Africa-Press – Botswana. Kgosi Mosadi Seboko has unveiled an initiative dubbed ‘Maatla-A- Mosetsana’ development programme at the Thuto Boswa Rehabilitation Centre (TBRC) in Ramotswa on Wednesday.
The objective of the initiative, established by the Beyond Labels Foundation (BLF) is to introduce young girls with disabilities to the sport of cricket, promote physical ability and nurture talent within communities.
Kgosi Mosadi said there was need to nurture the abundant talent of differently abled persons in communities.
“As we make an intent to empower the girl child, we should also consider giving hope to the boy child and make them aware that they are part and parcel of our efforts to fight the Gender Based Violence scourge. We need to make them have the confidence and impart necessary social skills, that is what we call empowerment,” she said.
Kgosi Mosadi applauded efforts by different stakeholders who had been supportive to TBRC and said the launch of the inaugural development programme in Ramotswa was a continuation of the goodwill.
The paramount chief, who is also a member of the gender, youth, family and people with disabilities committee of the Pan African Parliament, said efforts made to empower persons with intellectual disabilities were now bearing fruit.
Giving an overview of the project, BLF programme coordinator, Ms Kesegofetse Tatedi said the Maatla-A-Mosetsana development programme was an inclusive empowerment initiative designed for girls with disabilities aged 13 and above across Botswana.
“The first phase of the programme will take approximately five months covering five institutions or organisations taking care of the targeted group,” she said.
Ms Tatedi said the programme uses the power of sport, open dialogue, and creative expressions through painting to build self-confidence, promote gender equality, prevent Gender Based Violence (GBV) and foster community inclusion.
She highlighted that boys with disabilities were also included in the programme to encourage gender balance and promote inclusive participation and also help them understand the kind of problems their female counterparts went through and help in fighting GBV.
“The reason why we saw it fit to come up with such a programme is because we saw a gap. The girl child with disabilities is not fully included and empowered by the society, but we expect them to be like their able bodied counterparts,” she added.
Ms Tatedi said from the programme, there were expectations of increased self-esteem and confidence, greater awareness of GBV, improved community acceptance and empowered peer leaders.
She said her organisation had partnered with Botswana Cricket Association, Paralympic Association of Botswana, Women and Sport Botswana and Special Olympics Botswana.
Ms Tatedi said among others, the key focus areas were GBV and personal safety, self-acceptance and body positivity, confidence in the face of peer pressure and peer upliftment through storytelling.
BLF is a charitable trust, which aims to empower disadvantaged and vulnerable individuals in Botswana through holistic support and opportunities for growth.
Among others, the trust aims to establish community-based programmes that cater to the needs of disadvantaged individuals, fostering social inclusion and participation.
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