Love Botswana Organisation is one of the largest faith-based non-government organisations (NGO) in the country. It was established in 1987 by doctors Jerry and Jana Lackey.
It currently operates from Maun and its core mandate is to aid in the development of leaders by running and implementing programmes for communities.
In an interview with Lifestyle, its spokesperson, Nompendulo Shabangu said Love Botswana was actively involved in the Maun community as well as neighbouring villages and employs approximately 200 people, most of them the youth.
Shabangu further said the organisation had an institution, Okavango International School, providing education from pre-school up to high school.
At this school they also provide tailor-made extra-curricular activities which aims at moulding character as their vision as a school is to develop strong leaders.
Shabangu further explained that their organisation also had programmes that are extended to the under privileged members of the communities which they serve, citing Lorato House of Rescue Centre which takes in orphans and vulnerable children and provide a safe place for them.
“Lorato House is just an emergency rescue centre that loves children and takes care of them. We have about 25 children in the house that has the capacity to take in 75 children,” explained Shabangu.
Love Botswana also has the Village Church, a progamme which reaches out to people they pay weekly visits to making donations in the form of food and clothes as well as spreading the word of God while doing so.
There is also the Babelegi Mmogo programme which engages parents by providing training and support groups for them and caregivers about risk of neglecting their children, and have received over 200 cases and “Sponsor a Child” programme which take in volunteers that provides financial aid.
Shabangu mentioned that through the financial aid from the Ministry of Health, another one of their programmes, Family Strengthening, is a rehabilitation centre for families that have been affected by alcohol and substance abuse.
The programme initially ran for 2014 and temporarily closed down and was later up again in 2015. It is currently still running because of its effectiveness and positive impact it has had in the community.
The Love Botswana Organisation has a recording studio which encourages the development of art and culture to the youth where they are able to use it for free.
The organisation has a youth department taking in interns called Daniels Intern which engages with the youth in Maun and they teach life skills and abstinence under the REACH 4 LIFE programme where they get different students from different junior high schools on a weekly base and teach them life skills and networking.
This organisation believes disability is not an inability therefore they accommodated persons with any disabilities. Through the programme, “Deaf Heart”, they accommodate deaf people and teach them sign language.
Shabangu further explained that they were looking for sponsors to fund this programme and it was a struggle to accommodate a mass of people with less funds and they will like to reach out to Batswana for help either financial aid or volunteering.
