Africa-Press – Botswana. The national cycle tour aimed at combating drugs, gender-based violence (GBV) and irresponsible gambling seeks to influence community behaviour through experiential education. During a meeting with Francistown leadership on Monday, Kaone Ramontshonyana, the team leader of the cycling group, stated that their goal was to raise awareness, provide education and promote community-led solutions to address social issues.As part of the tour, Ramontshonyana noted that interactions with the community and schools allowed team members to share personal experiences related to GBV, gambling, and drug use.
“The tour emphasises experiential learning rather than just professional or technical knowledge, aiming to motivate individuals that quitting is indeed possible,” he explained. He further emphasised that throughout their journey across the nation, a primary objective was to inspire Batswana to devise home grown solutions for local challenges without depending on events, workshops, or international assistance.
“It is time for us not to solely depend on the government for solutions to the social problems affecting our youth; instead, we as a community should step up and support government,” he remarke.
Regarding issues surrounding drugs, GBV and gambling, he said society should be able to identify what contributions it could make in terms of coming up with ideas and identifying as well as availing resources that could go toward managing the challenges effectively.
In his comments, Mayor Gaone Majere of Francistown highlighted that the challenges were significantly impacting the city, noting the widespread drug usage in various areas of Francistown.
“We are actively working to keep our youth away from drugs. The situation is far from ideal. I believe collaborating with you is essential in addressing such pressing issues, particularly drug abuse,” he stated.
While acknowledging that GBV also affected children in schools, Mr Majere also mentioned that the cycling team could aid in changing behaviour among the youth who were already involved in these vices.
He praised the cycling crew for their initiative and underlined the necessity for forging partnerships that can help tackle the challenges effectively.Additionally, the deputy district commissioner for Francistown, Ms Tshepiso Somolokae-Thamo commended the cycle tour team for their positive initiative aimed at promoting behavioural change.
She emphasised the importance of having a diverse group of team members who can share experiences across various domains while providing an experimental aspect that could yield beneficial results.
