As the month of June nears its end, blissful memories flow about Veronica Kagoyarona Mosala.
As she sits in her portacamp office filing her stuff at Botswana Family Welfare Association (BOFWA), she recalls with melancholy, her nomination by the President’s Emergence Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) as its June 2017 Hero; part of whose package was invitation to former US President George Bush’s special sessions while here recently.
Her passion, she says; when she motivates her fellow youth won her the award, the second laurel in her lifetime as she got the first one while she was still a student at Limkokwin University.
It is especially the Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) subject that has seen her making presentations in high profile gatherings like at the UNFPA, advocating for the rights of young people and women.
To her, since sexuality is part of human being, empowerment of these groups cannot be fully made in isolation of this crucial subject. Her role in the fight against HIV and AIDS, cannot be overemphasised. She even claims to have products who are nurses, doctors and motivational speakers.
“One of the projects I participated in, which I proudly call achievement of milestones, is the one at Lorolwane settlement. Teenage pregnancy was so rampant in that area that girls as young as 10 years confessed to have indulged in sexual activities. They fell pregnant at ages of 13 years. Since BOFWA and other stakeholders spread good news of socio-economic empowerment, prevention, and utilisation of contraceptives the situation changed,” says Mosala, adding that poverty eradication programmes have also been introduced there.
Even Botswana Insurance Holdings Limited (BIHL), she said, introduced life transforming initiatives there.
Mosala also played a pivotal role in the formation of a group called PROME (Public Relations Officers and Media) a group comprising Ministry Of Health’s Public Relations Officers and reporters.
The group was formed to ease flow of information on health issues between public relations officers and reporters. It had emerged in a number of workshops that BOFWA, in partnership with MOHW and other stakeholders had organised, that dissemination of health information was hampered by the red carpet applied within government offices.
To solve this it was agreed that all stakeholders, including media, should form partnership that would allow discussion of issues even outside of official reports preceded by questionnaires.
She forms part of the PEPFAR selected young people, whose efforts support young people and communities in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
