A branch of the Junior Chambers International (JCI) Botswana in Francistown recently made a public donation to a family in need.
With aid from the Francistown Office of Social Work, the organization was able to identify a less fortunate family residing in Bluetown that needed assistance with basic needs such as food, clothes and shelter.
JCI Francistown with assistance from its other branches in Gaborone, Jwaneng, Lesotho and South Africa, donated clothes and money towards rent for the family house until the end of the year, as well as a supply of groceries for the next three months.
According to Aupa Molefe, president of JCI Francistown, the family’s profile involves a single mother of 38, who has 13 children.
The mother is unemployed and is also illiterate.
Three of the 13 children are struggling to fend for themselves, while the majority of the children were born between 1993 and 2010 and are powerless to help themselves or the family.
Molefhe said that the donations were given to the family during a ceremony held at the JCI Botswana Mid Year Recharge in Mahalapye last week.
The recharge is known as an annual retreat where JCI members meet to review the progress of the organization and suggest ways forward.
With over a quarter of a million members, most of them between the ages of 20 and 30, JCI is an international non-profit organization that is membership based, and has over a 100 branches across the globe, including in Africa., Its mission, says its corporate profile, is to provide development opportunities that empower young people to create positive change.
According to the site, it is through various local, national and international projects and events that JCI members meet, learn and grow.
JCI says it aims to promote young leaders and entrepreneurs working together to develop themselves, their communities, and the world.
JCI Botswana is affiliated to the Botswana National Youth Council, Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organizations and the Botswana Confederation of Commerce Industry and Manpower.
