Continuing with their social responsibility, the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) and Builders World Mogoditshane this week donated traditional attire to Morelelo Primary School in Rakhuna.
Handing over the attire at this event, which started with Morelelo Primary School students picking litter in the village, Colonel Peter Tapela of 1st Brigade said Morelelo Primary School management approached them for finance to buy traditional attire for their children. He revealed that the BDF then contributed the sum of P6 045 while Builders World, BDF’s partner in need, donated P4 000 making a total sum of P10 045.
Though they needed help, Morelelo Primary School management did not just fold their arms and do nothing. The school also raised a sum of P5 790, and this was done in accordance with one of the Vision 2016 pillars which states that by 2016 Botswana should be a loving and caring nation.
Tapela implored the parents and the teachers to continue playing a major role of allowing their children to take part in traditional dancing, emphasizing that this will help in preserving Botswana culture.
“A nation without a culture is a lost nation,” he stated.
Tapela appealed to teachers to put an extra effort to ensure that their school, Morelelo Primary, wins the forthcoming National Level Traditional competitions.
“Now that you have new beautiful traditional attire, I don’t see any excuse why you should not win this competition,” he said, adding that: “It is very important for the environment to be looked after.”
He urged the people of Rakhuna to stop littering saying it makes their environment dirty, more so that they are just next to the border gate leading into neighbouring South Africa.
Tapela appealed to the school management to keep on trying so as to set an example and allow other schools to follow in their footsteps. “We at BDF will continue supporting you; as you’ve seen, a new camp is being built in you district,” he said.
In his statement, Olefile Ntlatseng said it was very pleasing to see BDF not waiting for the government but digging in their pockets to help this school.
“It is now time for Batswana to start practicing the spirit of self-reliance. We should learn to do it for ourselves because the government alone cannot manage. Bagaetsho, mokoduo go tsoswa o o itsosang,” he said.
Baitlotli Entaile, from Lobatse’s Department of Education, was also present at this occasion. In his remarks he applauded BDF for donating the attire to Morelelo Primary School.
Entaile encouraged teachers and parents to work together so as to share ideas and come up with more ways of how to raise more income.
With the money that the school raised, the management said they want to purchase computers so that they can teach their children the basics so as to pave their way to Montshiwa Junior Community School. The school also expressed their gratitude to the Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Kitso Mokaila, for donating a brand new computer to the school.
According to the school management, they are not yet done, and will have to tie their shoe laces and keep on raising more funds in order to achieve their dream of buying more computers, a fax machine and photocopying machine.
The event was graced by Dr Archibald Mogwe.
