Mooketsi Benard Tekere, a young Francistown entrepreneur who owns a Digital Language Laboratory Company called Ngwana Enterprise Pty Ltd will change the lives of many sick children at Nyangabwe Referral Hospital.
He is currently establishing an educational laboratory at the hospital which will cater for the educational needs of these children.
Speaking to the Sunday Standard last week Friday in an interview he said that he came up with the initiative after realising that there is dire need to empower the children in hospitals with education materials. He revealed that the educational laboratory which will be the first of its kind in the country will comprise of text books, novels, calculators and even computers.
“It is sad to note that in Botswana hospitals there are no such facilities to try and take heed of the needs of the sick children in hospitals by empowering them with education materials while they are in hospital. This is part of my Corporate Social Investment programme to try and empower these children. The education lab is targeted at children who are at least three years and even younger,” he said.
Tekere said that the United States Embassy and several other organizations such as the First National Bank, Century Office Supply and Pick n Pay have pledged their support for the initiative. He revealed that he had already negotiated with the management at Nyangabwe Referral Hospital who agreed to provide him with a space in the hospital to establish the facility.
“There is need for the public to take into cognition the fact that children in hospitals are not there by choice but they are forced by circumstances beyond their control. By providing education materials for these children we can be able to empower them, motivate them and give them hope in life,” Tekere said.
He said that most of the time, children in hospitals are only provided with television sets and continued to say that such is not enough to help empower this children and give them hope.
“By supporting these children with educational materials, I am helping to shape their future as education is the key to success. The days they spend in hospital should not be a hindrance for them to learn and develop through education,” he said.
Tekere said that the handover ceremony of the project is scheduled for the 20th of December this year. He hopes to establish similar facilities in other hospitals around the country.
