Miss-Delectable
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The Monitor :: Debswana hands over P488,000 classroom block
With the focus on caring for communities, Debswana fully demonstrated the values and virtues espoused in the third pillar of Vision 2016, which calls for the creation of "a compassionate, just and caring nation".
Debswana Managing Director Jim Gowans last Thursday handed over a P420,000 worth vocational training block at the Francistown Centre for the Deaf that the company funded to the tune of P488,000. The block has three classrooms for leather works, home economics and carpentry.
Gowans said at the handing-over ceremony that they were proud to be part of the auspicious event that marked a continuation of a journey that Debswana set out to undertake as part of their social responsibility and commitment to make a positive impact on the different communities in Botswana.
He added that the vocational training unit would give the pupils sustainable livelihoods. "It's my firm belief that this vocational training unit will significantly contribute to the enhancement of skills of the pupils at this centre, which in turn will earn them sustainable livelihoods. Our aim is to empower communities and I sincerely hope that our contribution to this centre will empower the pupils and turn their dreams into lasting reality," he said.
In appreciating the gift, Botswana Society for Deaf Executive Director Padi Makgonatsotlhe said though they have challenges on the outreach programmes, they are grateful about what Debswana had done for them. He said out of the money donated by Debswana in constructing the building, they used the remaining P68,000 to buy the three classroom machines. Makgonatsotlhe said they were now able to give lessons to pupils on leatherwork skills.
Encouraging some of the parents, who attended the handing-over ceremony, he said their job could be simplified by parents through early detection and identification of the child's deafness as early as the age of three. "The deaf children have to live independent lives as they grow. Much can be done for the child if parents identify it (impairment) as early as possible, say at the age of three," he added. According to Makgonatsotlhe, Debswana donated P488,000 in 2009 for the project, which has been completed this year.
With the focus on caring for communities, Debswana fully demonstrated the values and virtues espoused in the third pillar of Vision 2016, which calls for the creation of "a compassionate, just and caring nation".
Debswana Managing Director Jim Gowans last Thursday handed over a P420,000 worth vocational training block at the Francistown Centre for the Deaf that the company funded to the tune of P488,000. The block has three classrooms for leather works, home economics and carpentry.
Gowans said at the handing-over ceremony that they were proud to be part of the auspicious event that marked a continuation of a journey that Debswana set out to undertake as part of their social responsibility and commitment to make a positive impact on the different communities in Botswana.
He added that the vocational training unit would give the pupils sustainable livelihoods. "It's my firm belief that this vocational training unit will significantly contribute to the enhancement of skills of the pupils at this centre, which in turn will earn them sustainable livelihoods. Our aim is to empower communities and I sincerely hope that our contribution to this centre will empower the pupils and turn their dreams into lasting reality," he said.
In appreciating the gift, Botswana Society for Deaf Executive Director Padi Makgonatsotlhe said though they have challenges on the outreach programmes, they are grateful about what Debswana had done for them. He said out of the money donated by Debswana in constructing the building, they used the remaining P68,000 to buy the three classroom machines. Makgonatsotlhe said they were now able to give lessons to pupils on leatherwork skills.
Encouraging some of the parents, who attended the handing-over ceremony, he said their job could be simplified by parents through early detection and identification of the child's deafness as early as the age of three. "The deaf children have to live independent lives as they grow. Much can be done for the child if parents identify it (impairment) as early as possible, say at the age of three," he added. According to Makgonatsotlhe, Debswana donated P488,000 in 2009 for the project, which has been completed this year.