Africa-Press – Botswana. The City of Francistown records 80 teenage pregnancies every three months, said Deputy Mayor Mr Lesego Kwambala when officiating at the Scout Founders Day Commemoration Camp recently.
Mr Kwambala said some of the pregnancies were repeat cases.
He said rampant drug and alcohol abuse in schools, was responsible for such pregnancies in no small measure.
To compound the problem, various social ills such as child neglect were rife.
It was in the hope of defeating such ills that he proposed a meeting with the Scout Association as they were complimenting some mandates of Social and Community Development (S&CD) adding that through partnership with council such ills could be easily addressed.
Mr Kwambala said the scout movement was doing a noble course, and council was in a position to facilitate space allocation and would offer them one of the open space to for their office and their meeting place.
He asked the scouts to focus on their education and aim for the best in life.
He urged them to stay away from drugs, smoking and alcohol abuse saying that a considerable number of youth were mentally affected by drug abuse.
Botswana Scout Association Chief Commissioner Mr Masego Pamane said the purpose of the camp was to celebrate the legacy left behind by the founder of the Scout Association Lord Baden Powell and his wife.
Mr Pamane said the scout movement around the world accepted all children from age eight.
He said the aim of the movement was not to march around or stay bush camps but to mould children to be better citizens.
“There are relevant programs for children between the ages of 12 and 17 years as this is the entry level,” he said there was another program for 18 to 20 year-olds as challenges began to appear at this stage.
Activities to be undertaken during the camp, Mr Pamane said, included horse riding, nature walk, bird viewing, scout hike, survival skills, general scout games, drill competition, visiting illegal mining sites, cleaning, removing snares placed by poachers and others.
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