KEEP THEM SAFE!

Hi, meet Masego, the 15-year-old girl who grows up in a home in which her parents sell alcohol for a living.

As a result of the many male customers coming in every day, she is sexually assaulted on many occasions with her parents having very little or nothing at all to say about it except for the fact that this is the only way they are making money to sustain their livelihoods. Masego turns to substance use as a way of coping; drinks and smokes with her friends to the point where she is always ‘high’. Eventually she resorts to more severe substances like cocaine resulting in an OD later on. After months of hospitalisation, she is referred to BOSASNET for further rehabilitation and treatment.

Finally met by an opportunity to turn a new leaf and start her life again on a clean slate, the only thing threatening this process is the fact that she goes home after every session, where she is surrounded by people who are using substances, and are also capable of violating her.

Hello again, meet Zeze, an 18-year old boy who has been helping his mother sell alcohol and cigarettes when she is not home or busy with some other thing. He also sells ‘weed’ for her in his school and they are making a lot of money from it than alcohol and cigarettes combined. Zeze has nice top-brand clothes and shoes and girls drool over him while guys envy him. He is on a roll and he is even thinking of circulating the substance to other schools as well (he gotta chase the bag but looks like the bag is chasing him). As a result Zeze has stopped taking his education seriously, and a few months later he and his mother are discovered by the police and jailed.

Some households sell alcohol as a means of income and there are some areas heavily saturated with the growing and selling of marijuana or as Zeze calls it ‘weed’, despite it being illegal in the first place.

Children like Masego and Zeze find themselves having grown up in a substance abuse saturated setting and are socialised into that lifestyle; they tend to use the substance or even sell it for profit-making. Unfortunately like Zeze, they can be caught and punished for the unlawful distribution of illegal drugs and have the opportunity of an education taken away from them.

Another thing is the kind of people who walk into a home to purchase the substance; people known only by their names but not their intentions, just mere strangers, and how they pose a threat to the children in that home.

We look back at Masego who is experiencing sexual violation in her own home.

What is a home after all? Home should be a safe place, a setting of people who love and care for one another, and have each other’s best interest at heart; a family. Family is important as it is crucial for the development of a child and should ensure the physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing of the child. It is a place of great opportunity but could also be a place of negative influence.

Some families sell alcohol at home to get finances to support the household. However, this can put children at risk of abuse (sexual, physical, emotional, etc), disruptions to their development, early onset of substance use, role-modelling bad behaviours, neglect of children, and decline in school performance. If the selling of substances in the home affects children, parents are advised to seek safe alternative sources of income.

With all this, it is imperative to report ALL cases of child abuse and neglect to the relevant authorities such as the police, social workers, nurses, teachers, and organisations such as Childline Botswana.

If you think that you might have a substance abuse problem, or if you have a family member or friend who does, we encourage you to seek help. For some, it can mean the difference between life and death. You can find BOSASNET on Facebook or call us at 3959119 for more information.