Wanetsha Mosinyi
13 September 2007
Zwenshambe — The Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) has been commended for its corporate social responsibility after handing over a day care centre in Zwenshambe recently.
"I must congratulate the BHC for having found it fit, as part of their corporate social responsibility to act beyond their core mandate of providing shelter to assist various rural communities throughout the country," said Dr Omponye Kereteletswe.
Kereteletswe, who is the Public Service Reforms Coordinator and Vision 2016 Council member, was officiating at the refurbishment of Taboka Day Care Centre and two newly built toilets. He urged other organisations to emulate the BHC example.
"It is, indeed, heartening to learn that upon realising that the Zwenshambe (Taboka) Day Care Centre was facing teething problems, the BHC stepped in to rescue them by renovating the building and building the two toilets for use by children," he said.
He said it was also captivating that the parastatal also contributed expertise to complete the project, which demonstrated that BHC staff members were commitment to upholding some of the national Vision 2016 pillars.
"It could not have been more fitting that the theme for this year's commemoration is "Turning Challenges into Opportunities, the journey continues."
In his own assessment, Kereteletswe said the completion of the centre and construction of the toilets meant the BHC had contributed indirectly to more than two pillars of Vision 2016.
He however stressed that it's the responsibility of parents to ensure that children are sent to the centre to start learning at an early age.
"I believe we are all aware that education forms an integral part in the upbringing of a child and therefore it is important to inculcate learning process at this centre, they will develop into responsible children through primary, secondary and tertiary education and finally join the world of work and make a significant contribution towards building a prosperous, productive and innovative nation beyond 2016."
He said the day care centre would also go a long way in benefiting not only the Zwenshambe community but also other neighbouring communities that do not have access to such facilities. "We hope that one day this centre will be counted among many that will produce some of our future leaders." Giving some background information, BHC Deputy CEO, Ntoti Mosetlhe said her organisation does not want to be a corporation that builds houses only but a corporation that shares with Batswana by ploughing back some of its profits unto the community.
"We started this project in July and it's good that it was completed in time and this shows the determination of the people involved to see the project completed. We put emphasis on projects that benefit the entire community. Yes, we sometimes help individuals in need but emphasis is always on projects that benefit the whole community."
She also acknowledged that government "has a lot on its plate" - hence it is imperative that corporations like BHC help the government in realising initiatives that are geared at uplifting the communities. Other community projects BHC recently completed include the Komku Trust of D'kar in Ghanzi District, Bamalete Lutheran Hospital, Khakhea Primary School and Motswedi Rehabilitation Centre in Mochudi.
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