was when one social worker said this place is a white elephant and I told her that she was hurting God, not me simply because I am doing this out of love. I'm not benefiting anything,” she said. Madikwe explained that she had been applying for an operational licence for many years but without a response from the council. “As a woman, a mother to all these children, I'm struggling because of the authorities. All we need is a daycare centre licence because we have the Master of the High Court licence which allows us to operate. This is what pains me the most,” said the emotional Madikwe.
She said despite the challenges they encounter, some of the children have been successful in education, with some getting sponsorships from different schools in Gaborone such as Dawn Bell Academy, Believers Academy, and The Learning Centre. According to Madikwe, one of the children Ontlametse Madikwe has even received a sponsorship to do her Form One at Maru A Pula School. Another child is a student at Molepolole College of Education (MCE). Although there are no hostels, the girls sleep in a multipurpose hall built by the Botswana Insurance Holdings Limited (BIHL) Trust in 2013, whilst the boys sleep in the other building. She explained that the centre has goats, pigs, and chickens that the children take care of to learn how to be responsible. Madikwe said the centre's relationship with the BDF Cheetahs has been exciting and the first time the soldiers came through, they prepared lunch for the children and spent the day with them. She said ever since the club hasn't failed to fulfil its promise. Madikwe explained that besides the army club, in the past they received assistance from the Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTCB) and Botswana Development Corporation (BDC) amongst others. Maatla Baipidi, a third-year student at MCE, arrived at the centre in 2012. As time went by, she had to relocate to Molepolole because she was struggling with asthma. “Mma Madikwe didn't stop taking care of me.
She continued buying toiletry for me and paying my school fees. Even today as a tertiary student, she still takes care of me,” she said. Duduetsang Sebokolodi from Nice Touch Investment said they learnt about the centre from the BDF Cheetahs through a sponsorship proposal. “The club requested we make any donation that we could afford. We assisted with P10,000 after seeing this place. It's a sad situation because you can see that a lot of assistance is needed. “What shocked me was that this place isn't far from Gaborone. I wonder if this place is unknown or what could be the problem. Many companies in Gaborone can assist. Where children sleep, they need blankets, especially in winter. They need food, clothes, toiletry even water. We will go back and see what more we can do to assist,” Sebokolodi said.
Meanwhile, spokesperson for BDF Cheetahs Modesto Madzambi said they volunteered to assist the centre because they believe they can motivate the children to believe in themselves. “The children are always excited to see us, some even want to become soldiers when they grow up. We intend to open a rugby development centre for them and also support those who are doing other sport like athletics,” he said. Madzambi added that the club wants to assist the centre by coming up with a business that can generate income daily.