NEGLECT OF CHILDREN
Several children without birth certificates
Window of Hope Centre is worried about the high number of children roaming the streets of Ghanzi, most of them from surrounding settlements and farms.
Window of Hope Centre is a nongovernmental organisation based in Ghanzi that works with children between six and 18 years, and promotes the rights and wellbeing of orphans and vulnerable children and young people and their families.
According to Founder and Director, Johannes Kahuadi, while the issue of children on the streets has been there for some time, they recently organised a team of Social Workers, Police and the District Officer to engage with the children in a campaign called ‘Zero children on the street’ in an effort to remove children from the streets and assess how they can be assisted in collaboration with relevant government departments.
Kahuadi told The Midweek Sun that the organisation is worried about parents’ neglect, as most of the children are from child-headed families. “There is no one to care for them at home therefore children go on the streets to care for themselves,” Kahuadi says.
There is also low registration of National Identity cards and birth certificates in the district, especially among Basarwa tribe, hindering them from benefiting from government assistance.
Another challenge in the district is the high number of school dropouts. Kahuadi attributes this to the fact that caregivers themselves do not value education to encourage their children to be in school or to go to school.
In addition there is high teenage pregnancy, which results in most of them relying on government handouts. Kahuadi explains that these result from the high rate of defilement cases in the area. These, according to him are culturally accepted in most cases.
“Teenage girls get pregnant at the
early stage. Most of the teenage girls do not make it to senior school level due to pregnancy,” he says, adding that there are no recreational facilities for children.
Kahuadi has also observed that caregivers are highly mobile and therefore always on the move from one farm to the other making it difficult for children to have stable homes. To address challenges, Kahuadi says there is need for more community awareness on the rights of children in the area, and also teach teenagers about the importance of education through Life Skills Training. “All stakeholders including caregivers of children need to be empowered about their rights and responsibilities towards children,” he says, adding that to change one’s behaviour is a process and not an event therefore focus needs to be on caregivers to bring the best out of them. He adds that they can only succeed as an organisation only if children and their caregivers become change agents themselves through self-realisation. Between 2019 and 2021, the Centre identified 38 children out of school, 22 females and 16 males. Fourteen females and nine males were enrolled in collaboration with Social and Community Development in the Ghanzi.
According to Kahuadi, one girl was identified with low sight vision and was referred for medical attention and is now schooling at Matsieng School in Mochudi.
“This was made possible in collaboration with Social and Community Development and Window of Hope Centre.
Kahuadi adds that 50 children were identified without birth certificates, 47 boys and three girls. Out of 50 only 12 were assisted with birth certificates. The Centre also assisted four caregivers without Omang cards, to access their identity cards, one male and three females.
The Centre has also trained 25 caregivers on basic business skills. An additional 18 families in Ghanzi were provided with psychosocial support during lockdown.
“The process is still ongoing since most of the families are affected by Covid-19. There is still a need for more awareness on Covid-19 protocols in rural communities,” Kahuadi says.
Over the years, among the greatest lessons learnt, Window of Hope Centre has realised that to work with communities well, it is important to appreciate people’s values and culture.
“We have learnt that only God can transform a person,” he says, adding “in our community, we always use bottom up approach for everything we do with the community.”
He appreciates that a one size fits all approach may not do them good because people are different and need to be treated differently with love and respect. Window of Hope Centre’s main purpose is to care, protect, and support children at all times, ensuring that the best interest of the child is attained. It was established in 2005 and officially registered in 2007 as a non-profit company.
We have learnt that only God can transform a person,” he says, adding “in our community, we always use bottom up approach for everything we do with the community