Africa-Press – Botswana. Story telling in the African culture is a dynamic and multifaceted way that serve to educate, inspire and connect individuals within the community.
The First Lady Ms Neo Masisi said this in Gaborone on Wednesday during the launch of a booklet, The Change Makers – Stories of Hope, a compilation of inspirational stories told by 20 Let Youth Lead advocates.
Ms Masisi said the booklet offered insights on how to navigate life’s complexities with integrity, compassion and wisdom through story telling.
She said it fostered intellectual engagement and encouraged listeners or readers to reflect on the relevance of the stories to their own lives.
Reminiscing on storytelling, Ms Masisi reminded the gathering that in the olden days, they would gather around the communal fire and tell stories that in turn strengthened bonds, conveyed practical knowledge about certain things about life including tackling issues for survival and other aspects of daily life.
Ms Masisi, therefore, encouraged all people especially the youth to share their life stories, experiences and how they overcame, to give hope to those that were struggling with accepting their status.
“The stories reflect bravery, building others, stories of hope, destinies reached and a desire to make positive change and resilience,” she said.
She reiterated that since stories teach, all would be interested in learning from a story and at the same time be able to say their own different story.
She stressed that, the authenticity of the story was a powerful tool to inspire others and contribute to the development of young people.
Ms Masisi hailed the 20 Let Youth Lead advocates for telling their stories of hope adding that other youth across the country would relate their personal experiences from the stories.
Meanwhile, she urged the policy makers to consider story telling as a way of educating and guiding, saying the youth could get a lot from, rather than formalising interactions and engagements.
The released booklets that run under the auspices of Sentebale facilitate meaningful engagement of young people with policy makers and other relevant stakeholders.
The Country Director, Ms Ketlogetswe Montshiwa, pointed out that it was through those engagements that young people’s views were incorporated to influence programmes meant for the youth.
It further gives an opportunity for those advocates living openly with HIV to share their experiences, and stories of hope and triumph in order to motivate their peers who are struggling with their HIV status.
Ms Montshiwa said the engagements were done through consultative forums to give young people an opportunity to be heard on issues affecting them, including HIV/AIDS, health care, education and access to youth friendly services.
She pointed out that to date, about 9 000 adolescents and young people in Botswana have received direct support through the various programmes implemented by Sentebale.
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